Reading comp PrepTest 141 · Section 1 · Question 22

Passage

Questions 22-27 Passage A  .       There are two principles that are fundamental to  . a theory of justice regarding property. Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic:

Passage A
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Principles are listed
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Property justice has 2 principles
    • Justice in acquisition - How someone gets property that was previously unowed
    • Justice in transfer - How someone transfers property to new owner
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • A description of a fully just world
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • In a fully just world, if and only if the principles from Paragraph 1 are followed are people entitled to property
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • The principles break down in the real world, requiring a new principle
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • It's not a fully just world - people steal and defraud
    • Principle of rectification - Look at history to determine where things went wrong and fix ownership to follow earlier principles
Passage B
Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • History and purpose of a law
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • 1790 - Indian Nonintercourse Act - land transfers from Native Americans must be approved by federal government
    • Purpose - Prevent fraudulent acquisition of Native lands
    • Hasn't changed; several suits have been filed
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Examining Native claims to lands and proposing a way forward
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, points of intersection, and the author's attitude
    • Natural/ideal approach - Native Americans were here first and had their lands stolen from them, so it should be returned
    • Might need to make compromises
    • Easiest - Returning all land, or at least where feasible
Main Point:
Passage A - Certain principles guide property justice in a just world, and another can be used to address any situations where that ideal is violated.

Passage B - The Indian Nonintercourse Act provides a legal way of addressing land stolen from Native peoples, and Native claims to land would be most easily and naturally addressed by returning the land to them, though compromises may need to be made.

Key Lines:

Passage A:
Lines 1-2 - The structure of much of the passage is laid out
Lines 2-8 - The principles are described
Lines 12-20 - The principles are applied to a fully just world
Lines 28-33 - A new principles is added to address when the world isn't fully just

Passage B:
Lines 36-39 - A law is described
Lines 41-44 - The purpose of the law is presented
Lines 56-60 - A solution to a problem is noted, even if compromises must be reached

Meta-Structure - Relationship Between Passages:
Problem/Solution - While we didn't rely on this when working through the passages, they're arguably about legal solutions to certain problems—the transfer of property, and the taking of Native lands. Passage A presents principles (solutions) to guide transfers of property, and Passage B presents a law and how a given situation might be fixed.

If we take a step back and relate the passages, Passage B is a specific situation to which the principles in Passage A can be applied. Specifically, Passage B talks about land that was improperly taken from Native Americans, and thus the second and principles—the principles of transfer and rectification—would apply. Passage B makes room for compromise, considering the feasibility of such transfers. In speaking in principles, Passage A doesn't leave room for compromise.

Last Thoughts:
Passage A has an interesting and somewhat common structure—it presents an argument in one world ("if the world were wholly just..."), and then also covers the bases for another world ("However, not all . . . "). Thinking about the interplay between these two paragraphs is key to understanding the scope of this passage, and the role of each paragraph within it.

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

Answer choices

  1. A
    Passage A: to propose Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 1-2; Lines 28-33) Passage A arguably does propose a solution to a moral problem—how can justice be properly transferred, and how can illicit transfers be rectified? However, Passage B doesn't offer criticism of a proposed solution—it seems on board with the Indian Nonintercourse Act, and it presents natural/ideal solutions to the problem of the illicit taking of Native lands.
  2. B
    Passage A: to sketch Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Main Point

    Strategy Overview:
    Reiterate the main point of each passage, and then abstract to get the purpose behind it

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    Normally for this version of a Main Point question (a primary purpose-type question), we'd reiterate the main point, and then abstract away from it to get a purpose-style anticipation. However, for this Comparative passage, we should include another consideration—how the passages relate to each other. The correct answer will likely be phrased in a way that in some way captures that relationship.

    Here, Passage A's main point focused on what principles should apply in the transfer of property. It was focused on the big picture—in generally dealing with a theory of justice of property, certain principles should apply.

    Passage B, on the other hand, was about what should be done in the specific case of the taking of Native lands in North America. There, the Author concludes that, where feasible, they should be returned to their rightful owners.

    So, abstracting and relating them to each other:

    Passage A - To argue that a certain set of principles apply in a general area

    Passage B - To argue that a certain approach should be taken in a specific case of the general area from Passage A

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 1-2; Lines 12-20; Lines 28-33; Lines 54-57) Passage A sketches out three principles that apply to a specific branch of moral theory—a theory of justice regarding property (justice being inherently related to morality). Passage B determines what "ideally . . . should" happen to "illicitly" taken Native lands, which is a moral argument about a real case. This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    Thinking about the passages in relation to each other can help in framing anticipations for answers to the more abstract questions in Comparative RC passages. Here, Passage A was more general, while Passage B dealt with a specific case. That was reflected in the correct answer.
  3. C
    Passage A: to spell Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 2-8; Lines 28-33; 57-58) Passage A brings up three principles—the third being the principle of rectification. Passage B highlights a case where something ideally should happen. That means first off "compromises might have to be made," which doesn't suggest that the situation exemplifies the ideal. And second off the proper outcome hasn't actually been applied yet—hardly an exemplary situation!
  4. D
    Passage A: to argue Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 2-8; Lines 28-33) Passage A, in arguing for principles that should apply in a situation, does arguably present a moral ideal. Passage B, on the other hand, doesn't question any assumptions of a moral theory—it applies the moral theory to a specific case.
  5. E
    Passage A: to advocate Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 1-8; Lines 28-33) Passage A does advocate for the use of 3 moral principles that apply to property rights. The example in Passage B, however, doesn't serve as a counterexample to moral principles—it in fact presents its solutions as "natural" and "obvious" (Line 48).

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 5%
  2. B Credited 57%
  3. C 32%
  4. D 3%
  5. E 3%

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

View all discussions Start a discussion