User:WhyViola/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: Bilingual Memory
• Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
  • As a bilingual individual and someone interested in memory, I am curious to read this article and know more about the research in this field.

Lead

Guiding questions

• Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
  • Yes, although I think it could be more concise
• Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
  • No. Most sections are not mentioned in the lead.
• Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
  • Yes, there is information about the advantages that bilingual people have in terms of cognitive functioning, but this is not discussed in the article in detail.
• Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
  • The lead is relatively concise but is missing some information.

Content

Guiding questions

• Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
  • Yes, the content is relevant
• Is the content up-to-date?
  • The content is relatively up-to-date, most of the citations are from the 21st century, although there are none from the past 5 years.
• Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
  • Although the article mentions the advantages that bilinguals have in terms of cognitive functioning, this isn't discussed as a separate section.

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

• Is the article neutral?
  • The article seems neutral.
• Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
  • Not really
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
  • Much of the research is current and focuses on the advantages bilinguals have. However, the history portion of the article does not mention previous generations believing that learning two languages was difficult. E.g. in America many parents preferred that their children only learn English and not any languages that were spoken in the home.
• Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
  • No. The article is not biased.
    

Sources and References

Guiding questions

• Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
  • Yes. The sources are peer-reviewed journal articles
• Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
  • Yes, but as I mentioned earlier, there may be some more recent papers that have not been cited.
• Are the sources current?
  • The majority are, some are classic works that are older.
• 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?
  • It is concise in many parts but sometimes it is not easy to read, as there are some grammar errors.
• Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
  • yes, it has some grammatical errors, although I have not found spelling errors.
• Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
  • Many major points, such as the different types of memory, are well-represented. The history is lacking some information, however.

Images and Media

Guiding questions

• Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
  • yes
• Are images well-captioned?
  • yes they are
• Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
  • The images are not copyrighted but they are also not cited (e.g. Baddeley's model is not cited from his paper)
• Are the images laid out in a visually appealing way?
  • yes

Checking the talk page

Guiding questions

• What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
  • there aren't any conversations going on
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  • It is rated C. It is part of wiki Psychology and Neuroscience
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • we have not talked about this topic

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?

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: