Reading comp PrepTest 123 · Section 1 · Question 5

Passage

Questions 1-6  .        In a recent court case, a copy–shop owner was  . accused of violating copyright law when, Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Legal


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • Court case - Facts and point at issue
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Case background:
      • Copy-shop owner charged with copyright violation in making course packs for a local university
    • Owner’s view:
      • The process of getting permission is too difficult, and course packs help students/professors
    • Comparison:
      • Copying for education is generally OK, but in this case , the copy-shop owner making copies for profit

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • Copyright law factors; Publisher argument; Ruling
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • List of factors
    • Publishers’ view:
      • Other copy shops won’t pay, lowering the value of the material (one of the factors)
    • Court’s ruling:
      • Sided with the copy-shop owner; educational purposes, plus fee based on copy costs, not material

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • More on the Court’s ruling
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Copy business based on services, not material
    • Professors/students can make copies, so they can pay others to make copies

Main Point: A court recently ruled that a copy-shop that makes copies of copyrighted materials for educational course packs doesn’t violate the copyright in that material since they’re selling services, not the material, and the students/professors who would otherwise copy the material are allowed to do so.

Key Lines?

Lines 1-7 - The basis for the court case

Lines 15-20 - Relevant law and wrinkle in this case

Lines 27-31 - Publisher’s argument

Lines 35-44 - The Court’s ruling

Lines 50-54 - More on the Court’s ruling/reasoning

Meta-Structure?

Reporting a Viewpoint: One common structure that legal studies passages can take is the reporting of a court’s decision. When a single case makes up the entirety of the passage and the author doesn’t weigh in on whether they agree with the court’s decision, we typically find that the Reporting a Viewpoint Meta-Structure applies. And when that’s the case, there are some important pieces of information you should always focus on: the underlying facts/question of law; the arguments from both sides; the court’s ruling; the court’s rationale.

Here, the underlying details are raised in Lines 1-7, suggesting the question, “Can a copy-shop owner legally provide copies of copyrighted educational material to students and professors?” The copy-shop owner’s argument is highlighted in Lines 10-16. The publishers’ arguments show up in Lines 28-31. The rest of the passage goes through the court’s ruling and rationale — this isn’t a violation of copyright law because the shops are selling services, not the copyrighted materials, and the students/professors can legally make copies under the education exception. This ruling and rationale also make up the main point of the passage.

List: Lines 21-27 provide a list of factors relevant in considering a copyright case. This is a limited list that plays into the publishers’ argument and the Court’s ruling, so it’s likely to show up as one or two questions instead of as a central focus of big-picture questions.

Last Thoughts?

This legal passage is actually pretty nice in that it clearly outlines each important element that we should be looking for in such a passage! As such, we should be sure to know where each piece is located so that we can more easily find the relevant information for each question.

Question prompt

Which one of the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: B

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Legal

Strategy Overview

Review the relevant part of the passage and notes, if necessary, to anticipate key features of professors are using copy shops to make course packs, then find an answer that has elements matching up with that situation

Answer Anticipation

This question is asking us to find something parallel to the underlying situation that served as the basis for the court case, but specifically with respect to the professors. So let’s outline that situation, and the role of the professors in it, then find an answer that features an analogous situation. Let’s also be sure to define the role of other individuals in the situation, as that can be helpful in identifying wrong answers.Here, the professors would assign readings to their students that include copyrighted materials. The copy-shop owners would make packets of those materials, copying them and printing them for students, who would then purchase them and read them for the class.So the professors are the ones that are setting this entire situation in motion by assigning the reading of copyrighted materials. Let’s find an answer that matches up with that role while also eliminating answers that focus on someone analogous to the copy-shop owners or the students.

Answer choices

  1. A
    An artisan generates a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited

    (A) Does this answer choice feature someone who chooses to compile and assign copyrighted materials?

    Nope. The artisan here is selling photocopies, so they’re analogous to the copy-shop owners.

  2. B
    A choir director tapes Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem

    (B) Does this answer choice feature someone who chooses to compile and assign copyrighted materials?

    Yes. The choir director here collects copyrighted material, then sends it to be copied by a professional (a la the copy-shop owner) and purchased by the members of her choir (a la the students). The choir director here is analogous to the professors, and this answer even includes elements that match up with the other people in the original situation, so this is the correct answer. We can justifiably select it and move on to the next question.

  3. C
    A grocer makes several Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) Does this answer choice feature someone who chooses to compile and assign copyrighted materials?

    No. The grocer is doing the selling here, so they’re more analogous to the copy-shop owner than the professors. There’s also no copying being done here!

  4. D
    A professional graphic artist Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) Does this answer choice feature someone who chooses to compile and assign copyrighted materials?

    Nope. This answer choice features another individual who is copying and selling items, so it’s another answer that features someone analogous to the copy-shop owner.

  5. E
    A souvenir store in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) Does this answer choice feature someone who chooses to compile and assign copyrighted materials?

    Negative. Yet another answer that has a seller, and thus someone analogous to the copy-shop owner.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 6%
  2. B Credited 78%
  3. C 9%
  4. D 5%
  5. E 2%

Deeper help

Ask follow-ups on any step

Optional AI tutor mode will let you interrogate assumptions, compare answers, and drill weak patterns without leaving the page.

Human-written explanations stay primary; AI is an add-on when you want it.

Discussion

No threads yet—be the first to ask a question or share an approach.

View all discussions Start a discussion