RAB #2

Wikipedia is simply a ROUGH draft of an online encyclopedia. Many people use Wikipedia for quick facts and a starting place when writing a paper or delivering a report. In high school, Wikipedia was a big no, no. Why is this? Wikipedia does carry a great load of truth, but it is important to note that anyone can post a page or edit a page. If the page has many linked to reliable sources, then they seem to be a bit more trustworthy. When it came to writing papers, my teachers did not want me to use something that could be flawed because a lack of review. So, why use Wikipedia if there are chances of coming across false information? When reviewing a page there will be many hyperlinks to other outside sources that could possibly be reliable. Like said before, Wikipedia is a great place to start and even find some reliable sources. With midterms coming up, I thought a little bit of dog therapy would make for a good writing prompt. I adore golden retrievers, therefore, here I begin.
The first thing I notice about this Wikipedia page are all of the pictures. Right when I clicked the page, I didn’t read any words. I scrolled through the entire page and looked at all of the pictures. Dog therapy is a real thing. Although looking at a dog through a screen is not the same as getting to cuddle a dog, the warm feeling inside never changes. Within the first 200 words of the article, the author used about 20 links to certain words to refer to other sources. The author does not want the reader to doubt the truth of the page. The first sentence of the entire article states the role of the golden retriever and how they inherited their name.  “The Golden Retriever is a large-sized breed of dog bred as gun dogs to retrieve shot water fowl such as ducks and upland game birds during hunting and shooting parties, and were named 'retriever' because of their ability to retrieve shot game undamaged.” I find this a very strong way to start off the article. Golden Retrievers are a very well-known breed of dog, so a basic sentence would not win the audience’s attention. I believe the audience of this page can range from young kids to adults of all color and gender. The information seems to be very easy to comprehend therefor someone who knows nothing about this breed will not feel lost. The light grey information box on the upper right-hand corner of every page is usually my favorite tool of Wikipedia. This is very helpful for quick facts, especially for people who do not enjoy reading..  It gives basic listed information that you do not have to search the entire article for. The golden retriever information box addresses traits and classification of the breed. All of the stats in this box are linked to reliable outside sources. This gives clear proof that the author knew what they were talking about and knew where to get trustworthy information. The entire page speaks of history, location, and traits of a golden retriever. I would not put it past the author that there are not flaws or outdated information in this article, but I believe there is enough information to help start with some basic facts.
All in all, Wikipedia will always have some awesome information, but it is important for readers to understand the chance of coming across false information. Golden Retrievers are beautiful dogs and it makes me happy just viewing the pictures on this Wikipedia page.