User:Mt1818/Evaluate an Article

Evaluate an article

This is where you will complete your article evaluation. Please use the template below to evaluate your selected article.

• Name of article: "History of Communication"
• I have chosen this article because we recently had a reading in class on the history of technology, so I thought this specific history would pair well with what I just learned.

Lead

Guiding questions

• Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
• Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
• Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
• Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?

Lead evaluation

The article's lead includes an introductory sentence making the claim that communication developed alongside political and economic systems, which is seen through the development of the article. The lead also introduces all of the different developments that it will focus on and describe. Everything included in the lead can be found in the content of the article and the lead itself is very concise.

Content

Guiding questions

• Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
• Is the content up-to-date?
• Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?

Content evaluation

The article's content is very relevant to the topic. It breaks down the history of communication throughout the years and describes its developments. The history goes all the way to the topics of Computers and the internet and has descriptions up until 2015 when Discord was released. There have been more developments since 2015 which I think should be included in order to make the article more up-to-date. I think that all the content included does belong and supports the article but I do think that some of are recent advancements in technology have had an impact on communication and is a significant gap in information.

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

• Is the article neutral?
• Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
• Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?

Tone and balance evaluation

I would say that this article remains neutral. No claims adheres to a particular position and all the developments they stated are widely accepted. I think that the history of writing technology are underrepresented and this may make a claim that this is less important as a way of communication.

Sources and References

Guiding questions

• Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
• Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
• Are the sources current?
• Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation

I think that this article is missing a substantial amount of sourcing. Not every paragraph has at least one source and there are some claims where citations are definite needed. The sources used include a lot of academic books and scholarly articles which serves as good and current sources and the links on these references work.

Organization

Guiding questions

• Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
• Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
• Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?

Organization evaluation

The article is organized very well. They break down the history of communication into developments and it is easy to follow along. The article is clear and concise, even sections such as the History of Telecommunications is broken down into bullets. I did not come across any grammatical or spelling errors.

Images and Media

Guiding questions

• Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
• Are images well-captioned?
• Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
• Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?

Images and media evaluation

This article uses five images. These images all have captions and help to understand the corresponding text. They are cited and laid out in an appealing way. I do think that more images are needed in the sections in the second half of the article to further understanding.

Checking the talk page

Guiding questions

• What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?

Talk page evaluation

There is a very large discussion going on in the Talk page about whether the beginning paragraph had previously assumed evolution in its claims. The sentences in question have since been changed. The article is a level 4 Vital Article that needs improvement and is also classified as a Start Class article. It has been rated as High Importance and is part of WikiProject History. The article corresponds to what we have talked about in class thus far.

Overall impressions

Guiding questions

• What is the article's overall status?
• What are the article's strengths?
• How can the article be improved?
• How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?

Overall evaluation

The article is well-written so far but still missing vital information. The strengths are how well the article is organized but it can be improved by updating more current information and technology and adding more necessary sources and references. I would assess this article as underdeveloped.

Optional activity

• Choose at least 1 question relevant to the article you're evaluating and leave your evaluation on the article's Talk page. Be sure to sign your feedback

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