Reading comp PrepTest 142 · Section 3 · Question 10

Passage

Questions 9-16  .        "Stealing thunder" is a courtroom strategy that  . consists in a lawyer's revealing negative information  . Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A legal strategy used by lawyers is described, and the rationale behind it explained
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • "Stealing Thunder" (ST)
    • Strategy - Revealing damaging information about yourself before your opponent can
    • Use (Lawyers) - Only when that damaging info will come out/opponent knows
    • Rationale - Less damaging if you're the one to reveal it
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • Reasons why ST is effective
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • No research, but lawyers believe, and it's backed up
    • Psychological reason - Revealing damaging info increases your credibility
    • Psychological reason - Previewing the opposition's argument gets people primed to be critical of it/resist persuasion
    • "Economic" reason - Scarcer resources are seen as more valuable, and if both sides bring up a piece of info, it's less valuable (unless it's REALLY big)
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Another reason for ST is presented, and then a limitation
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Last reason - Lawyer can frame evidence to downplay it, or present it positively
    • Analogy - Like a politician spinning
    • Jurors - "Eager" to solidify their view
    • Limitation - If it can't be presented positively, it might poison the jurors and cause them to see everything negatively
Main Point:
Despite there being no research, limited trials and psychological explanations back up the effectiveness of stealing thunder, though it may have some limitations.

Key Lines:
Lines 1-4 - A strategy is described Lines 13-20 - The strategy's effectiveness is backed up
Line 20 - A first reason is introduced
Lines 25-26 - A second reason is introduced
Line 33 - A third reason is introduced
Line 41 - A limitation is introduced on the third reason
Line 44 - A fourth reason is introduced
Lines 48-50 - A limitation on the fourth reason is introduced

Meta-Structure:
List of Reasons - This passage heavily relies on working through a list of different reasons that a certain strategy works. When such a list dominates a passage, it's important to know what the list is of, where each element on it starts, and what each element generally says.

Last Thoughts:
The limitations placed on certain reasons presented in the list will definitely feature in some questions, and we should be sure that those limitations are reflected in any big-picture question, such as the Main Point question.

Question prompt

It can be most 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
    warning jurors that a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 3) Stealing thunder involves revealing information about your own client, not a client on the opposing side.
  2. B
    disclosing in opening statements Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True (Principle)

    Strategy Overview:
    Review the description of stealing thunder and then find an example of it

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    Note that the question here doesn't ask about a principle, but we know that we're going to have to apply a definition/description as presented. As such, viewing this as a Principle (Must Be True) question can be useful in defining our approach—we're going to take that definition (similar to a principle) and then apply it to the answers.

    So what does the passage say about stealing thunder? Well, you should hopefully have a solid view of what it is after reading the passage, but if you need to check back, we know that Paragraph 1 defined it. There, it's stated that it's a "courtroom strategy" where a lawyer reveals "negative information about a client" before an "opposing lawyer" can, which requires that the other side know about it. Let's find an answer where a lawyer does just that.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 1-4; Lines 7-9) Stealing thunder involves revealing damaging information about your client before the opposition can, when that information is likely to be revealed. Here, the lawyer is disclosing negative information about her client—that they were found guilty of plagiarism, which would certainly be damaging in a copyright case that is similarly about stealing someone else's idea. And since the client was "guilty" of plagiarism, it's implied that there is the potential for some type of record of it to exist, thus making it likely to be brought up by opposing counsel. Since this answer meets the elements of stealing thunder as described, it's the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Definitions are similar to principles, so you can approach a question about the application of a definition in a similar manner to a Principle question.
  3. C
    responding to the opposition's Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 1-4) Stealing thunder requires that the negative information about a client be presented before it's brought up by the other side. This answer is about responding to negative information the other side already brought up.
  4. D
    pointing out to jurors Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 1-4) This answer has nothing to do with damaging information about one's own client. It's about shortcomings in the reasoning of an opposing argument.
  5. E
    stressing that one's client, Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 41-44) Admitting that your client is guilty would surely count as "evidence of overriding consequence," which is an exception noted by the Author to when stealing thunder is effective. This answer reflects an attempt to mitigate a client's guilt, not to steal thunder from the opposing side.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 3%
  2. B Credited 91%
  3. C 2%
  4. D 1%
  5. E 3%

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