Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 2 · Question 23

Topic: Legal

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Problem described (how to resolve contract breaches), a solution presented (specific performance), and author's view (many cases in which specific performance is not suitable)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Definition of "specific performance": compelling participants in a contract breach to do what they previously agreed to do (first sentence)
  • Definition of "monetary damages": Requiring the person who broke the contract to pay for the loss (second sentence)
  • Author's view:
    • Although there are some cases in which specific performance can be better, there are *many* cases in which specific performance is not appropriate (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "there are some cases" (last sentence); "can be a better alternative" (last sentence); "many instances in which it is clearly not a suitable remedy" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Author's support (Specific performance can be appropriate if money couldn't compensate the loss)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Example of a situation where money can't compensate for loss, according to the author:
    • The purchase of something unique and/or subjectively important (third and last sentences)
  • Author's attitude: "could not adequately compensate" (second sentence); "no way to assign" (third sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Author's support (In many cases, money can compensate for loss and specific performance can be bad)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Example of a situation where specific performance would be bad, according to the author:
    • When a service is in the contract, especially employment (third through last sentences)
  • Cause-and-effect relationship, according to the author:
    • Forcing someone to perform a service after breaking a contract would cause dissatisfaction and psychological friction (fifth sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "many cases monetary payment can adequately compensate" (first sentence); "commonly need not consider" (first sentence); "In fact" (second sentence); "would actually be deterimental" (second sentence); "should be avoided" (second sentence); "most often" (third sentence); "most compelling reasons" (third sentence); "can, at the very least, heighten dissatisfaction and intensify psychological friction" (fourth sentence); "often do better to avoid imposing such uncomfortable conditions" (fifth sentence); "troublesome aspects" (last sentence); "while still providing relief" (last sentence)

Main Point: While there are cases where specific performance is an appropriate remedy for a breach of contract, there are many cases where it's clearly not appropriate.

Lines 1-4 - The key term is defined

Lines 9-12 - The author's conclusion

Lines 15-18 - The author's support (when specific performance is appropriate)

Lines 34-36 - The author's support (when specific performance is not appropriate)

Problem/Solution: We think this passage is best defined by the Problem/Solution Meta-Structure. As is common in such passages, this passage begins with a problem: how does the legal system remedy contract violations? The author then brings up two solution: specific performance, or demanding that the parties to the contract actually do what they contractually agreed to do, and monetary damages, or paying out the money loss due to the contract breach. The author then spends the rest of the passage discussing the few cases in which specific performance is appropriate and the many cases in which it is inappropriate (and thus monetary damages is the better solution).

In a Problem/Solution passage, the author's opinion of the solution is generally the main point. The author summarizes their opinion in the last sentence of the first paragraph. We can use that sentence (or our version of it above) to answer the nigh-inevitable Main Point question.

Examples: The most prominent minor Meta-Structure in this passage is the two examples listed in the second and third paragraphs. The author provides an example of when specific performance can be appropriate (Lines 18-26) and a lengthy example in which specific performance is harmful (Lines 34-50). We should expect at least one question — a Minor Point or Argument Structure question, specifically — about the latter example.

Paying attention to the author's word choice — especially the words that indicate how strongly the author holds their opinions — is an important skill in Reading Comp. This passage's first paragraph illustrates this point effectively.

Readers who do not pay attention to the author's word choice might conclude that the author doesn't favor either of the two solutions to contract breaches — that the author is equally split between specific performance and monetary damages. However, notice the author's word choice in the conclusion: there are "some" cases where specific performance "can be" appropriate, but "many" cases where "it is clearly not a suitable remedy" (Lines 9-12). The use of "many" (as opposed to "some") and "clearly" strongly suggest the author is generally against specific performance. This preference is reflected in the author's word choice in the third paragraph as well. Paying attention to this word choice helps us better understand the passage's main point and prepares us to answer Major Point and Tone questions.