Reading comp PrepTest 112 · Section 2 · Question 23

Topic: Legal

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Changes to South Africa's legal system post-apartheid (rights-based, constitutional, can challenge parliament's laws)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparison of old and new systems, according to the author:
    • The new system will be less rule-bound and more interpretative (third sentence)
    • Under the old system, parliament was the supreme maker and arbiter of laws; in the new system, a constitutional court will allow people to challenge whether parliament's laws are constitutional (fourth and fifth sentences)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • The constitutional system will lead to major changes because South Africa has never had a legal system based on individual rights (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "significant" (third sentence), "extraordinary changes" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Problem of interpreting the constitution (in general terms, no precedent) and solution (use other countries' precedent)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Some lawyers' view:
    • The range of diversity and lack of legal precedent in South Africa makes it difficult to set up a rights-based culture (first sentence)
  • Constitutional solution:
    • To address the lack of precedent, the constitution "acknowledges the need to look to other countries for guidance" (third sentence)
  • Scholars' view:
    • Judges may "blindly follow" what other countries have done, without considering context (fourth sentence)
    • But scholars are still hopeful that other countries can help (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "bewildering" (second sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Another problem affecting the constitution (racially oppressed people's distrust of and hostility toward the law) and how to fix problem (show citizens the law is just)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Because the law has been used to do evil in the past, many citizens in South Africa see obeying the law as bowing to an "illegitimate, brutal government" (second sentence)
  • If the transition is going to work, people need to come to see the law as tool for change
    • Author's attitude: "illegitimate, brutal government" (second sentence)

Main Point: South Africa's transition to a constitutional, rights-based legal system presents some challenges, but there is reason to believe such hurdles can be overcome.

Old Approach/New Approach: This passage utilizes an Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure.* In such passages, the author will typically describe an old way of doing something or thinking about something before presenting a new, alternative way of doing or thinking about that same thing. In this case, the author describes the old South African legal system under apartheid and the new system post-apartheid.

The passage first describes the two "approaches" to the South African legal system. After the end of apartheid in South Africa, the country is moving from a system governed by an all-powerful parliament to a rights-based, constitutionally protected system. The author thinks this change will lead to "extraordinary changes" for South Africa. In the following paragraphs, the passage draws attention to several hurdles the new approach faces. The author cites scholars' concern about the country's lack of legal precedent and the inherent danger of following the examples of other countries. There is also a cultural problem: citizens of South Africa have learned to mistrust and skirt the law. Nevertheless, the scholars are "hopeful" (P2, S5), and the author does not supply any reason to think these hurdles are insurmountable.

In an Old Approach/New Approach passage, the main point is generally the author's opinion of the new approach. When discussing the new approach, the author outlines several problems but also cites the scholars' hope that South Africa will eventually establish a body of legal precedent and argues that it's at least possible that the government will show citizens that the legal system is no longer a tool of oppression. So, we'll want our main point to have a somewhat hopeful tone. Something like, "South Africa's transition to a constitutional, rights-based legal system presents some challenges, but there is reason to believe such hurdles can be overcome." 

*This passage is almost a Reporting a Viewpoint passage but the author presents their view in the third paragraph. Still, if you treated this passage like a Reporting a Viewpoint passage, you'd develop a workable understanding of the passage. You could also consider this passage a Problem/Solution, albeit one where the author doesn't propose a definitive solution.

When the author doesn't let much of their opinion sneak into the tone of the text, it can be difficult to pin down how the author feels about the topic at hand. This can be uncomfortable for test-takers who are accustomed to quickly identifying the author's view.

However, we can infer a bit from the author's tone in this passage. Sure, the author does highlight some challenges that face South Africa's legal transition, but does the passage present those challenges as unconquerable? By citing scholars who are "hopeful" (P2, S5) about the ability of the country to overcome these problems and by talking about the "extraordinary" benefits of the changes (P1, S6), the author demonstrates some excitement and optimism. Identifying these aspects of the tone is bound to help us earn some extra points on the questions for this passage.