User:Seajay32/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: Halophile
• Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate. I chose to evaluate an article for a class of bacteria that are mostly marine-based. I am familiar with all the terms/topics used in this article.

Lead

Guiding questions

• Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic? Yes.
• Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections? Yes.
• Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article? Some, it includes a sentence about coloration that is not discussed elsewhere in the article.
• Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed? It is relatively concise, but some information is inaccurate.

Content

Guiding questions

• Is the article's content relevant to the topic? Yes
• Is the content up-to-date? Mostly. Halophiles can live at salinities more than five times saltier than the ocean
• Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong? No
• Does the article deal with one of Wikipedia's equity gaps? Does it address topics related to historically underrepresented populations or topics? No

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

• Is the article neutral? Yes.
• Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position? Yes, much of "Lifestyle" section seems to be sourced from a single source.
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented? No.
• Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another? No.

Sources and References

Guiding questions

• Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information? No.
• Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic? No.
• Are the sources current? Most sources are more than 5 years old.
• Are the sources written by a diverse spectrum of authors? Do they include historically marginalized individuals where possible? Yes.
• Check a few links. Do they work? Yes.

Organization

Guiding questions

• Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read? The "Lifestyle" section is harder to read than many other wiki articles.
• Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors? No.
• Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic? Yes.

Images and Media

Guiding questions

• Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic? No.
• Are images well-captioned? n/a
• Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations? n/a
• Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way? n/a

Checking the talk page

Guiding questions

• What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic? Not much discussion - none since 2007
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects? It is rated start-class, and it is part of three wikiprojects.
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class? Similar.

Overall impressions

Guiding questions

• What is the article's overall status? Good.
• What are the article's strengths? Good descriptions of and links to examples of of Halophiles
• How can the article be improved? Update the information and correct the "five times" line
• How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed? I'd say it's well-developed, but could use some updating.

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

with four tildes — ~~~~

• Link to feedback: