User talk:MathewLJohnson/Decolonisation of Africa

Seb's peer review
Hi, this is a great topic! Thank you for addressing it!

I like that your writing is concise. It is easy to read and suited to convey information clearly. I think you did a good job at selecting the most essential information for the topics you have addressed so far. Also, it is a good thing that you have thought of referencing other Wikipedia articles by using hyperlinks. It is a good idea that I am going to put in my pocket for our own article! Moreover, the content is neutral which is an important quality for a Wikipedia article. All these points are positive, and I believe you should try to build on them for the rest of the work.

Regarding the structure of the article, the current one is easy to follow, makes sense, and is effective in organizing the information. I wonder, however, whether writing an introductory paragraph to the general topic between the heading “Female Independence Leader” and the sub-heading “Nigeria” might not help to give a general overview of what this section is about and why it matters. This could facilitate the transition from the rest of the article, instead of jumping directly to Nigeria without general context which can feel a bit abrupt to the reader.

Another of my suggestions regarding the structure has more to do with an “editorial” opinion that I would like to share. We tend to tell the story of social movements based on great figures, women, and men who were leaders and played a central role in these movements. And while it is important to explain their role and tell their stories, I feel that the way we focus mainly on them often obscures the movements themselves and the large number of people who struggle to make them happen. I feel like it is a misrepresentation of history. For this reason, I think your first paragraph on Nigeria is really interesting and I would like to know more about these masses of women, how they acted, and what role did they play in the independence movements. A way to do that could be to separate the section between “Female Independence leaders” and, more generally, “women in the independence movements”. Of course, this is merely a suggestion, and I understand that this may not be where you intended to go initially, that sources may be lacking, or that it might be difficult to cover this issue further because it would overlap with other articles such as the Abeokuta Women's Revolt and the Women’s War. I just thought I would share it to perhaps give you some new ideas.

Finally, one thing you should improve—and the only thing I found really—is the citations. Many paragraphs containing important information do not refer to sources. Also, so far you only have two sources, although they seem of good quality. To multiply sources is a good way to give space to more voices and ensure not only a more comprehensive but also a more balanced coverage. But I am sure you are just at the beginning, and you will find a lot of new things! This is also an important point we need to improve in our article.

Overall, great topic and great writing, thank you!

SleepDrifter (talk) 03:16, 1 April 2022 (UTC)

Natalie's Peer Review
This seems like an incredibly interesting topic and necessary addition to the original article!

Highlighting key women in independence movements is a tedious task, as you have to comb through all the independence movements of many countries, and I admire your dedication! You have made an excellent start with Nigeria. The quote you used portrays Ekpo's strength as a leader and the importance of her being a woman to her leadership goals.

I think an opening paragraph before going into the different countries would blend the information better with the rest of the article, as well as give a broad overview of the section. In particular, I would like to see how the leadership of women changed the nature of independence movements or the participation of women in them. Rather than simply highlight key women, explaining why their presence was important and expanding on that importance for individual leaders could make this section fit better within the larger article. Right now, it seems a bit like its own article.

I like the structure of organizing the leaders by countries. To give more context, I would recommend including more links to things like "warrant chiefs" so readers can follow the context of these leaders.

The section is backed up by reputable sources, though there seems to be places where there should be a citation. The writing is neutral.

Overall, it is an excellent section!

GnatLec (talk) 23:32, 3 April 2022 (UTC)