User:SketchyPencil/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.


 * Name of article: Depositional environments
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. This a Wikipedia article I recently looked at for a Geology class.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes, it starts with a detailed explanation of the topic.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? No it does not
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? The introduction just focuses on what depositional environment are, it does not go off topic with the other major sections.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? It's only a three sentence paragraph, so it's short and concise.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? Yes, it's all about depositional environment.
 * Is the content up-to-date? Yes, last time it was updated was January of 2020.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? A lot of information is missing as the article only gives the dictionary definition of depositional environments and doesn't go into the science or scientific discovery of this topic.
 * Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics? Since the article is about geological structures it is not underrepresented.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral? Yes, there is no real way to be bias with this topic.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? No.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? No.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? No.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? Yes, there are many sources from different authors.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? The sources are from textbooks written by people who have a PH.D in earth sciences. Since there is only so much to learn about depositional environments, the literature sources in the article do represent the topic well.
 * Are the sources current? Somewhat, 2006-2013. However this topic cannot really get outdated unless new discoveries in the field are made.
 * Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible? Mostly men from different races.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? The five links I checked all worked

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? It's concise and straight to the point.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? Not any that I picked up on.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Yes.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


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

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? This topic is generally taught in level 200 geology courses so it's represented fairly well.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? It's rated as a stub. It's not part of any WikiProjects.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? There's been a lot of edits throughout the decade, so there is an interest on the topic.
 * What are the article's strengths? The way it defines the different types of depositional environments.
 * How can the article be improved? If it added more information of the science of depositional environments and the researchers who first discovered them.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? The information that's on it right now is quality, it just needs more information.

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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