Reading comp PrepTest 144 · Section 1 · Question 9

Passage

 . The following passage was adapted from a law journal  . article published in 1998.  .  .       Industries that use Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • Two groups that agree are introduced; a question is presented
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Biotech business and academics think commercial research should be patentable
    • Question - Are these patents hindering research?
    • Patents facing scrutiny (scientists and policy makers)
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • The threat to research is outlined
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Enforcement - A patent holder stops others from using basic research materials
    • Contracts - A patent holder requires someone to pay a lot to use research materials
    • Example - Patent holder asks for money to get research costs back
    • Academics - Fear corporations will charge too much
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • The Author pivots to a defense of patents
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Concession - Used to be communal, but not all information was shared
    • Wrong assumption of scientists against patents - Patents allow people to prevent others from using stuff
    • Why wrong - Not applied to noncommercial research for 2 reasons
    • 1 - It's expensive to litigate
    • 2 - Judges don't enforce against academic research
    • Other patent pro - Incentive to research to make money
Main Point:
While researchers fear that biotechnology patents will impede scientific research, their arguments rely on mistaken assumptions, and patents might actually provide an incentive to do research.

Key Lines:
Lines 8-10 - A question/problem is presented
Lines 14-17 - The problem is highlighted
Lines 17-19 - Two specific sources of the problem are noted
Lines 40-44 - The Author points out a mistaken assumption of those who fear patents
Line 47 - The Author introduces one reason they're mistaken
Line 51 - The Author introduces a second reason they're mistaken
Line 54 - The Author brings up a positive of patents

Meta-Structure:
Question/Answer - The passage starts with a question over whether biotech patents are hurting research. The answers make up the debate, with some scientists saying they do and others, along with the Author, saying they don't necessarily and might actually spur research. Since this debate dominates the passage and the Author takes a side, the Author's answer to the question is the main point.

Last Thoughts:
There's an interesting symmetry to the structure of the two arguments—both get explicitly broken into two parts. In Paragraph 2, those who fear patents fear exclusion and contracts. In Paragraph 3, the Author argues that they're wrong for two reasons. Knowing what each of these pairs is supporting, what they say, and where to find them in the passage will likely be key to answering the questions efficiently.

Question prompt

According to the passage, 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
    Researchers' prospects for academic Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. Academic advancement, quality, and quantity of research are all unmentioned with respect to this group of university researchers, so this answer is very much out of scope.
  2. B
    Researchers' funding is often Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Must Be True

    Strategy Overview:
    Find where the researchers in favor of patents are introduced and read their view to see why they agree with it

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    This question asks about a specific, non-Author viewpoint—the researchers who are on the side of patents. That lines up more with the Author's viewpoint than the viewpoint of the researchers from Paragraph 2, but the last paragraph was from the Author's viewpoint.

    Luckily, we tagged these researchers as we read through the opening lines of Paragraph 1. Since they represented a viewpoint that agreed with another viewpoint, we knew it'd be important to note that.

    Therefore, we can quickly head to Lines 4-7 and see that their reason for supporting biotech patents is that their research funding depends in part on the patentability of their research. Let's find an answer stating that.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 4-7) The university researchers who are in favor of patents say that this is because their funding depends in part on the patentability of that research. This answer reflects that reasoning, so it's the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Always tag viewpoints. Even if they don't seem central to the passage (though this one was), they're likely to be asked about. As you can see from how directly the correct answer here repeats what was said in the passage, this question is testing whether you can identify the part of the passage with the relevant group.
  3. C
    Researchers see no incompatibility Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 43-44) The compatibility of unfettered research with patents isn't mentioned in this section. The closest the passage gets to saying this is when the Author claims that patents don't imply the right to deny access, but that's not the viewpoint being asked about in this question and the Author doesn't go so far as to say that patents could never ("unfettered") be used to deny access.
  4. D
    Researchers increasingly believe their Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. The exploitation of researcher labor isn't mentioned in the passage.
  5. E
    Most researchers prefer a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 35-37) The Author notes that a shift from a communal to a market model has occurred, but she doesn't mention the preferences of researchers. And that would be through the Author's viewpoint, anyway!

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 5%
  2. B Credited 81%
  3. C 6%
  4. D 5%
  5. E 3%

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