User:Tstanek06/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: The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I selected this article because we read the story in the first module of this course. I was interested, both in Equiano's experience as a slave and in how his validity was questioned over time.

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 is perfectly concise and conveys the article's meaning clearly. It is supported by a list of main themes and a content table that indicates major article sections. All the information reappears in the article body.

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
This article had no shortage of information. Each chapter of the story was already summarized (though many of the direct quotes lacked citations). There was also a particularly insightful sections about the story's origins and its reception. The content was relevant and the citations, when used, were up to date. There is one sentence about Phyllis Wheatley using a preface written by a white author that feels a bit irrelevant.

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
For the most part, this article was neutral. However, I noticed some more evaluative and analytical author statements in the summary. For example, in discussing Equiano's uncertainty of the clock the original writer said, "this shows just how little he knew about the common technology of the time." Other blanket statements like "values of some sort," were also used in ways that undermined the validity of other groups. The need to address this was part of the reason I selected this article.

Aside from these semantical issues, the article presented both sides pretty fairly. There was representation and evidence of those whose discredited Equiano's African birth and those who defended it. The reader was merely informed of the facts in this case, and was not led to either conclusion.

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
When used, the sources were current. They were thorough and reflected the available literature. Some citations need to be added, particularly when the text is quoted directly. There are also numerous links (slave narrative, Igboland, Autobiography, Equiano, Bini (Africa), and Phyllis Wheatley...although I'd argue against the use of Wheatley, because the fact about her is not especially relevant), and each of these works how it was intended.

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
At times, this article is difficult to read. There are a lot of extra words, and many sentences end in prepositions or use passive voice. The organization makes sense--the chapters of the story are summarized before the impact of the whole book is explained.

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 two images in this article. They both adhere to copyright regulations and their captions--while a bit wordy--convey their content and relevance. The placement of the pictures does not detract from one's ability to navigate the page or read other content.

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
On the talk page, there is only one comment. One user mentioned wanting to add both African American and White perceptions to the story under the Reception heading. This user also included statistical information and separated the summaries into their own section.This user contributed substantially to the article, especially in the chapter 3-7's summaries.

This story is part of five WikiProjects and four more course-related projects (this one included). The content is similar to that which we discussed in class. Our discussions about the story's origin and reception are both presented in the article.

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
Overall, I think this article is good, but not great. Its strengths lie with content--there is a lot of information that is up-to-date and thoroughly summarized. The article can be improved grammatically, extra words can be removed, and citations can be added. As a whole, it is well-developed, though several instances of analytic language need to be addressed.

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

with four tildes — ~


 * Link to feedback: Talk:The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano