User:Yazzymine688/Evaluate an Article

Which article are you evaluating?
Guibert of Nogent

Why you have chosen this article to evaluate?
I chose this article because I think that understanding the 12th century Medieval renaissance requires a deep understanding of Guibert of Nogent. Guibert's personal recollections as a monk who was contemporaneous with the Crusades is important due to it's oddity. Monks of the period were generally told to abstain from self-reflection and to divert all of their attention to God. Nogent flips that on its head by writing about God, but centering himself as the main character.

Evaluate the article
- There aren't enough citations for claims made regarding Guibert's supposed Oedipus complex. While a certain scholar named "Archambault" is referenced, there isn't a footnote that substantiates it.

- Furthermore, the article isn't lengthy enough for such a complex and important character.

- There aren't any images of his manuscript either.

- The lead section is also lacking, providing the barest cursory explanation of Guibert, without any substantive information.

- The contents of the article should also be broken up. There really is only a "Life" section, making the reading dense.

comments on your evaluation
1. Archambault is listed in the Books section, but you’re right that the comment about the Oedipus complex should have an inline citation associated with a footnote. Another problem with the comment is that the article suggests multiple scholars make this claim, but only one is named.

2. You could back up your criticism of the length of the article by mentioning the treatment of the subject in the scholarly literature. In this case, quite a few sources are listed at the end of the article. You could also do a library search (we’ll talk more about this soon).

3. You make a good point about the inadequacy of the lead. The focus is on Guibert’s obscurity rather than on the reasons he should be notable.

4. You’re right about the organization of the article and about the contents. Division into sections would prompt a focus on Guibert’s work itself, as more than just a source of information about his life and times.

5. In your blog post about the evaluation assignment you made an excellent point about the subjectivity of the article. You could include that point in a discussion of tone and balance (see the instructions for the assignment).