Reading comp PrepTest 132 · Section 3 · Question 22

Passage

Questions 21-28  .        Computers have long been utilized in the sphere  . of law in the form of word Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage Summary

Topic: Legal Studies


Paragraph 1

  • Paragraph note
    • An exciting prediction that hasn’t come to pass, and why
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Prediction - Computer programs that can practice law
    • Programs have fallen short
    • Why - Difficulty in resolving problems of meaning/applicability

Paragraph 2

  • Paragraph note
    • One failed approach is discussed
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Approach - Model law as set of rules to be applied
    • Why it failed - Requires interpretations of (sometimes intentionally) undefined laws/terms (far beyond capabilities)
    • Examples

Paragraph 3

  • Paragraph note
    • Another failed approach is discussed
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Approach - Case-based reasoning (compare to precedent)
    • Why it failed - Criteria for similarity set by developer; to work those similarities have to be found by computer system (apparently intractable)

Main Point: Unsurprisingly, attempts to make computer programs that can practice law have failed because of rules that have multiple interpretations and the difficulties in identifying similar precedent.

Key Lines?

Lines 4-6 - An exciting prediction of a product

Lines 8-10 - The products have fallen short

Lines 13-16 - Key reasons they have unsurprisingly failed

Lines 18-23 - One approach to developing the product

Lines 23-25 - Why it failed

Lines 41-44 - Another approach to developing the product

Lines 54-57 - Why it failed

Meta-Structure?

Examples - Paragraph 2 goes into several examples to back up its general contention that these legal programs fail because of interpretation issues. It’s a small part of the passage meant to back up a contention that is only part of the main point, so these Examples don’t define the passage, but it’s likely we’ll get a question or two about them.

Last Thoughts?

A key element as we work through the questions is going to be figuring out which paragraph holds the information key to answering it. While Paragraphs 2 and 3 focus on different approaches to developing the lawyer-replacement programs, there are some similarities between them. They both deal with issues of interpretation - either key legal concepts/language, or cases with similar details. As such, we should really think about which of the two approaches a given question is likely to be asking about before we spend time looking back to the passage!

Question prompt

The logical relationship of Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

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

Question Type

Legal

Strategy Overview

Review the statements in question, then relate them to each other

Answer Anticipation

Before we even dig into specifics here, we should note that Lines 8-13 are in Paragraph 1; Lines 23-25 are in Paragraph 2; and Lines 49-53 are in Paragraph 3. We said that Paragraph 1 introduced the Author’s general opinion that a set of programs has failed to live up to expectations, and Paragraphs 2 and 3 highlighted specific failed approaches, so the correct answer will probably reflect this structure.Taking a look at Lines 8-13, that’s where the Author first stated that the legal reasoning systems have failed to provide expert advice about substantive law. Lines 23-25 bring up why systems that focus on applying doctrinal law - one approach - failed. Lines 49-53 bring up why systems that focus on finding precedent - another approach - failed.So, to relate Lines 8-13 with Lines 23-25 and 49-53, we can say that the initial lines present the Author’s overall opinion, and the latter two sets describe specific situations that back it up.

Answer choices

  1. A
    a general assertion supported Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem

    (A) This answer perfectly matches the text itself and our overall understanding of the passage. Paragraph 1 discussed how an entire class of computer programs failed to solve a problem. Paragraph 2 discussed why one specific type of those programs failed, and Paragraph 3 discussed why another failed. As such, saying that the initial lines present a general observation (about all such programs) that is supported by specific observations (specific subsets of the programs) in the latter two sets of lines is correct.

  2. B
    a general assertion followed Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited

    (B) Both Paragraph 2 and Paragraph 3 list specific types of legal reasoning systems that failed, supporting the contention at the end of Paragraph 1. As such, this answer is wrong in stating that one of the paragraphs refutes the general assumption.

  3. C
    a general assertion that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited

    (C) This answer gets the “direction” of the argument wrong. If the generalization supported or led to the two individual points in Paragraphs 2 and 3, this answer would be correct. But the generalization is supported by the two specific situations discussed in those later paragraphs. This is the difference between correct answer (A) and this incorrect answer.

  4. D
    a theoretical assumption refuted Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited

    (D) The situations discussed in Paragraphs 2 and 3 support the opinion in Paragraph 1 - they don’t refute it.

  5. E
    a specific observation that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited

    (E) The end of Paragraph 1 speaks generally about a class of programs, and the two situations described through the rest of the passage are compatible, as it’s 100% compatible for two different approaches to both fail.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 71%
  2. B 5%
  3. C 14%
  4. D 4%
  5. E 5%

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

  • A & C 1 reply

    Started by TimB

  • Stuck between A and E 1 reply

    Started by Jersson-Morocho

View all discussions Start a discussion