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Reviewer: Averageuntitleduser (talk · contribs) 01:27, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

How lighthearted! I may make some minor edits throughout the review. Feel free to discuss my comments if you disagree with them.

Good Article review progress box Criteria: 1a. prose () 1b. MoS () 2a. ref layout () 2b. cites WP:RS () 2c. no WP:OR () 2d. no WP:CV () 3a. broadness () 3b. focus () 4. neutral () 5. stable () 6a. free or tagged images () 6b. pics relevant () Note: this represents where the article stands relative to the Good Article criteria. Criteria marked are unassessed

• I would comb through the article to be consistent with linking only once or linking at each section (this problem may or may not have been worsened by me)
  • Done.

• from Williams College, Massachusetts — I would be consistent with either including these states or not. I think they're informative but I understand if they might become wordy.
  • Done.

• Upon graduating from Columbia University, Olsen began teaching positions at Temple University, Columbia University, and Nyack College. — I'm trying to think of a way to reword this without repeating "Columbia University", do you have any ideas?
  • Done.

• his longest standing position to date — without a source explicitely saying this, I would remove it or shorten it to "a long-term position as"
  • Done.

• they began the ascension process — I'm not sure what this means, is it a common phrase?
  • Edited.

• USA Today notes Olsen's comment that The Hobbit "can be read on an adult level", examining evil and the question of fate versus free will — for clarity, perhaps: "because of its discussion of evil and the question..."
  • Done.

• Web site — this shouln't bug me, but it kinda does. Perhaps bracket it as: "[website]".
  • Done.

• Many sources in the "Academic career" section are near-bare URLs which could be fleshed out.
  • Added params.

• Many do not support the text, e.g., "it was at Washington College that Olsen was first able to teach a literary class on Tolkien", or "with later episodes focusing on The Silmarillion", and "Olsen published a series of lectures on The Hobbit with chapter reviews and interpretation of its story, poetry, and prose".
  • Fixed.

• Secondary sources should at least be incorporated, as from my count, there are only primary sources. No copyright violations, though. Earwig shows 27%, largely because of attributed quotations.
  • Noted.

• The date of birth and the Phi Beta Kappa award need citations.
  • Added ref for Phi Beta Kappa, removed DoB as unsourced.

• The year of Signum University's founding (which seems to be 2011) should be mentioned in-text.
  • Added and cited.

• I think the "Academic career" section needs an overhaul. It has a lot of good information, some of which could be retained, but it should be centered around secondary sources.
  • It seems to cover the main points as required, but if I find any more scraps in the sources I'll add them in. Primary is sufficient for career (we trust people to know their own CV); secondary sources rarely do more than look up the CV for details.
    • I might've been too harsh. Considering the limited sources available, that seems quite reasonable!

• In June 2009, he launched the Tolkien Professor podcast. — even though streaming services list it as 2009, The Post claims that the first episode was released in spring 2007.
  • It sounds as if the Post has made a mistake here, I don't think we can believe it on its own unsupported, as it could easily just be a typo.
    • Sounds reasonable, I'd keep it as is. It seems like it was a lecture published in 2007 which he used as the podcast's first episode in 2009.

• Refs 12 and 13 failed verification
  • Removed 12, reused 13 for quote.

• These were hosted through Skype, where listeners could call in and ask Olsen questions directly. — cite this to The Post
  • Done.

• The shows were then edited and published as podcasts. — failed verification
  • Removed.

• To accompany with his book Exploring J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Hobbit" — failed verification
  • Removed.

• The "Academic career" section is broad, but as noted, it's missing some secondary sources. The Washington Post piece still has a lot of good information, although I've found some more secondary sources that could be pieced together. The "Reception" section looks good, but it could potentially be expanded as well. Same goes for the "Education" section, which could also be widened to discuss his early life.
  • See the reply above re Academic career and Education. On Reception, I think we have "the main points" but will leaf through the sources to see if there are any worthwhile additions.
    • Yes, the "Reception" section had looked quite solid in terms of broadness. And I'm still a stickler for The Washington Post article, I think it has some good career information.
      • Added several claims.

• Anyways, here are those sources, ordered by usefulness. Some of them only amount to a paragraph of good material, but it adds up. I thought I'd also mention this this detailed profile, from Delaware State News which, in terms of reliability, I'd use with caution, if at all.
  • Not sure the DSN says anything much of note.
    • :thumbsup:

No undue promotion. Quotes and statements are differentiated.

• Noted.

No recent edit wars or content disputes.

• Noted.

No media, so nothing to review in terms of copyright or relevance. However:

• I found a CC BY 3.0 YouTube interview which could be used for an infobox portrait.
  • Added. I certainly never used YouTube for an image before.
    • This is a bit late, but I'm not sure if the image is good to go just yet. From my understanding, even though the video is CC, the image on the thumbnail is not. I figure you need an actual screenshot of him from the interview. The background is a bit unconventional, but I suppose I've seen worse.
      • Yeah, I think you might have to add a new image then delete the old one. Averageuntitleduser (talk) 12:42, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
        • I've pulled the image. Not sure about the video images, quality is rough. Chiswick Chap (talk) 12:43, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]
          • That's reasonable. I haven't found any replacements, so I think we've exhausted our avenues. Averageuntitleduser (talk) 13:08, 3 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Sorry for ... that wall of sources. Anyways, please know that I'm very willing to help with the "Academic career" section and whatnot! I will look at prose afterwards.

Many thanks! I'll see what I can do with the comments and sources today. Chiswick Chap (talk) 09:17, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Great changes so far! I will check up on this later today. And forgive my wacky review formatting, I'm still getting used to this. Averageuntitleduser (talk) 12:59, 1 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Just an update, I did a major edit to bring the article's verifibility and broadness up to criteria. I had thought some additions and rewriting were still in order, but I didn't want to overload you considering the 5 other reviews on your plate. Feel free to make any changes, otherwise I'll start writing my comments about prose! Averageuntitleduser (talk) 23:29, 2 March 2024 (UTC)[reply]