John Kristian Lalas

Legal Research Atty. Bantug

An Exercise of Critique on Published Legal Writings: Coming up with Better Topic Sentences
Published Writing: Making Democracy Work: Civic Traditions in Modern Italy
by Robert Putnam
Chapter 1, page 7

Institutions have been an enduring concern of political science since ancient times, but
recently theorists have attacked institutional questions with renewed vigor and creativity in the
name of the New Institutionalism. The tools of game theory and rational choice modeling
have been put to use, casting institutions as games in extensive form, in which actors
behavior is structured by the rules of the game. Organization theories have emphasized
institutional roles, routines, symbols, and duties. Historical Institutionalists have traced
continuities in government and politics and emphasized timing and sequences in institutional
development.

TOPIC SENTENCE: Institutions have been an enduring concern of political science since ancient
times, but recently theorists have attacked institutional questions with renewed vigor and
creativity in the name of the New Institutionalism.

PREFERRED TOPIC SENTENCE: Over the years, a lot of studies and inquiries regarding the
evolution, and transformation of institutions, and bureaucracies were made in the attempt to
comprehend and assess the traditional political culture to pave way for the new reform-
oriented movement called, New Institutionalism.

Chapter 2, page 46
Meanwhile, as the regions began to exercise their newfound powers of supervision over local
governments, tussles between regional and local government began to take the place of the
older simplicities of center-periphery conflict. In the intergovernmental triangle among central,
regional and local officials, new alignments and complicated three-cornered strategies began to
evolve. To the consternation of some Italian jurists, the Italian system moved in the direction of
the marble cake model of intergovernmental relations, rather than the neater layer cake
model.


TOPIC SENTENCE: Meanwhile, as the regions began to exercise their newfound powers of
supervision over local governments, tussles between regional and local government began to
take the place of the older simplicities of center-periphery conflict.
PREFERRED TOPIC SENTENCE: As a consequence of the newly vested authority upon the regions
to control and supervise over local government, a lot of conflicts arose between the said parties
arose, because of the vague and indeterminate parameters of the said power to regulate the
political interaction between the regions and local governments.

Chapter 2, page 57
What Italians want is not more limited regional government, but a more effective regional
government. No doubt an important part of the explanation is that most Italians are even more
skeptical about the performance of the central authorities than they are about the regions.
However, another part of the explanation may be that many citizens are still willing to give the
benefit of the doubt to new regional institution. The Italians gradually increasing satisfaction
with the regional government correspond to real differences in performance
TOPIC SENTENCE: What Italians want is not more limited regional government, but a more
effective regional government.
PREFERRED TOPIC SENTENCE: As manifested in the survey, its clear that Italians are leaning
towards the ideal of an effective regional government rather than a more limited regional
government, because of their trust on New Institutionalism as practice, and their new regional
institutions, as authorities.

Chapter 2, page 60
By these demanding evidential standards, the regional reform has significantly affected
grassroots politics in Italy. As a result of this institutional change, Italian political leaders pursue
different career paths, espouse different ideals, address social ills in different terms, struggle
with different rivals, and collaborate with different partners. Italian citizens and community
leaders depend on different agencies for government action. Often they receive improved
service, though certainly not always, and when they dont, they address their complaints to
different officials.



TOPIC SENTENCE: By these demanding evidential standards, the regional reform has
significantly affected grassroots politics in Italy.
PREFERRED TOPIC SENTENCE: Because of these regional reforms, the politics in Italy, specifically
in the grassroots level, has been significantly altered, as to how politicians think and interact,
how local governments function, and the overall political norms and practices.