User:Tigers125/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: (Zoo)
 * I enjoy animals and think zoos are an interesting topic.

Lead

 * Guiding questions

The Lead in the article Zoo briefly introducing the topic in a few sentences. The major sections of the article aren't described in the Lead, but are all present right below in the Contents box. The Lead includes the meaning of the word Zoo itself and their popularity in society. It successfully introduces the topic without over complicating the subject.


 * 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?

Content

 * Guiding questions

All of the sections in the article are relevant to its topic. The content is mostly up-to-date, but the Regulations section could use some more recent laws cited. The content covers the multiple different types of zoos and addresses the welfare concerns in a non-bias manner.


 * 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?

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions

The article remains pretty neutral even though it discusses a relatively hot topic. I feel that it presents the information in a way which does not try to sway the reader one way or another. The idea of zoos and animal cruelty are discussed at length, but this complicated topic needs to be talked out in several sections.


 * 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?

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions

Yes, there are many reliable sources cited in this article. There are 72 notes and 9 references, which are not related to zoos personally and cover a variety of topics within zoos. Some sources seem rather old, but classic literature is always necessary for good background information in most subjects. The links I clicked on all went through to their respected sites.


 * 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?

Organization

 * Guiding questions

This article is written in easy to read sections. There are many sub-topics within zoos, and the article does a good job with breaking these topics into small subsections that make the article easy to read. The different topics are broken up nicely. There were no grammatical or spelling errors which I could see.


 * 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?

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions

Yes, there are multiple images included in the article sections. The images gave good examples of the paragraphs written to their left. Images are orderly placed on the right-hand side of the page, while the corresponding text is located on the left. None of the images defy Wikipedia's copyright regulations. The opening imag elabeling all the zoos in the world is especially great, as it outlines the worldwide importance of the subject.


 * 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?

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions

Multiple conversations discussing sections in the article have happened on the talk page. The most recent was made in September 2019, so not too long ago. Zoo is rated B-Class and is a level-4 vital article. This topic is included in three WikiProjects; these are WikiProject Animals, WikiProject Animal Rights, and WikiProject Zoo. Zoos are not mentioned in this Cell Biology class specifically, but has been discussed in some of my other biology courses. This article brings up several points that I have not considered before.


 * 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?

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions

It doesn't seem that this article is marked with any labels, but is a level-4 vital article. The strengths of this article include the many author contributions and the wide range of sources used. According to the Talk page, however, the section about Live Feeding and "Baiting" seems to include some controversial or not thoroughly cited information and needs to be further researched. Overall, this is a great article with lots of helpful information.


 * 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?

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