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Wiki Education assignment: Global Interconnections

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This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 16 January 2024 and 2 May 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): History314, Liviahana, Just.an.incredible.fool, Natep8 (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by SGB.His370 (talk) 03:35, 26 February 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Women in Green 20-minute assessment (mini-review)

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Hello! As requested by Balance person on the June 2024 Women in Green editathon event page, here is a quick 20-minute assessment of the article to help with preparation for a Good Article (GA) nomination:

The article looks fundamentally pretty good. There are certainly some prose issues which I might expect to be picked up on, but that isn't too much of a problem for GA status and should be easy enough to deal with in a review. For instance, the article is currently inconsistent about whether "black" should be capitalised or uncapitalised (per MOS:RACECAPS, either is acceptable, but we should be consistent within an article!). Another example: the paragraph beginning "Although the African-American educator..." seems very long to me, and might do better split (perhaps with a new paragraph beginning "When Greener left...")

There are a few more significant issues, though they should all be relatively easy fixes:

  • The lead seems very short to me: the article isn't very long, but you might consider adding a couple more sentences!
  • Two paragraphs do not end in a citation; at GA it is generally expected that all paragraphs in the body do so
  • Most of the claims I spotchecked look okay, but There is conflicting data on how many siblings she had, but most sources cite between seven and ten is not supported by either of the subsequent citations, neither of which mentions her siblings at all.
  • There are a few sources which I would query: is "The Historical Memory Recovery Channel" anything more than a self-published blog? Why is it reliable? Ditto "Chalkboard Champions". There's also a PhD thesis cited (ensure that use follows WP:SCHOLARSHIP), and two different encyclopedia.com entries (encyclopedia.com seems to reproduce entries from other presumably reliable sources, but it's not clear to me what the source of these two entries is?)
  • The quotation at the end of the article would really be better worked into the section on Patterson's legacy than just left at the end like that.
  • Further reading generally comes after references/works cited.

Caeciliusinhorto-public (talk) 09:32, 31 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you very much for your time and trouble. I will certainly attend to all the points you mention before thinking of submitting. Thanks again! Balance person (talk) 11:46, 31 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thinking about the lead, its ordering seems to emphisize the least significant point (the context of her birth) not what she did, or (probably most important for a WP article) what makes her notable. DMacks (talk) 15:02, 10 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

GA Review

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GA toolbox
Reviewing
This review is transcluded from Talk:Mary Jane Patterson/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Nominator: Balance person (talk · contribs) 15:15, 10 June 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Reviewer: Mike Christie (talk · contribs) 18:36, 4 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]


I'll review this. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:36, 4 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Images are appropriately tagged.

Looking at the sources:

  • What makes the following reliable sources? I'm not saying they're not, just that I can't tell.
    • aubreylewis2.com -- I can't find an "About" page, but just judging from the name of the domain I wonder if it's the work of a single person.
    • theclio.com -- looks like this is user editable, which isn't allowed -- e.g. see here.
    • researchersgateway.com
    • blackpast.org -- per this it's crowd-sourced
    • tuesdayforumcharlotte.org
    • chalkboardchampions.org

Since the article might change if any of these have to be removed, I'll pause the review until these questions are resolved. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 19:47, 4 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for the prompts. Today has been manic...hope to get to it tomorrow. Hope that is okay. Balance person (talk) 18:25, 5 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Yes, no worries -- if you take a week to reply I'll ping you just to check in, but that's just to make sure you're still planning to work on it. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:55, 5 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Hello Mike,
Two things are coming clear to me! One is that it is very difficult to find sources for people who have done great things if they are long gone and were marginalised in their time by colour and gender. So I was attempting to get as wide a variety of sources as I could. Secondly, I need to learn more about what is an acceptable source for Wikipedia. Happy to learn this. So with this is in mind, having read the pages on reliable sources and following the prompts you suggested:
aubreylewis is indeed a single person.
theclio.com would do as a reference for the fact that Patterson's house is now on a walking tour. But otherwise I cannot find the original sources for what they state.
researchers gateway is a set of blogs
blackpast.org does have an academic advisory board here: https://www.blackpast.org/about-us/advisory-board/ Does that count?
tuesdayforumcharlotte.org is a group forum and I think the forum members can write pretty much what they like for an article.
chalkboardchampions.org is a blog
So, should I strip out all these citations? I was mostly using them for variety so I would probably need to re cite certain parts using the reliable sources that I do have?
Thanks for your time on this. Balance person (talk) 11:49, 6 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I think blackpast.org is OK, after having had another look; they do have an expert editorial board and they say they verify all submissions for accuracy before posting. Theclio.com says something similar but it's less clear how the vetting works. Given that you're just using it to say it's on a walking tour I think you can keep it, but I don't think it would be good enough for the higher standards needed if you were to take this article to featured level. Blackpast.org might also be questioned at that level. I think the other four sources should probably be removed unless you can find other evidence indicating they are reliable. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 12:44, 6 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Thank you. I have removed the other four sources. I think everything is still referenced and cited. Unless I have missed something! Balance person (talk) 13:41, 6 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

OK, looks good. I'll do spotchecks next; footnote numbers refer to this version.

  • FN 13 cites "While in Washington D.C., Patterson lived with her sisters, Emma and Chanie, and her brother, John at 1532 Fifteenth Street Northwest. In the late 1880s, Patterson's parents came to live with them due to financial difficulties. Patterson was unable to travel to attend an Oberlin alumni event due to financial difficulties and family responsibilities." I don't have access to this source; can you quote the relevant passage for me?
  • FN 17 cites "In 1869 to 1871, Patterson taught in Washington, D. C., at the Preparatory High School for Colored Youth, known today as Dunbar High School. Dunbar was the first public high school for African Americans in the USA." Verified.
  • FN 14 cites "The influential abolitionist Lucy Stanton Day Sessions was a fellow Oberlin alumna alongside Mary Jane Patterson. Stanton graduated twelve years before Patterson but was not enrolled in a program offering the equivalent degree." Verified.
  • FN 11 cites "Henry Patterson, who as a child was friends with future US president Andrew Johnson". Verified.

Just the one quote needed for verification.

Reading through the article:

  • The lead is a bit short for an article of this length; can you expand it a bit?
  • "It was rare in the pre-reconstruction era of the History of African-American education for both young African American men and women to get a good education": I would make this just "It was rare in the pre-reconstruction era for both young African American men and women to get a good education". If you want to keep the link to the article, I would suggest creating a "See also" section at the end.
  • The quote from Terrell near the end of the article needs to have a citation attached to it, rather than just the inline parenthetical attribution it has now.

That's everything I can see. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 18:24, 6 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Hello Mike, Try as I might I cannot recover the source for FN 13 so have removed it. I will keep trying to remember how on earth I got access to it! The lead has been lengthened. The unnecessary link has been removed. The Terrell quote is now properly cited.
This is good exercise! Balance person (talk) 11:11, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Glad you're finding it useful! I tweaked the Terrell citation a bit as I think the reader needs to know who said that, but that's the only change. I'm going to go ahead and pass this; congratulations. Mike Christie (talk - contribs - library) 16:18, 7 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Did you know nomination

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The following is an archived discussion of the DYK nomination of the article below. Please do not modify this page. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as this nomination's talk page, the article's talk page or Wikipedia talk:Did you know), unless there is consensus to re-open the discussion at this page. No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was: promoted by SL93 talk 01:56, 3 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]

(
)
  • ... that Mary Jane Patterson, descendant of previously enslaved mother, was the first African American woman to gain a BA degree, having taken a 'gentleman's course'?
  • Sources: 1. Bishir, Catherine (2018). "Patterson, Henry J. (1805-1886) and John E. (1804-1880)" North Carolina Architects and Builders: A Bibliographical Dictionary and
2. Blakemore, Erin (2017-05-23)' How the Daughter of a Slave Became the First African American to Earn a Bachelor's Degree.' Time
    • ALT1: ... that Mary Jane Patterson was the first Black principal of a famous high school in Washington DC? Source: Stewart, A (2013) First Class: The legacy of Dunbar, America's first Black Public School. Chicago. Ill: Lawrence Hill Books p 32
    • Reviewed:
Improved to Good Article status by Balance person (talk). Number of QPQs required: 0. Nominator has less than 5 past nominations.

Balance person (talk) 11:52, 8 July 2024 (UTC).[reply]

  • Article was promoted to Good Article within the last couple of days, is easily long enough, well written and copiously referenced. In my opinion the original hook, about being the first to get a BA degree, is best - very interesting indeed. The fact is cited immediately after it, in the lead introduction, to a page hosted on the university website. If I was being picky I'd say the info about achieving a BA degree should be included in the main body of the article too, because the lead intro is normally a summary of the main article. But the GA reviewers didn't have an issue with this, so I'm happy to say good to go to the next stage. Sionk (talk) 17:59, 9 July 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I'm afraid I find ALT0a extremely clunky @Balance person:, and this would need to be rewritten. I also don't see how this passed WP:GA given that it fails MOS:PARA (I literally cannot read the first paragraph of Early life and education, and single-sentence paragraphs should be avoided).--Launchballer 12:47, 15 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
The article has been passed for GA status. If others do not feel ALTOa is right, perhaps we could go with ALT1. Or someone, perhaps you, could suggest an alternative wording for the clunky one? I actually don't know if I am supposed to be the only editor who should write the hooks or if others can help too, User:Launchballer Balance person (talk) 13:15, 15 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
ALT0a looks fine to me. I can understand Airshipjungleman's concerns about the factual accuracy, considering it seems to be a claim from the college ("claimed to be" would not go amiss in the first paragraph). The date is a good addition. Unless someone challenges the GA status I would assume the article is legible enough for DYK. Good to go at last. Sionk (talk) 13:53, 15 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
Lauchballer is right in saying the prose quality of the first paragraph has been substantially degraded since the GA review, and is now difficult to parse. ALT0a is also just ... weird: the phrase "descendant of ... mother", the missing definite articles, etc. Would suggest instead ALT0b: ... that Mary Jane Patterson, whose mother was an African American slave, gained a BA degree in 1862 having taken a "gentleman's course"? The issues with the article's prose still need to be resolved before the hook can run. ~~ AirshipJungleman29 (talk) 15:51, 19 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I agree that ALT0b is better. I have substantially edited the first paragraph which had been altered to include new info and think it reads fine now. Open to more comments of course, as ever. Balance person (talk) 08:23, 20 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
All fine with me. Balance person (talk) 07:03, 30 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
This is just becoming frustrating. Let's get this fascinating DYK published in some form before we lose it. Sionk (talk) 09:46, 31 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
ALT0b is a rewording of ALT0a with no new information and should be approvable if you already have. I've taken out some stuff that wasn't really relevant, but it's a bit better now. @AirshipJungleman29:, your thoughts?--Launchballer 10:35, 31 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
I am keen to get this done so will say okay to the things you have taken out although actually I think they were relevant. No matter. Let's go? Balance person (talk) 16:30, 31 August 2024 (UTC)[reply]
@SL93: Would you like to promote this one? It's pretty old. BorgQueen (talk) 19:50, 2 September 2024 (UTC)[reply]
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