Reading comp PrepTest 104 · Section 2 · Question 7

Topic: Legal

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph Note
  • Phenomenon introduced (professional canon lawyers guilds, unlike other guilds, rarely disciplined members)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Definitions
    • Professional associations of canon lawyers: legal advocates in Christian ecclesiastical courts (first sentence)
    • Christian ecclesiastical courts: courts that dealt with cases involving marriage, inheritance, etc. (first sentence)
  • Comparison
    • Professional associations of canon lawyers did not play a prominent role in enforcing standards of conduct, unlike other guilds at the time and modern professional associations do (second sentences)
  • Example of a professional association of lawyers hobbling conduct enforcement efforts, according to the author:
    • Florentine guild forbade its members to play any role in the discipline of another member (fifth sentence)
    • Few recorded examples of disciplinary enforcement are initiated by clients and not fellow lawyers (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "might expect" (second sentence); "often did" (second sentence); "seems not to have happened" (second sentence); "little fervor" (third sentence); "erring" (third sentence); "some even" (fourth sentence); "few" (last sentence); "apparently" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph Note
  • Two possible explanations for phenomenon (1. canon lawyers were more ethical, or 2. discipline was less efficient)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of two explanations for why canon guilds, rarely disciplined members
    • They all followed the rules, or they didn't but the enforcement mechanisms were so bad no one was caught/punished (first through last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "[a]t first glance" (first sentence); "seem" (first sentence); "possible" (first sentence); "may have" (second sentence); "possible" (last sentence three)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph Note
  • Author on why explanation 2 is more likely (1: civil courts, with similar rules and members, disciplined more frequently)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • The econd explanation is more plausible than the first (first sentence)
    • Unlikely that church lawyers were more ethical than civil court lawyers (last sentence)
  • List of reasons why the second explanation is more likely, according to the author:
    • First reason: Non-church legal courts show plenty of examples of disciplinary proceedings, and these courts had similar rules and members as the church courts (second through last sentences)
  • Author attitude: "makes it clear" (first sentence); "more plausible" (first sentence); "many more" (second sentence); "could well indicate" (third sentence); "seems inherently weak" (last sentence); "especially" (last sentence)

Paragraph 4

• Paragraph Note
  • Author on why explanation 2 is more likely (2: church records reveal many complaints about ethics violations)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • List of reasons why the second explanation is more likely, according to the author (continued from previous paragraph):
    • Second reason: Church authorities complained about ethical failures and lack of disciplinary measures (first sentence)
  • Examples of complaints, according to the author:
    • Council of Basel declared the canon lawyers were lacking ethics and directed Cardinal Cesarini to address the problem (second sentence)
    • In England, there were many complaints about the lack of a functioning discipline system (last sentence)
  • Author attitude: "deplored the shortcomings" (first sentence); "extraordinarily rich" (last sentence)

Paragraph 5

• Paragraph Note
  • Implications of explanation (caused lawyers to defend themselves rather than discipline members)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Criticism about ethics in the profession caused solidarity among lawyers, which caused them to start a professional association to defend themselves rather than improve ethics (first through last sentence)
  • Author attitude: "paradoxical result" (first sentence); "apparently" (first sentence); "may actually have" (second sentence); "may also have" (last sentence)

Main Point:

Although professional associations of canon lawyers ostensibly were created to uphold professional standards since the mid-fourteenth century, there weren't many disciplinary proceedings against members because these associations may have focused more on defending members from critics than enforcing ethical standards.

Paragraph 1, Sentence 2 (P1, S2) - Phenomenon introduced

P2, S1 - Two possible explanations introduced

P3, S1 - The author chooses the second explanation

P3, S2 - First reason why

P4, S1 - Second reason why

P5, S2 - Conclusion regarding the real purpose of the association

Phenomenon/Explanation: This passage utilizes a Phenomenon/Explanation Major Meta-Structure. In the first paragraph, the author introduces the central phenemonon: although other medieval guilds played a prominent role in enforcing their own professional standards, professional associations of canon lawyers did not seem to do this much at all. The author then gives two possible explanations to the rarity of disciplinary proceedings: either all these canon lawyers followed the rules, or they didn't but the enforcement mechanisms were so bad no one was caught or punished. The author then explains why the latter is the more likely reason, using comparison and example minor Meta-Structures to support their explanation.

The main point is generally the author's explanation in a Phenomenon/Explanation passage. The author more or less summarizes their explanation in the last sentence of the passage. But we decided to flesh out the explanation a bit more. So, we summarized the author's explanation as: "Although professional associations of canon lawyers ostensibly were created to uphold professional standards since the mid-fourteenth century, there weren't many disciplinary proceedings against members because these associations may have focused more on defending members from critics than enforcing ethical standards."

This author hits for the minor Meta-Structure cycle — there are comparisons, examples, cause and effect, and lists galore. Given the sheer number of important details in this passage, we expext a higher-than-usual percentage of Minor Point, Author Agree, and Application questions.