Sample Critiques of Web Sites

Critique by Beth Archer

Web site: www.librarius.com/chaucro.htm

Provenance:

• Librarius is responsible for this web site, and they describe themselves as a “one-stop shop that offers information about Geoffrey Chaucer.”  They also offer the full text of The Canterbury Tales (see Content section).

• Librarius seems to be an offshoot of Amazon.com.

• They do not give the name of a direct webmaster, but do offer an e-mail address for questions or comments. This address is: info@librarius.com

Content:

• Access to their information on Chaucer and the full text of The Tales is free, but only due to the sponsors that are strewn throughout the site

• Besides the text itself, they also offer a timeline of Chaucer’s life that is quite unique. Most of the web sites I searched had a timeline of some sort, but this page had Chaucer’s personal timeline run down one side of the screen, with a timeline of historical events running parallel to it. 

• Their full text allowed you to click on words that would bring up an extensive hypertext, and although this was very useful, it was not terribly uncommon among all of the Chaucer-related web pages.

• The information provided by this web site did not set it above many others
• It is a fairly decent site to visit if one is looking for an overview of Chaucer’s life and time period, and if one is looking for access to The Canterbury Tales with a glossary.  I would not recommend it to someone attempting to write an analysis of any of the tales since it does not provide literary criticism or interpretation.
• The information that was provided, however, was very thorough, and easy to understand.
•   Again, the timeline provided has a very unique setup, and although the advertisements dispersed throughout are somewhat annoying, it is fairly easy to follow.

Ease of Use:  

• The site itself is terribly easy to navigate (again, despite the advertisements).

• The site does not provide many Chaucer-related graphics, besides the pictures on the various bookcovers that they are advertising.

• No special software was needed to access any section of the web site, either.

Site Maintenance:  

• We are not provided with a date in regards to when the site was last updated, but the site does include a 1997 copyright.  

• The information provided by the site, however, is fairly timeless in nature, since it does not include literary criticism.  

•  Almost half of the links attached to their site are out of date or broken!  

• Many of their functioning links lead you straight to the Harvard Chaucer page, which is a very reliable and extensive page, but they also could have researched a larger variety of links.  

Overall Critique:

This web site is very practical if one is just beginning the reading/studying of Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales.  Their text of the tales with its hypertext glossary is very helpful.  The timeline they provide of the life and times of Chaucer is also very helpful and suprisingly thorough.  This site is not very practical for someone who is searching for literary criticism or articles to cite in any sort of research paper.  Overall it is a very decent web site for what it has to offer.

 

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Critique by Beth Archer

Web Site: www.gradesaver.com 

Provenance:

• The group responsible for this site is actually a group of Harvard students.

• The web site frequently points out that it is “not affiliated with Harvard University,” however.

• These students post study guides, essays, research papers, etc. on the site if their fellow editors approve.

• They do provide an e-mail contact for questions, comments, or if you wish to post a study guide of your own.  This address is: Readers@gradesaver.com.

Content:

•   The purpose of the site is to offer study guides, background information, and research that has been compiled on a number of subjects.

• Their information on Chaucer includes a fairly thorough summary of his life and times, a general summary of The Canterbury Tales, a summary and analysis of each individual tale, a character list with a description of each pilgrim, a background behind the tales, and a message board for discussion, debate, or commentary.

• The target audience of this site is college students that wish to be better informed on a topic, but they clearly state that these resources should only be used in conjunction with the actual literary work.

• The web site does not contain many graphics at all, but instead is very clear and concise in setup. (To a linear thinker, like myself, that is much appreciated).

•  It is incredibly helpful that it includes first the background of the tales and Chaucer, then the tales themselves, and then an analysis of each!

Quality:

•  This site was very useful because it offered something that I could not find terribly easily elsewhere – analysis of each of the tales.

• The structure of the site was very easy to navigate: you first go to the literature section of the site, then the author section, and then scroll down to Chaucer.

• The background on Chaucer was very thorough and helpful in understanding the time period that Chaucer created this literary masterpiece.

Site Maintenance:

•  The site did not provide a date on which it was last updated, but the services it provides are also fairly timeless. In other words, we have not discovered more about Chaucer’s life, really, so the fact that the timeline may not have been updated is ok.

•  The site did provide a copyright date of 1999-2000.

• No special software was needed to access any part of this site.

• The site provided 5 links, and 2 of these links were not current.

General Summary:

This site was very helpful for me as a student studying Chaucer. The site was easy to navigate and the information was both thorough and well structured.  The most helpful part for me was to find a short analysis of each tale!  For fellow college students that may just be delving into the Chaucerian world, I highly recommend this page.