Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 19

Passage

Questions 14-21  . The following passage is based on an article published  . in 1987.  .       Medical practitioners are ethically Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Social Science

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A problem is introduced, and a solution is named
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Problem - Running a clinical trial on treatments means that treatment is being withheld from some people, raising ethical issues
    • Solution - Equipoise, where physicians have no opinion as to which of the treatments being tested is better
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • A problem with that solution is noted
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • "Theoretical equipoise" - impossible in practice, as physicians have a preference for one treatment over another, or will develop one as any results start coming back
    • If it's impossible, then clinical trials couldn't be done
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • Develop a new theory of the solution
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • "Clinical equipoise" - Doctors disagree over which treatment is better, with both sides recognizing that the other side has a good faith belief in their treatment
    • Still "rigorous" ethical standards, but not "unreasonably constricting"
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • More discussion of the new theory of the solution
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Good-faith disagreement allows clinicians to have a preference but still ethically withhold that preferred treatment from some patients
Main Point:
Unlike "theoretical equipoise" which is impossible in practice, "clinical equipoise" allows for clinicians to ethically engage in clinical trials despite having a preference for one treatment over another, as long as they recognize a good faith argument from doctors who believe the other treatment is better.

Key Lines:
Lines 4-6 - The problem is stated
Lines 8-14 - The solution is introduced
Lines 16-20 - One "version" of the solution is criticized
Lines 35-38 - An alternative version of the solution is named
Lines 44-47 - The alternative version is defined
Lines 53-56 - The alternative version is further defined

Meta-Structure:
Problem/Solution - The passage notes an ethical issue with a certain type of research. She then brings up a solution, but then shows how it's problematic. However, she doesn't throw the underpinnings of it out—rather, she splits the solution into the problematic one (theoretical equipoise) and the one she argues for (clinical equipoise).

Distinction - The Author distinguishes between two types of equipoise, arguing that one is more appropriate in a specific situation than another.

Last Thoughts:
The fact that the Author explores two types of equipoise is likely going to create some difficulty in the answers—after all, if an answer refers to just equipoise, we won't know which one! Let's be sure to keep that in mind as we analyze them.

Question prompt

As used in line Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: A

The notes below walk through why it fits the stem and how to eliminate the rest.

Question Type

Humanities

Answer choices

  1. A
    who focus on a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Meaning in Context

    Strategy Overview:
    Head back to the line in question, and read it in context, using that, the paragraph it's included in, and the overall point of the passage to define its meaning

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    Line 41 is in Paragraph 3, and that paragraph was meant to talk about clinical equipoise and why it should be developed and adopted.

    Looking at Line 41, it's included in a sentence that's talking about a "current or imminent conflict" in the "expert clinical community" over what treatment is better. The community reflects experts in clinical work, and they're debating what treatment is better—so they must be doctors working on addressing a common disease. Let's find an answer reflecting that.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Lines 41-42) The community in question is of experts who are debating the best treatment for a given illness. That illness is a common problem (and other illnesses would make up a common set of problems), and they're addressing it by running trials to generate a shared body of knowledge while also relying on their medical training, which is another shared body of knowledge. This answer is therefore correct.

    Key Takeaway:
    While you want to keep the context of the paragraph and the passage in mind while figuring out the meaning in context for a given word or phrase, don't lose sight of the sentence in which it's included! That will give you the most context for what it means, and the further you stray from that sentence to define the meaning, the more likely you are to miss the mark.
  2. B
    who live and work Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. There's no discussion of geographical area, nor a reason to believe that the experts have to live close to the location where the trials are being run. There's not even an indication that the trial itself can't be carried out in multiple locations!
  3. C
    who share opinions that Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 38-42) There's no indication that there are other groups out there who have strong opinions on what treatment is best for any given illness. One would hope that the medical experts would be the ones defining that, and that they wouldn't define themselves as having opposing opinions on medicine to other people!
  4. D
    whose association with one Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 41-42) The community is tied to attempts to solve particular problems, not to ethics. So while the passage as a whole is designed to discuss ethics, this particular part of the passage isn't about people who share a certain ethics (even if they do, in that they'd be expected to employ theoretical equipoise).
  5. E
    whose similar research methods Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 41-42) The community is discussed as being interested in determining the best treatment for a specific illness—that's the same discipline.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A Credited 87%
  2. B 1%
  3. C 4%
  4. D 4%
  5. E 2%

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