This is an critique assignment, it’s ask for each student to write two 4-5 page summaries/ critiques on articles. Roughly one-half to two-thirds of the paper should focus on summarizing the book chapter or article that has been assigned. Students should highlight the key arguments that the authors are trying to make. The rest of the paper should be an evaluation of those arguments. (More about the rules and requirements for writing this assignment are in the file POL112+critiques)
You should base this assignment on Levitsky and Ziblatt, Chapter 6 (the textbook is in the file)
Professor’s announcement: in terms of content: please note that a critique is not merely an opinion (nor a summary). A critique is an educated assessment of the authors’ arguments, methods and/or case studies/examples/illustrations. A critique is, therefore, an analysis of a book/chapter/article based on extensive research and evidence. With this in mind, you should focus mostly on the evaluation of the content of your assigned reading (identifying and assessing strengths and weaknesses) and you should be able to provide evidence to back your claims – to do this, you can give detailed examples or refer to additional sources. The more evidence you present to explain why an argument is strong or weak or why there is space for improvement, the stronger your critique will be.
Please also remember to always cite properly; this is very important. You absolutely need to cite throughout, even if you’re not referring to sources outside your assigned reading. While you are not expected to carry out extensive research for this assignment, do take into account that doing more research and citing outside readings (academic journals mostly) will enhance your paper as you will be able to provide strong evidence to support your claims.