PrepTest 123

[lcid:3591] Prep Test 123 LSAT — Reading Comp — S4 Reading comp

Passage

 The World Wide Web, a network of electronically produced and interconnected (or "linked") sites, called pages, that are accessible via Remaining source text redacted.
Passage walkthrough
Passage SummaryTopic: Legal Studies

Paragraph 1
  • Paragraph note
    • New technology leads to debate
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • New tech - Internet, linked sites on computers
    • IP owners - Without stronger copyright laws, the internet will have a lot of infringement
    • Users - Reducing access makes internet less valuable

Paragraph 2
  • Paragraph note
    • New question/consideration from new tech; current law
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Central issue - website can link to document on another
    • Traditional IP protection - Owner can sue distributor for unauthorized copies
    • Question - Does linking to a document count as copyright infringement?

Paragraph 3.1 (Lines 28-44)
  • Paragraph note
    • Analogy leads to answer
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Analogy - Like recording an outgoing message on phone/giving out number
    • Author's Answer - No, it doesn't

Paragraph 3.1 (Lines 44-55)
  • Paragraph note
    • "Moreover"; Technique available to protect doc you put online; recommendation
  • Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
    • Example - Password (somewhat limit open access, but not as much as copyright law changes)
    • Author - Copyright law shouldn't be changed, as it would hurt the internet

Main Point:
Putting a link to a document on another website shouldn't be considered copyright infringement because the copyright owner, by posting it, still controls it and has made it available for distribution.

Key Lines:
Lines 6-9 - One side of a debate
Lines 9-13 - The other side
Lines 23-27 - The central question is posed
Lines 28-30 - A requirement to answer the question
Line 31- An extended analogy is introduced
Lines 40-44 - The Author's answer
Lines 44-46 - Another consideration/support, and an example
Lines 52-55 - Author's opinion on related subject

Meta-Structure:
Question/Answer - The passage focuses on a question posed in Paragraph 2—does linking to a document constitute copyright infringement? Through the use of an extended analogy between phone messages/numbers and the internet (Lines 31-37), the Author concludes that no, it isn't (Lines 40-44). When a passage has a central Question/Answer structure, the Author's answer to the question is the main point of the passage, as we highlighted in our main point above.

Analogy - The Author uses an extended analogy in Lines 31-37 to relate posting a link to a document on another website to giving out someone's phone number. This is all in service of answering the question that's central to the passage.

Add-On - This passage includes an "Add-On" at the end—everything after the "Moreover" in Line 44. This segment of the passage adds to the Author's argument but it doesn't build from the central evidence, instead going off in a bit of a different direction. It reflects her opinion, but not necessarily her main point.

Last Thoughts:
We split up Paragraph 3 for two reasons. First, there are two distinct ideas in there, with the first highlighting an analogy that answers the Author's question, and the second with some additional points she makes relevant to the issue but not the central question. Second, that second half is introduced with "Moreover" (Line 44), which is an interesting structural word. It serves the same purpose as "Besides," in that it's introducing a side consideration that, while relevant, isn't directly speaking to the main point, or, at most, is support for that main point. So while that section of the passage could be asked about, it doesn't have to be reflected in the main point.

Question prompt

Which one of the 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

Legal

Strategy Overview

Reiterate the main point as we stated it after reading the passage, then find an answer that most closely matches it

Answer Anticipation

The passage focuses on a question posed in Paragraph 2 — does linking to a document constitute copyright infringement? Through the use of an extended analogy between phone messages/numbers and the internet (Lines 31—37), the Author concludes that no, it isn't (Lines 40—44). When a passage has a central Question/Answer structure, the Author's answer to the question is the main point of the passage:
Putting a link to a document on another website shouldn't be considered copyright infringement because the copyright owner, by posting it, still controls it and has made it available for distribution.
Note that everything after the "Moreover" in Line 44 reflects the Author's opinion, but that structural keyword tells us that it's a side point — it might be related to the Author's argument, but it's not the main point. So we don't need to see the information from that section reflected in the correct answer here.

Answer choices

  1. A
    Since distribution of a Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice A matches the stem
    Correct. (Lines 23—27; Lines 40—44) The Author poses a central question at the end of Paragraph 2 — does posting a link to a document on another website constitute copyright infringement? She then proposes an answer — no, because the person who posted the document still controls it. This answer reflects the question and the Author's answer, so it's the correct answer.
  2. B
    Changes in copyright law Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice B is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 52—55) Two issues here. First, this is the Author's opinion stated in the "Moreover" section, which is an add—on to the argument (based on that structural indicator word). Second, that section doesn't talk about such a free exchange of ideas being necessary in a democracy.
  3. C
    People who are concerned Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice C is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 46—50) This answer shows up in the "Moreover" section, so it at most reflects one aspect of the Author's argument. It also doesn't do so correctly, as she argues that one key way of doing this — using a password — does compromise the openness of the Web somewhat.
  4. D
    Problems concerning intellectual property Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice D is not credited
    Incorrect. This answer is too broad. The passage is about a specific topic — copyright infringement on the internet — and this answer is about new forms of electronic media generally. If the passage had used the internet as an example of a more general point, this answer could be correct — but it doesn't do that.
  5. E
    Maintaining a free exchange Remaining source text redacted.
    Why choice E is not credited
    Incorrect. (Lines 8—9; Lines 52—55) This is a tempting answer because it, to an extent, reflects the final sentence of the passage, which does show the Author's opinion. However, two issues. First, as noted before, this section of the passage is an add—on, introduced by the keyword "Moreover." Second, this answer gets a few details wrong. The Author never says anyone is looking to make "radical alteration[s]" to copyright law, and she never says that anyone's goal is to restrict the Web's growth. Rather, she talks about strengthening copyright law to apply to the Web, and the motive behind it is protecting IP.

What this tests

Discussion

  • why not A 1 reply

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