User:VanessaLoveless/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: 2012 Phenomenon (2012 phenomenon)
 * Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
 * I believe the religions are interesting and this phenomenon is something that I lived through.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
 * Yes
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
 * Yes
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
 * Yes
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
 * Does not summarize all of the sections in the lead equally. Definition is great though.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
 * Yes
 * Is the content up-to-date?
 * I believe so
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
 * No.... I am not an expert on the topic though

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral?
 * Yes
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
 * This is a conspiracy theory, so it seems a to give each event a little bit too much weight, but it is not biased in the sense that it has to be believed.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
 * As far as I know they are all represented fairly, the Mesoamerican organ of the theory is very represented in comparison to other cultures with a similar belief. (But that is also where the idea originated)
 * 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
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
 * Yes
 * Are the sources current?
 * This even occurred in 2012, but I believe that the sources of the year are relevant.
 * Check a few links. Do they work?
 * Yes

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
 * Some the terminology is difficult for the average person. There are a lot of links to the available sources, and links to other Wikipedia pages that define some of the more complex terminology.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
 * Not that were noticeable.
 * 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 (constellations, Mayan inscriptions)
 * 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, spaced out evenly, and balanced

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
 * A lot of modification of external links and a debate on the articles topic
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
 * It has been identified as one of the best articles produced by the Wikipedia community, I am not sure where to find a specific rating
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
 * We haven't even mentioned it in class, so a lot more in depth

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status?
 * Almost complete (???)
 * What are the article's strengths?
 * very in depth and cover many continents/cultures
 * How can the article be improved?
 * Can it be simplified or made easier to understand to the regular person? May be simplifying the terminology would really help.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
 * Almost complete

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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