User:Ntackabery/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: Felony murder and the death penalty in the United States
• It is a topic that I am interested in that has its foundation in case law and the Constitution.

Lead

Guiding questions

• Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
  • The lead does include a sentence describing the article's topic, but it does miss introductory details. The lead almost immediately delves into the discussion of the topic, instead of giving a good overview.
• Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
  • The lead discusses some of the article's major sections, but dismisses some and also includes extraneous details.
• Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
  • No, but some of what is in the lead is glazed over and does not seem to be the important details being discussed.
• Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
  • The lead is overly detailed. It gets into the details too quickly and doesn't discuss the broader topic as much.

Content

Guiding questions

• Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
  • Yes
• Is the content up-to-date?
  • Yes
• Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
  • Missing content; There is also a large section discussing the concurring opinion of Justice Brennan in one particular case which is important but does seem to be a large portion of the article.

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

• Is the article neutral?
  • yes
• Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
  • No
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
  • There is a large portion on the concurring opinion of Justice Brennan, but not as much information about the actual case.
• 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 there are large portions of the article that are not cited.
• Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
  • The only references that are cited are cases that relate to the topic.
• Are the sources current?
  • Yes, but there aren't many sources.
• 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 clear and concise.
• 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?
  • The article is not well organized. The sections don't fit together well.

Images and Media

Guiding questions

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

Checking the talk page

Guiding questions

• What kinds of conversations, if any, are going on behind the scenes about how to represent this topic?
  • No conversations since 2006. Discussions were regarding adding a separate page for a few of the cases mentioned in the article, which has since been done.
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  • The article is rated as a Start Class. It is part of the WikiProject on Crime.
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • I haven't discussed the topic of the article in class.

Overall impressions

Guiding questions

• What is the article's overall status?
  • The article is rated of low-importance and seems to be a work in progress.
• What are the article's strengths?
  • The article seems to be unbiased and uses clear language.
• How can the article be improved?
  • The article can be improved with better organization of headings and paragraphs. It could also be improved by writing a new lead.
• How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
  • The article is underdeveloped because it is missing information.

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: