Zill, Madison Reflective Essay

 Madison Zill 

Reflective Essay 

 

Critiquing Articles: 

      When evaluating various articles on Wikipedia, I learned about the importance of having a neutral tone and viewing each article in an unbiased way. When approaching the article I selected for the assignment, I kept in mind the neutrality principle of Wikipedia. This exercise taught me that when adding something to a Wikipedia article, I need to think about it in terms of informing the readers rather than convincing them. I decided to add information that I felt was important to get to know the full picture of the subject. I did not add information that was opinionated or evaluative. 

Summarizing Your Contributions: 

     Considering my contribution to Wikipedia is a fresh article on an artist that did not have a page, my edits were valuable because I gave an artist recognition that she would not have had. My article outlines Felicia “Fe” Montes’ life, education, notable works, and publications. In the beginning stages of the article, the article mainly focused on the publications of Montes and an overview of the type of work she does. However, as a researcher, I felt that including more information about specific pieces added to the reader’s understanding of who Montes is as an artist. 

Peer Review: 

      My class did do a peer review and I gave and received feedback. I found the peer review process helpful and informative. The feedback that I gave to my classmates centered around missing information and lack of source diversity. The biggest challenge of this assignment is finding the sources and some of my classmates were having trouble overcoming that challenge. Furthermore, I felt like my classmates’ articles were missing a lot of information about specific pieces of art made by the artist they were researching. The feedback that I received from my classmates had to do with how my article was written in that one classmate wanted me to have smoother transitions and found some grammar mistakes. 

Feedback:

     As stated above, I did receive feedback from my classmates. I think I handled the feedback in a way that was appreciative. I went into the peer review exercise with an open mind and a want to make my article the best it can be. I applied most of the feedback, but some of it I disagreed with.  

Wikipedia Generally: 

      I learned a lot from contributing to Wikipedia. Most notably, I learned how to write in a neutral way and I learned how to research. To create an article for Wikipedia on a topic that is under researched, I needed to truly research and tap into every resource I had. I have never used the UCLA library before this process and am I thankful that I got to learn how to use it. 

     This assignment was harder than other assignments I have done in the past because of the inaccessibility of source material. Most assignments I have done have covered topics that are already extensively researched. This assignment was the opposite and required extra effort to learn more about my artist. 

     Wikipedia can be used to improve public understanding of my artist, Felicia “Fe” Montes, and address a major equity gap by making information more readily accessible. It was difficult to find the information contained in the article in that sources used are from databases and the UCLA library. Having the information available via an internet search will bring more exposure to Montes. It is important to have this information readily available to people so that Montes can get the publicity she deserves. 

    This Wikipedia assignment affected by understanding of how information is constructed and shared. Before this assignment, I thought it was easy to edit and change Wikipedia pages. After this assignment, I know that this is certainly not the case. I think that that Wikipedia requirements are important in that they attempt to ensure that the information presented is accurate. However, I think the requirements are too rigid. For example, topics that are underrepresented and may not have the source requirements will not be able to have a Wikipedia page for exposure. Within today’s information landscape, I believe my role is to continue to add to my article so that Montes is fully represented and heard.