Reading comp PrepTest 145 · Section 1 · Question 8

Incorrect. (Lines 43-51) The Author notes that a solution that considers cost/benefit and detection ratios into account would lead to "astronomical penalties" that would "throw thousands" out of work, and thus "some other criterion" must be added. This answer reflects an answer to the question that the Author points out a flaw in, so it's incorrect.

Incorrect. (Lines 43-51) This answer is functionally equivalent to answer (A) in that it presents a solution that relies on cost/benefit and detection ratios, so it's wrong for much the same reasons. (This answer is also worse than that one since that answer at least talks about finding a practical and fair/just solution, which the Author advocates for in the last line.)

Incorrect. (Lines 1-5; Lines 47-51) The Author presents a solution to the question of how to punish corporate crimes—her main point isn't about how the Economists are doing an injustice to communities that argue for moral weight to factor into punishment. This answer might reflect Paragraph 2, but it doesn't capture the Author's eventual solution/answer.

Incorrect. (Lines 43-51) This answer reflects up through Paragraph 3, but it fails to account for Paragraph 4, where the Author showed that accounting for detection ratios itself has problems that need to be solved by the consideration of another criterion.

Correct. Question Type:
Main Point

Strategy Overview:
Reiterate the main point as we stated it after reading through the passage

Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
The Author kicks the passage off with a question (Lines 1-4) about how to assess punishment/finds for corporate crimes. When a passage's central concern is answering a question—as this one's is—then the Author's preferred answer to that question will generally serve as the main point.

After introducing the question, the Author presents one answer (from some Economists, Lines 4-8)—make the punishment exceed the financial benefit of the crime. However, she then points out a problem with that solution (Lines 20-25) in that it fails to take into account the detection ratios of the crime. She then shows that one way to address—multiple the fine by the detection ratio—would have an unacceptable outcome in that companies would fold and people would lose their jobs (Lines 43-47).

Finally, she ends with her own way to address the problem/initial question, but it's less than certain—to make these punishments both practical and just, another criterion (e.g., moral weight) needs to be considered (Lines 47-51).

That answer, no matter how wishy-washy, is the main point, so we summed it up as:

Penalties for corporate crimes that reconcile cost and benefit while taking detection ratios into account would be too high, so some other factor (possibly moral weight) needs to be considered to make these penalties both practical and just.

Answer Explanation:
(Lines 1-5; Lines 43-51) The Author presents a question at the beginning of the passage, and she spends the rest of the time analyzing potential answers to it. At the end of the passage, she suggests her answer—since reconciling costs and benefits with detection ratios in mind would result in impractically high punishments, another criterion has to be considered to make these penalties just and practical. This answer reflects that answer, so it's correct.

Key Takeaway:
When a passage is dominated by a common argument structure, you should use what we know about that structure to help determine the main point. Here, there were two—Question/Answer, and Problem/Solution. In the former, the Author's answer is generally the main point. In the latter, the Author's solution is usually the main point.

In this passage, the Author pointed out a problem with the answer to a question, and then suggested a solution to that problem that reflected a unique answer to the question. Since the Author's solution and answer were one in the same, that idea was almost certainly the main point of the argument.