User:Sbisno/Evaluate an Article

Cusco. Because it was the capital city of the Inca Empire, a major precolonial civilization in Latin America.
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: (link)
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation
The lead includes a brief introductory sentence that identifies the article's topic, Cusco, and provides very basic geographical information about the city. The lead features brief descriptions of some of the major sections, although others (climate, cuisine, industry, international relations) are not mentioned. For the most part, the lead does not include information that is not present in the article; the only exception is the fact that the Constitution of Peru (1993) designates Cusco as the Historical Capital of Peru. The lead is not overly detailed; it provides sweeping, relevant background information without dedicating more than a sentence or two to any one aspect of the city or its history.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Content evaluation
The article's content is certainly relevant to the topic, and very little of the information in the article is tangential. The content is, for the most part, up-to-date, although the population data has not been updated since 2015. None of the content is out of place, but some sections, such as the one on industry, could certainly be fleshed out. The article does a good job of accounting for the Killke and Inca history of the city and, in fact, tracks Inca influences into the present.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Tone and balance evaluation
Because the article is a survey of the city, it treats surface-level information and thus leaves very little room for bias. It does a good job of representing the historical cultures of Cusco that were subdued by Spanish invasion and, as touched on above, tracks Inca influence to the present, even mentioning that some Inca buildings and monuments have outlived Spanish ones. It dedicates several paragraphs to pre-conquest history and even alludes to efforts to retake the city from colonial powers but also discusses with sufficient detail Spanish rule. It does not overtly attempt to persuade the reader to sympathize with any particular group.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Are the sources current?
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
Some facts, particularly those in the sections discussing city sites, are not directly linked to sources, and some key points, such as the dating of the Saksaywaman complex, are dubiously without footnotes. That said, the sources that are cited are mostly surveys that contain much the information presented in the article. The sources are generally up-to-date, having been published within the last decade or so, except primary sources or secondary sources whose sole purposes within the article are to provide excerpts of primary sources. Because the article is a survey, much of the information it contains comes from data-gathering organizations and fact books, so the opportunity for a diverse spectrum of authors is somewhat limited. Some accounts of Spanish invaders are included; comparatively few accounts from the Inca era and prior even survive. All of the links I checked worked.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Organization evaluation
The article is clear and concise and has only a few very minor grammatical or stylistic inconsistencies. Its organization makes sense; each section presents a new aspect of the city, and information within the sections is generally chronological.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
 * Are images well-captioned?
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Images and media evaluation
The article includes many pictures, maps, and graphs that enhance understanding of Cusco. Captions are, for the most part, quite descriptive; a few are perhaps a bit too short. Most images are within the public domain, although a few appear to have copyrights attached to them. The images are organized well; there are many of them, they are housed under sections that make sense, and they tend to alternate between the right and left sides of the screen, creating some visual contrast that breaks up chunks of text without distracting from the written content of the article.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Talk page evaluation
There are extensive conversations going on behind the scenes regarding topics from the title of the article (Cusco vs. Cuzco) to the layout of info-boxes to whether the article's discussion of soccer is too tangential or there is a dearth of information on the early colonial city. The article is rated as a B-Class, level-4 vital article in Geography. It is part of the Cities, Peru, World Heritage Sites, and Indigenous peoples of the Americas WikiProjects. This article, unsurprisingly, provides a lot more information on modern Cusco than what we've learned in class and in the readings. It also discusses Cusco specifically, somewhat detached from its status as the seat of the Inca empire, whereas when we talk and read about it we often refer to it in that context and consider how Cusco interacted with neighboring settlements that were part of the empire.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * How can the article be improved?
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation
Judging from the editing history, it is largely stagnant. Recent edits have been relatively small and have had to do with the spelling and etymology of Cusco but have not added new content. I think the article's primary strength is that it gives a broad overview of Cusco. It covers its history, geography, architecture, climate, and many other aspects of the city. It accomplishes its major goal. In this sense, it is complete; a person looking for a very general understanding of the city could absolutely glean that from this article. That said, it is definitely underdeveloped relative to other articles on major cities, for example the one on Peru's capital, Lima, and even other similarly sized cities, such as Atlanta. Some sections could use significant additions, in particular the section on industry. There are also several facts that appear to be without clear references.

Optional activity

 * Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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 * Link to feedback: Talk:Cusco