User:Taraserena/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: History of communication studies
 * I picked this article to evaluate as it focuses on the history of an academic study that I am currently studying. Therefore, it is relevant to evaluate whether the sources are reliable, providing quality and facts to the wikipedia article.

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
Yes the introduction clearly states what the article will be talking about as it mentions that communication has been around since "ancient times". The lead however does not include a description of the article's major sections as it only mentions one sentence. This appears unorganized which creates a sense of unreliability. The lead includes the use of "ancient times" however the article does not include dates that would be considered ancient times. The lead is concise and short but very fragmented.

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?

Content evaluation
The articles content is relevant to the topic as it is organized in a timeline manner including dates and institutions. However, only focuses on the United States and Germany, which appears unreliable and incomplete. The content appears to be up to date and accurate as the sources do not exactly have to be very current since this focuses on the history of communication studies.

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
The article appears to be very neutral as the topic is solely based on facts from the past dates. There are no exact bias claims however, the viewpoints of Germany and the US are overrepresented since these are the only two countries mentioned.

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?
 * Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation
The facts in the article are backed up by many academic sources and journals. The references present all of the sources used in proper citations.

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 well written as it is organized in separate topics and dates. It appears easy to read with relevant information and proper use of grammar.

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
There are no use of images and media in this 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
The talk page represents a negative attitude towards the overall article as it mentions the specificity of dates are not exact and should be more accurate. This article is part of the WikiProject Media.

This article seems fairly new as well as there is no ratings on this article.

Wikipedia discusses this topic in a more informal tone however is directly backed up with sources found.

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
The overall status of this article appears to be neutral and mostly organized however, the content appears to be inaccurate and imbalanced. There needs to be much more information on dates and timelines of various countries.

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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