User:Zerritrosper/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article
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 * The Thin Blue Line(1988 Film): (link)
 * This article is important because it gives a neutral overview of Errol Morris's third documentary titled The Thin Blue Line. The article provides a necessary synopsis of the film, along with a section discussing the production of the documentary, as well as information on its debut release, reception from critics and the public, concluding with an Aftermath section discussing the films impact on society and culture.

Lead

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes, the lead of this article includes one short and concise sentence which mentions the title of the documentary, the year of its release date, the full name of the film's director, along a brief summary of who and what the documentary is about.
 * Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? No, the lead does not include a description of the major sections in the article. The lead just briefly touches upon the ending of film and mentions that the documentary has won awards.
 * Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? No, everything mentioned in the Lead of this article is expanded upon in various other sections.
 * Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? The lead is very concise, displays the conflict and resolution, but not overly detailed to the point where the reader knows why the conflict occurred and how it was resolved.

Content

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article's content relevant to the topic? Yes, the content of the article which mentions the ins and outs of the documentary film making, is relevant to its topic.
 * Is the content up-to-date? The content is relatively up to date, with the last edit being on November 19th, 2019.
 * Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? Technically there is no biography for the falsely accused (Adams) or the now convicted (David Harris) in this article, however, these two individuals were major characters in this documentary, choosing to speak themselves and not have actors reenact for them. Indeed, the documentary was not just about Adams and Harris, but about the shooting of a police officer. I believe anyone involved in the crime/trial should have a short biography that might help viewers understand the history of these individuals.

Tone and Balance

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article neutral? The article is neutral, never taking a side, but rather objectively stating the facts of the documentary.
 * Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? No.
 * Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? The plot of the documentary is definitely overrepresented while elements of the film such as voice, mise-en-scene, film noir, are avoided, not touched upon.
 * Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? No, it just relays the events that happened in the documentary.

Sources and References

 * Guiding questions


 * Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? Much of the article is back up by the primary source which is the film The Thin Blue Line.
 * Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? Yes, they even use the Columbia Journalism Review as a thorough source.
 * Are the sources current? Yes.
 * Check a few links. Do they work? Yes, they work.

Organization

 * Guiding questions


 * Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? Yes, and it is made even more helpful with clear cut sections that have specific topics.
 * Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? No that I noticed.
 * Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Indeed.

Images and Media

 * Guiding questions


 * Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? One image appears and that is next to the lead at the beginning. The picture is of the documentary cover, with the title and directors name shown.
 * Are images well-captioned? Yes, just with the title of the documentary, nothing too creative.
 * Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? Yes, it has been cited.
 * Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? Yes, it is one of the first things that you see while on the articles page.

Checking the talk page

 * Guiding questions


 * What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Could not see any.
 * How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? I do not know.
 * How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? We discuss things way more emotionally in class, trying to understand abstract ideas, while Wikipedia mainly wants to stick to the facts that you can immediately check to see if they're correct which you can do by watching The Thin Blue Line.

Overall impressions

 * Guiding questions


 * What is the article's overall status? Good Status.
 * What are the article's strengths? Clear and short.
 * How can the article be improved? Delve more into the elements of the documentary, rather than just a general overview.
 * How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? It is a well-developed articles but there are some sections that are missing that I believe would strengthen it in order to be a reliable and thorough source.

Optional activity

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