Messick 1

Jensen Messick

Professor Jeremy Crowe

English 101

17 April 2017

Evaluation of a Source Essay

The source that was chosen was a Characterization Of The Upper Chester River

Watershed In Kent County and Queen Annes County, Maryland. for this assignment is an

excellent one and it contains reliable information that was scientifically researched by a

government organization. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources created this source

and it contains information gathered by this government organization in the hopes of better

understanding the Chester River and the areas that surround it. These areas make up the Chester

River watershed and are vital for understanding the Chester River. The research is also

important for understanding the cultural and economic impacts of the area on the inhabitants in

and around the watershed.

The website itself is based on a study conducted by the Department of Natural Resources

of the State of Maryland. The main point of the study was to assess and help find areas where

the watershed of the Chester River can be improved and what the safety and health of the water

in the area is. The study also takes into account what the differing zones of land are like and

what lands are good for agriculture and what are not. An example of this thoroughness

throughout the paper is the identification of the percentage of land that makes up certain soil

types and the areas that are well drained because they are sandy. They also mapped out the exact

length of all the extant tributaries that make up the said watershed. For instance they calculated

that 56% of the land making up the watershed is prime agricultural land (D.N.R.
 Messick 2

Characterization vi). The diversity of information provided and the scientific nature of the

website itself lends credence to its authenticity and reliability. The data was collected from 1999

to 2001 and while this may seem dated in retrospect it was a fairly wide data collection time and

while it could use some updating it is good for an overview of the different systems of the river.

The paper also points out the economically important areas of the water shed and where

they are located in the watershed. It also shows how large these areas are and their relation to

roads, highways, and protected wetland area. The meticulousness of the data collection also

lends itself to the reliability of the paper and the government sanctioned nature of it shows a

vested interest in these areas and for the paper to be reliable. The fact that the paper itself was

designed to show valuable information to the government so that it could be used in the future

points towards the researchers taking great pains to assure its accuracy.

The information contained inside the source is advanced and would require additional

research into terms expressed within the paper but it is still useful. The language is not so

advanced that it would require a separate paper explaining each term to understand it. For a

scientific research paper, historical paper, economical paper, and other kinds of technical

research papers this would be a good source. The technical way the paper is structured lends

itself to being detailed and this would also help someone who wishes to learn more about the

research process for a river tributary as well as the specifics on the Chester River watershed.

The purpose of the information within the paper is to inform the government about the

differing aspects of the Chester River and its watershed. This research was meant to be used to

create economic projections, pollution projections, and to aid in preservation and to identify

problem areas in the Chester River watershed. The nature of the information and the way it was
 Messick 3

gathered also makes it useful for teaching in an informative essay and it is well structured and

easy to access for differing points about the regions of the watershed.

The conclusion that is come to after coming examining all of these points is that the

source that was evaluated for this paper is extremely reliable. It would be useful for anyone who

wants a deep understanding of the areas of the Chester River and the area encompassed within its

watershed. The nature of the information in the paper makes it useful for a multitude of papers

and learning levels from intermediate to the more advanced. This makes the source multi faceted

and useful for more than just its intended purpose of providing information to the Department of

Natural Resources. Taking all of these factors into consideration as to the reliability of the article

itself it would be fair to say that this is a fantastic article provided by the Department of Natural

Resources of Maryland that can meet a variety of academic needs.

 Messick 4

Works Cited

"Characterization Of The Upper Chester River Watershed In Kent County and Queen

Annes County, Maryland." http://dnr.maryland.gov, Department of Natural

Resources, Mar. 2005, dnr.maryland.gov/waters/Documents/WRAS/

uches_char.pdf.