In this assignment, you are tasked with writing a critical assessment of the arguments offered in William Howell and Terry Moe’s Relic: How Our Constitution Undermines Effective Government and Why We Need a More Powerful Presidency. In the course of your review, please be sure to answer the following questions:

1.) What evidence do Howell and Moe offer to argue that the Constitution is the root cause for our contemporary governing dysfunction? Do you agree or disagree with their argument? Why?

2.) What evidence do Howell and Moe offer to argue that only the expansion of presidential power can fix our current broken system? Do you agree or disagree with their argument? Why?

3.) In your assessment, if the reform plan outlined in the book was implemented would it solve our problems and produce more efficient government? Why or why not?

Practical Instructions:

Your memo should be 5 to 7 pages, 12 point font, 1 inch margins, double-spaced. This should be about 1,500 to 2,100 words. Please include a word count at the beginning of the paper. We will not read past 2,500 words.

The assignment does not require you to conduct any additional research beyond reading and thinking critically about Relic. However, you may feel free to engage material from the course if relevant to making your points. If you do reference course materials, please provide a bibliography identifying all sources used at the conclusion of the essay. The bibliography does not count against the word limit and should not be included in your word count at the beginning of the paper.

Grading Rubric for Government 1111 Critical Book Review Essay

Description of book’s argument about Constitution

Paper score:

10-9 points

Memo clearly and succinctly captures essence of argument.

8-7 points

Memo captures some important parts of argument, but other aspects are either incorrect or unclear.

6-5 points

Memo begins to identify argument. However, many important elements are incorrect or unclear.

< 5 points Memo fails to identify main aspect of argument. Assessment of argument about Constitution Paper score: 10-9 points Memo makes clear argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. Memo’s assessment is nuanced and considers competing perspectives. 8-7 points Memo makes argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, memo’s assessment is fairly simple and fails to consider competing perspectives. 6-5 points Memo begins to make argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, much remains unclear and/or uncompelling. < 5 points Memo fails to make a discernible argument about why the book’s logic is compelling or not. Description of book’s argument about presidential power Paper score: 10-9 points Memo clearly and succinctly captures essence of argument. 8-7 points Memo captures some important parts of argument, but other aspects are either incorrect or unclear. 6-5 points Memo begins to identify argument. However, many important elements are incorrect or unclear. < 5 points Memo fails to identify main aspect of argument. Assessment of argument about presidential power Paper score: 10-9 points Memo makes clear argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. Memo’s assessment is nuanced and considers competing perspectives. 8-7 points Memo makes argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, memo’s assessment is fairly simple and fails to consider competing perspectives. 6-5 points Memo begins to make argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, much remains unclear and/or uncompelling. < 5 points Memo fails to make a discernible argument about why the book’s logic is compelling or not. Assessment of plan for reform and whether it would work Paper score: 10-9 points Memo makes clear argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. Memo’s assessment is nuanced and considers competing perspectives. 8-7 points Memo makes argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, memo’s assessment is fairly simple and fails to consider competing perspectives. 6-5 points Memo begins to make argument about why book’s logic is compelling or not. However, much remains unclear and/or uncompelling. < 5 points Memo fails to make a discernible argument about why the book’s logic is compelling or not. Clarity of writing Paper score: 10-9 points Memo is well-structured. Writing is fluid, easy to follow, and almost error-free. 8-7 points Memo suffers from some structural flaws. Writing is mostly fluid; modest spelling and grammatical errors. 6-5 points Memo needs serious reorganization to present ideas clearly and succinctly. Writing is not fluid and spelling and grammatical errors are common. < 5 points Writing is disconnected and difficult to follow. Writing is not fluid and text is full of spelling and grammatical errors. Total paper score: