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User:Robinvbelle11/Evaluate an Article

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Evaluate an article

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

  • Name of article: Grey years
  • Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.- This article is recent (2020) and presents opportunities to make my own criticisms of an early project, as well as look for potential additions I could make over the course of the semester. The name of this article captured my curiosity.

Lead

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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

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The opening sentence is clear but references a specific event "Padilla affair" with a dead link. It sets up the full sections but does not clearly summarize it. The author also left in numerous typos. Most of the phrasing and events in the lead are not directly mentioned in the article. The lead is weak and is required reading rather than an introduction and summary.

Content

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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?
  • Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics?

Content evaluation

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The relevance of this article is very apparent, it shows a period of Cuban history that marked severe repression in the artistic population and among vulnerable minority groups. It references something called the "Padilla affair" with a dead link and no further explanation.

Tone and Balance

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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

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The author strongly represents the anti-Castro side and their reasoning, while not really offering much in the way of justification from the Castro regime. It uses selective quotations instead of a full statement from Castro. This does not justify the actions or absolve the campaign of repression but it does make the article weaker. I don't think the primary writer intended bias, but the uneven examples create the impression.

Sources and References

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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?
  • Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible?
  • Check a few links. Do they work?

Sources and references evaluation

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The article cites numerous academic sources relevant in the field, including our own course textbook, Aviva Chomsky. Besides the Padilla complaint, most of the links work. The authors are mostly academics, representing some Cuban voices as well as American academics.

Organization

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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

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The article breaks it into three sections, not counting the lead. One is background, the other is "development" and then the ending. The Development and Ending sections are weak and unclear as to their relationship to each other. There's numerous spelling errors and phrasing errors, especially in the Ending section.

Images and Media

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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

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There is a single image of Castro giving a speech in the time period, but no other images. No visual aid increases the reader's engagement with the article.

Checking the talk page

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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

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Talk page is blank

Overall impressions

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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

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The raw history is good and important but it's clearly a new article that needs heavy proofreading and some reorganization.

Optional activity

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  • 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

with four tildes — ~~~~

  • Link to feedback: