User talk:Rachelorbell/sandbox

Article Evaluation: Indian Act

''Is everything in the article relevant to the article topic? Is there anything that distracted you?'' The content of the article is all relevant to the overall topic of the Indian Act. The article is able to provide definitions and an overlook of some of the main ideas and purpose behind the amendment, break down sections and policies of the Indian Act, and advocacies towards change and repeals that have been put forth to make changes from both sides.

''Is the article neutral? Are there any claims, or frames, that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?'' The article does a good job of keeping a neutral perspective, especially with such a debated and controversial topic with different points of view. It does not attempt to portray the Indian Act in a negative or positive view but rather only discusses the facts and information from the Act itself. The only section that has an indication of bias is in the brief discussion of residential schools as an amendment added to the Indian Act, as the article says what their attempt and purpose seemed to try and do.

''Check a few citations. Do the links work? Does the source support the claims in the article?'' The links used in the article appear to work. The article uses the links appropriately for certain terms and other important legal documents and amendments that provide background information on the topic effectively. They are useful to enhance the knowledge about the Indian Act and some of the other areas, people and legal documents relevant and involved in the discussion of this topic.

''Is each fact referenced with an appropriate, reliable reference? Where does the information come from? Are these neutral sources? If biased, is that bias noted?'' I don't think that all facts were referenced with sources, there seems like sections in the article that have factual evidence and it is not linked to any source. The facts that do provide links to evidence seem reputable sources coming from scholarly articles and government documents. However, there is one instance of a source from a news article that shows some indication of bias and this is not noted in the article.

''Is any information out of date? Is anything missing that could be added?'' The sources are not up to date anymore, with the most recent source from 2014 and many continued changes that have been made and debated since then. I think adding current information would be very useful in order to see the continuing progression and discussion around this issue, as it is still prevalent today.

''Check out the Talk page of the article. What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how this topic?'' Within the Talk page, while there is a lot of discussion about improving links and the chronology of the topic, there is also a lot of disagreement about facts about dates and intentions of the Indian Act. Through these discussions, there are some clear opposing opinions on some important aspects of the topic, which questions some of the information that has been presented. '' How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?'' This article is within WikiProject Canada, is rated high importance and C-class. It has a good amount of information on the topic but needs more relevant or a larger amount of sources and information.

How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? We haven't discussed this topic in class yet.

Conclusions: Overall, for the most part, I think that the article, for the most part, is able to keep a neutral perspective, stays on topic and has some important and reliable sources. After looking at the Talk page, however, I do have some concerns about the neutrality and reliability of some of the information based on the contradicting perspectives on certain information being presented as factual. This article as well needs more sources and evidence to support the facts and information being presented and needs to be updated to include relevant changes that are important to this topic.

Plans for my article: Assignment 4
After looking at the article on the Manitoba Act, I think there needs to be more discussion about what the actual document says looking at what it directly states that the government was trying to do through establishing this legislation. There also needs to be more discussion about what lead to this act, what happened and changed when it was established and the effects and results afterward- looking at the context and broader frame that this act impacted. Also there are not very many links for this article and a lot of what is written in the article is not cited or backed up by any sources.

Assignment 5: Draft Article
“Lead Section:” What has been included so far is a good start, though there needs to be more references for the beginning part of the paragraph. I would like to add more about the purpose and role of the expedition introduce some of the ways it was influential through science, the economy, transportation and different groups of people. It needs to provide a better summary of what it was, who was involved, the timeline it took place and the impact it created as a result of other aspects of society. There should also be a picture added with important dates and brief information that accompanies the lead section along the side.

Outline: After the “lead” section, introduce the members of the groups and how and why they came together for the expedition, and their individual roles within the expedition. In looking at how the group came together it also needs to include the government’s role within the expedition and why the British government was involved and interested in the research and purpose.

Views of the West: I would like to add a section that focuses on some of the views of the west, explaining what these different views were, key influencers of these views and how they impacted the expansionist campaign.

Purpose of the expedition: There needs to be information included about why there was a need for the expedition at the time as well as for some of the other expeditions and research that was being done focuses on the expansion of the west. Also, the purpose of those involved in the expedition as well as the purpose for the British government.

Create a timeline that breaks up some of the main years of the Palliser expedition as well as the years leading up to it and some of the years preceding it that were heavily influenced by the expedition. The previous editor(s) of this article has begun looking at some of the significant years of the expedition; however, there is very little information provided. Timeline: Year before: 1856: work being done leading up to the expedition Focus on the years of the expedition: 1857-1859: Looking further into Palliser’s expedition during these years, his travel routes and work that took place during these years. Add more citations to the current timeline to support these travel routes that have been listed so far. Year or few years after the expedition: 1960s: any other discoveries or work related to the expansion of the west and the expedition

The role of science in the expansion: How science was used in this expedition in the surveying of the land and information that was gathered that was significant in the types of agriculture that could be grown and opportunities for settlement and transportation.

Impact: Looking at some of the main results and impacts that came from this expedition broken up into categories such as the economy, settlers, transportation, indigenous communities and the expansionist campaign.