Talk:Thomas Babington Macaulay/GA1

GA Review

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Reviewer: Coemgenus (talk · contribs) 13:24, 8 October 2013 (UTC) I'll start this review today. --Coemgenus (talk) 13:24, 8 October 2013 (UTC)

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose, no copyvios, spelling and grammar): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (reference section): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

5. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

6. It is illustrated by images and other media, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free content have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

7. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

It's a good start, but could benefit from some fleshing out of the text. Here's what I have so far:

• Early life section:
  • You list his father's name, but what about his mother's?

 Done

• • The first sentence is convoluted, could probably be broken up.

 Done

• • The second sentence has a [citation needed] tag.

 Done

• • Before he was called to the bar, did he read law somewhere, either at a school or in another lawyer's office?

 Not done You just wrote "he studied law". Where? With whom?

• • Did he have any sort of legal career? Usually someone isn't called to the bar and then immediately quits the profession.

 Done

• • • Is there a better cite for this than Encyclopedia Britannica?
  • A brief clause explaining who "Conversation" Sharpe is would be useful. Like "...Richard 'Conversation' Sharpe, a banker and politician..."

 Done

• Political career:
  • Why did Lansdowne give him the parliamentary seat? Did they know each other before? What about Macaulay impressed the marquess?

Macaulay became a celebrity in the dispute with utilitarian and Milton theory  Done

Where is this in the article?

• • You should explain that the Reform Act abolished rotten boroughs, so that's why he represented Leeds instead.

I beg your pardon

What I mean is, you should explain the Reform Act and rotten boroughs, as well as why Macauley moved to represent Leeds.

If the Reform Act is important to Macauley's career, you should explain a bit about it. It's essential in understanding his political life.

• • Was Macaulay one of the main movers of the Reform Act, or did he just vote for it?

The former  Done

• India
  • "he was appointed as the first Law Member of the Governor-General's Council": What were his duties in that office? Why was he selected?

A law member is associated with law.The reason of his selection is mentioned above  Not done

No, it's not, not that I can tell.

• • Should "anglicised" be capitalized?

Why?

• • "In the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny of 1857, Macaulay's criminal law proposal was enacted". It would help to explain what the Mutiny was (just a sentence or two) and what Macaulay's proposal entailed.

That is a long story.It is known as First War of Indian independence.It was the first mass protest by Indians against the British. Not done

If it's important, a few sentences should help the reader understand it.

• • The idea that many of the reforms are still in place today should have a citation.

• That's all for now, I'll continue through the article tomorrow. --Coemgenus (talk) 00:29, 9 October 2013 (UTC)

• Government minister
  • Some more detail about his election as MP for Edinburgh could be useful.

 Done-That would lead to unecessary detailing

• • "Macaulay's position, slightly modified, became the basis of copyright law..." What is that position? It's not clear.

 Done.Mentioned earlier only

• • The whole second paragraph lacks citation, other than the cite to the Gazette concerning his peerage.

 Done

• • "In 1852, the voters of Edinburgh offered to re-elect him to Parliament." Which voters? The members of one of the parties?

• @Royroydeb: are you still interested in finishing this review? If not, we should withdraw it and re-list when you have more time. --Coemgenus (talk) 12:01, 18 October 2013 (UTC)

• Literary works
  • This whole section is uncited. A citation to the sentence about the poems being "very popular" would be especially useful.

 Done

• • You say they're popular, but is there any analysis of his poetry, either from contemporaries or from biographers?

 DoneRRD13 (talk) 05:31, 23 October 2013 (UTC)

• Historian and Political writing
  • Some analysis of how his History was received would be useful. It was a very influencial book and shaped perceptions of the Glorious Revolution for many years to come. I see you've done some of this in the "Political writing" section. Maybe it would be best to combine them, since his view of history overlapped considerably with his politics.
  • This section largely lacks citation.

• Later life
  • This section is mostly fine but, again, is sparsely cited.

 Done

• • The line about his memory seems random and misplaced. Is there somewhere earlier in the article you can move it to work it more naturally into the narrative?

Where?RRD13 (talk) 10:17, 25 October 2013 (UTC)

Where is the line? The last sentence in "Later life". Where should you move it? I don't know.

• Legacy as a historian
  • I think it's conventional to put the period inside the quotation marks, but if this is different in British English, nevermind.

What is period?

It's sometimes called a "full stop," I think. The dot at the end of a sentence.

 DoneYes you are right.

• • The long Acton quotation would be better as block quote. There's a Template:blockquote for it.

 DoneAlready done

• • In general, the quotes are good, but are a bit too long. Some selective editing might make it more interesting.

 DoneIt is shortened.If more editing is done, useful points will be missing.

Comment by TonyTheTiger

• I am noticing that this review seems to be passing along without any check for the WP:ICs. There about least four paragraphs without any. Since a well-structured article introduces a new topic with each paragraph, we need at least one IC per paragraph in a well-structured article. I think some ICs should be added to this article or it should be restructured.--TonyTheTiger (T / C / WP:FOUR / WP:CHICAGO / WP:WAWARD) 15:36, 1 November 2013 (UTC)

• There are too many problems, and this review has been open too long already. I'm going to fail it, but I think you should look at what's here and continue to improve it before resubmitting. It has the makings of a good article, just needs some more work. --Coemgenus (talk) 20:46, 2 November 2013 (UTC)