Reading comp PrepTest 147 · Section 3 · Question 9

Passage

Questions 7-13  .       The government of Mali passed a law against  . excavating and exporting the wonderful terra-cotta  . sculptures Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • A situation is described which implies a problem
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Mali/Djenne-jeno sculptures - Mali couldn't enforce law against excavation/export of sculptures, so people did so illegally
    • Author - These collectors "rightly" admired them
    • Problem - A lot of important info is now lost
Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • A relevant doctrine is described
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • UNESCO Doctrine - Cultural artifacts belong to the culture
    • Some countries have gone further - These artifacts are state property
Paragraph 3
  • Paragraph note
    • The doctrine is applied to the situation, and a paradox is noted
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Mali's government should have been in control
    • Irony/paradox - These regulations can result in people keeping things secret to get around them, making problem worse
Paragraph 4
  • Paragraph note
    • A thought experiment is done to "rank" different outcomes and suggest one
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Suppose - UNESCO helped Mali to educate, register artifacts, and tax their export
    • Worst - What did happen (illicit excavation export)
    • Better - Supposed situation, where people are excavating and exporting things under some regulations
    • Best* - Professional archaeologists did the excavation
Main Point:
Simply passing laws or doctrines to protect cultural artifacts can ironically result in people illegally excavating/exporting them while hiding important information about them, so there need to be other possible solutions that allow for "better" outcomes, even if they're not the "best" outcomes.

Key Lines:
Lines 6-12 - The problem is outlined
Lines 18-20 - A doctrine to address the problem is described
Lines 22-25 - Laws building from the doctrine are discussed
Lines 30-34 - A paradox ("painful irony") about implementing the doctrine or laws is highlighted
Lines 51-56 - The Author implies a non-ideal but practical solution addressing the paradox

Meta-Structure:
Problem/Solution - Here, the Author notes a problem—cultural knowledge is lost when cultural artifacts are illicitly looted and exported from their country of origin. One solution—doctrines/laws making this illegal—can ironically result in the information being hidden and thus still lost. And while she does note an ideal solution—professional archaeologists doing the excavations—she recognizes that this isn't practical/realistic.

Rather, she imagines a solution whereby the government steps in to record, register, and tax these cultural items as they're excavated and exported by individuals. While not as good as the archaeologists, she notes it's better than them being looted and that knowledge lost forever.

Last Thoughts:
This is a tricky passage! The last paragraph, in particular, highlights a middle-of-the-road approach phrased in a convoluted manner. Making sure that you understood the comparison between the potential solutions will probably be key to answering questions.

Also, note that ironies and paradoxes can, more or less, be treated as the same thing on the LSAT. So when an RC passage notes an irony, think of it as a paradox—and we know paradoxes are important!

Question prompt

The author asks the Remaining source text redacted.
Why the credited answer is right

Credited answer: C

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

Question Type

Legal

Answer choices

  1. A
    draw attention to the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 49-51) While the passage notes that the taxes would be used to get pieces for a museum, it's not meant to highlight that role of museums. It's meant to show a practical approach to preserving cultural artifacts and knowledge.
  2. B
    praise one of the Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Line 47) When a statement starts with, "SupposeÉ," it's not talking about something that actually happened, so the statement in question isn't meant to praise something that actually occurred.
  3. C
    present one part of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C matches the stem
    Correct. Question Type:
    Argument Structure

    Strategy Overview:
    Review the statement in question in context, and define its role in the paragraph where it appears as well as the passage as a whole

    Answer Anticipation/Relevant Lines:
    Any statement in a passage that isn't background or a part of an opposing point has the same purpose—to support the main point of the passage. While we need to get more specific to answer these questions correctly, we should keep in mind that the statement here is likely to back up the idea that countries such as Mali need a more practical approach to preserving their cultural artifacts and knowledge, rather than a blanket ban or an appeal to the ideal of archaeological experts excavating them.

    The statement in question here shows up in Paragraph 4, and our note there said it was meant to go through a thought experiment ("Suppose that") to "rank" different outcomes/approaches, and to show that while one might not be ideal (Lines 51-54), it's practical and better than what actually happened (Lines 55-56).

    The statement in question brings up one part of the thought experiment that outlined this approach that the Author thinks would be preferable to what happened while still being realistic to implement, not leading to the "painful irony" of the blanket ban/UNESCO doctrine (LInes 30-34).

    Let's find an answer reflecting that the statement in question is a part of a hypothetical solution that would be better than reality but not as good as an unrealizable ideal.

    Answer Explanation:
    (Paragraph 4) Paragraph 4 highlights a several-pronged approach to preserving cultural artifacts and knowledge (educate; record and register; tax) that the Author believes isn't ideal (Line 52 - "less well conducted") but could actually be implemented and is better than what actually happened. As such, the statement in question, talking about one of those prongs, is bringing up a part of a more pragmatic approach. This answer reflects the statement in question and its role in the larger passage, so it's the correct answer.

    Key Takeaway:
    Always keep the broader point of the passage in mind when answering an Argument Structure question! Most answers will put the statement in question in the broader context of the passage as a whole (or at least the paragraph in which it's located).
  4. D
    suggest a means of Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 47-49) The way that this sentence is phrased, the recording/registration is separate from the taxation ("and"). Also, taxing something doesn't provide an incentive to do that thing—quite the opposite!
  5. E
    highlight a flaw in Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Paragraph 3) Paragraph 3 highlighted the "painful irony" of the UNESCO doctrine, not Paragraph 4.

What this tests

Question analytics

Based on historical answer selection rates for this question.

Answer choice distribution

  1. A 4%
  2. B 1%
  3. C Credited 69%
  4. D 9%
  5. E 17%

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