Wikipedia:Peer review/Almon Harris Thompson/archive1

Almon Harris Thompson

This peer review discussion has been closed.
I've listed this article for peer review because the subject is of significant importance to the history of the United States and the article is extremely well referenced. —Ahnoneemoos (talk) 13:40, 10 January 2013 (UTC)

Brianboulton comments: I think the article needs further work and expansion to do full justice to an interesting subject. It is, however, a promising beginning. Detailed comments follow:

General

• The lead needs some expansion, to summarise all the main material in the article. At present it is more a summary of Thompson's achievements than a summary of the article.
• Citations: it is a general rule that every paragraph should end with a citation; this is not the case in several instances. You should either add citations or rearrange the prose so that the citation comes at the end.

Prose

Lead

• To avoid close repetition of "expedition", perhaps "a federally-funded venture"?

Early life and education

• "Later, his family moved to Southborough, Worcester, Massachusetts (1848–1856)..." The parenthetical dates create some ambiguity. It would be better to say: "In 1848 his family moved to Southborough, Worcester, Massachusetts, which was his home until 1856".
• Likewise, the second parenthetical dates would be better as "Bewteen 1857 and 1861 Thompson attended Wheaton College in Illinois..."
• In what circumstances did he meet Powell? Fellow-students, or...what?
• In the general text, refer to the subject as "Thompson", not "Almon H. Thompson"
• "noting his residence" → "giving his residence"
• "He was commissioned as an officer..." You can probably lose "as an officer"
• Was he engaged in any military activity during his five months' enlistment? If not, citing him as a Civil War veteran in the opening sentence, on the basis of five months' non-combatant service, looks dubious.
• "First lieutenant" not "1st Lieutenant". You can wikilink to the rank
• Clarify whether the census indicates that the Thompson and Powell families were living together in the same house, or merely in the same town. Who was Emma Powell?

Expeditions

• The article is somewhat lacking in detail in places. For example, you give no details of the size or make-up of either of the two expeditions discussed. With regard to the second expedition, you mention in the lead that it was federally funded, but there is nothing about this in the main text. Was Powell commissioned by the federal government to carry out the expedition, or did he apply for federal support? Such would be useful background information.
• No need to spell out "John Wesley Powell" after initial mention, nor to repeat the link
• "put together" → "organized"
• "Because Powell was often away from the work site, Thompson was often in charge." This has more or less been said in the previous sentence"
• "In addition to the river survey, Thompson also..." Delete "also"
• "In Chapter X: Report on a Trip to the Mouth of the Dirty Devil River in the Exploration of the Colorado River of the West..." What is this "Chapter X" of? Chapter headings should be given in quotes.
• The very short paragraphs in the latter part of this section could usefully be combined.
• "They were both listed as members of the Illinois State Association for Schoolmasters in 1873–1874." A somewhat inconsequential fact?
• "focusing on" is awkward wording - could be simply "for"
• "The April 25, 1878 Winfield (KS) Courier..." should be rendered "The Winfield (Kansas) Courier of April 25, 1878..." Non-US readers won't know what KS stands for.

After the Powell Expeditions

• Section title should be "After the Powell expeditions"
• "under the new USGS director, John Wesley Powell" again the issues about Powell's full name and overlinking. Suggest rephrase: "under Powell, who had become the USGS director"
• First paragraph has too many very short senetnces. Redraft for a better flow.
• "Later, Thompson was..." Give a date or year, rather than the vague "later"
• Do you "author" a map? I think they are "designed"
• "...measurements that could be used in determining the irrigable land". I'm not sure what "determining the irrigable land" means - can you clarify?

National Geographic Society

• "He was one of several signatories on an invitation to meet on January 13, 1888" Clarify who was being invited to the meeting?
• "...created the plan for the National Geographic Society". I'm not sure that "created the plan" is the best expression here.

Later years

• Very scanty section which I am sure could be beefed up. For example, to whom did Thompson submit his report, and for what organisation were the field offices established?
• To what position does "this post" refer?

Naming of geographic locations

• Again Powell overnamed and overlinked
• "Thompson", not "A. H. Thompson"

Legacy

• Content suggests "tributes" rather than "legacy"

Gallery

The gallery images would be much more effective if reallocated to the text in appropriate places.

I hope these comments are helpful. As I do not watch individual reviews, please contact my talkpage if you have questions arising from this review, or if you want me to look again. Brianboulton (talk) 18:25, 30 January 2013 (UTC)