User:Oliviab219/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: Eleanor & Park
• Briefly describe why you have chosen this article to evaluate.
  • I chose to evaluate this article on the novel Eleanor & Park because it explores many themes related to adolescent sexuality, development and self-image. Its focus on these difficult topics and its use of profanity has made it the center of lots of controversy and I am interested to see how its Wikipedia page covers critical responses to the novel.

Lead

Guiding questions

• Does the Lead include an introductory sentence that concisely and clearly describes the article's topic?
  • The Lead's introductory sentence is very brief. It introduces Eleanor & Park as Rainbow Rowell's first book but lacks any information about the contents of the novel or the controversy surrounding it.
• Does the Lead include a brief description of the article's major sections?
  • The Lead briefly describes the plot of the book. It does not touch on the themes Eleanor & Park explores or the positive and negative critical reception it has received, which are all sections in the body of the article.
• Does the Lead include information that is not present in the article?
  • No.
• Is the Lead concise or is it overly detailed?
  • I think the Lead lacks the detail necessary to properly introduce the article because there are major sections of the article that it fails to touch on.

Content

Guiding questions

• Is the article's content relevant to the topic?
  • Yes, all of the article's content is relevant to Eleanor & Park.
• Is the content up-to-date?
  • Yes, the article's information about the controversy surrounding Eleanor & Park, the awards it has received and its possible film adaptation are up to date.
• Is there content that is missing or content that does not belong?
  • All the content is appropriate, but I think that the reception and honors page could be expanded to include negative critical responses to the book as well as positive ones. Additionally, the theme of race in the book is not explored in the page and neither are criticisms about its approach to race.

Tone and Balance

Guiding questions

• Is the article neutral?
  • The article is mostly neutral but there are hints that the author is a fan of the book.
• Are there any claims that appear heavily biased toward a particular position?
  • The author claims that "the critical reception for the book has been mostly positive" but does not cite this claim.
• Are there viewpoints that are overrepresented, or underrepresented?
  • Positive viewpoints about the book are overrepresented in the Reception and Honors section of the article while very little of the article's body is dedicated to negative criticisms of the book. Additionally, there are many criticisms about the book's exploration of race that are not mentioned in the article.
  • The plot summary of the article is very long and somewhat cumbersome while every other section is much shorter.
• Does the article attempt to persuade the reader in favor of one position or away from another?
  • No, the article does not actively attempt to persuade the reader one way or the other.

Sources and References

Guiding questions

• Are all facts in the article backed up by a reliable secondary source of information?
  • Most of the facts are backed up by reliable secondary sources. Some of the sources could possibly have some bias.
• Are the sources thorough - i.e. Do they reflect the available literature on the topic?
  • Yes, the sources are thorough.
• Are the sources current?
  • Yes, the sources are current.
• Check a few links. Do they work?
  • Yes, the links work.

Organization

Guiding questions

• Is the article well-written - i.e. Is it concise, clear, and easy to read?
  • Each section clear and easy to read. However, the plot section is overly detailed at some points.
• Does the article have any grammatical or spelling errors?
  • No grammatical or spelling errors.
• Is the article well-organized - i.e. broken down into sections that reflect the major points of the topic?
  • Yes, the sections reflect the main aspects of the topic.

Images and Media

Guiding questions

• Does the article include images that enhance understanding of the topic?
  • Yes, the article includes one image of the cover of UK version of Eleanor and Park. It could use a picture of the US version.
• Are images well-captioned?
  • Yes.
• Do all images adhere to Wikipedia's copyright regulations?
  • Yes.
• 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?
  • Very few conversations are happening. One short conversation happened about how to describe a certain plot point.
• How is the article rated? Is it a part of any WikiProjects?
  • It is rated start-class. It is "of interest" to WikiProject Children's literature, WikiProject Novels, and WikiProject Women writers.
• How does the way Wikipedia discusses this topic differ from the way we've talked about it in class?
  • The talk page does not discuss the topic in depth.

Overall impressions

Guiding questions

• What is the article's overall status?
  • This article is a start-class article that was nominated for deletion.
• What are the article's strengths?
  • It touches on a lot of themes of the novel and its positive critical reception.
• How can the article be improved?
  • It needs a lot more detail in certain sections (especially the controversy section) and needs to be more concise in others (the plot summary section). IT also needs a much more accurate and descriptive Lead.
• How would you assess the article's completeness - i.e. Is the article well-developed? Is it underdeveloped or poorly developed?
  • I would say that it is underdeveloped in some places and poorly developed in others.

Overall evaluation

My overall evaluation of the article is that, while it is a good start, it needs a lot more detail backed with reliable sources about the controversy surrounding the novel and the themes Rowell tackles. It also needs a better Lead that more accurately lies out the content of the article and could use some more sections relating to critical receptions of the novel.

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 — ~~~~

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