Q1

[gregory.mortenson]

The passage is about a recent court ruling involving a copyshop and the duplication of course-packs.

The first question asks which answer choice most accurately states the main point of the passage.

I chose answer D, but the correct choice was answer A. I thought answer A was too specific and got into the nitty gritty of why the court ruled the way they did. Answer D was more general (recent ruling limits the rights of publishers etc. etc.) and so I chose it.

Copying technologies (answer A) isn't discussed until the last paragraph, whereas the entire passage deals with the rights of publishers (answer D). Can you help me understand why A is the better choice in this case?


Thanks!

[aileenann]

Thanks for the question!

First, I believe that (D) is not correct because, while it uses general language, that language may not necessarily be supported by the passage. I would point to the following phrase as problematic:

"limits the rights to seek suit" - did we read about limiting of rights in the passage?
Also, logically, it is not the right to seek a suit that is limited but rather the court found that a particular act was not an offense - which is not the same as procedurally barring a party from court.

(A) on the other hand more closely corresponds to the logic of the court's ruling, in finding that the act itself is not an offense. This was ultimately the court's holding - it was on the merits of the claim rather than on the procedural question about someone's right to bring suit.

Does that make sense? I may have slipped too much into law school jargon (which of course isn't necessary for doing well on the LSAT) so please feel free to let me know if my explanation needs to go a bit further.

[gregory.mortenson]

Your explanation was very helpful and I see the flaw in the answer I chose. Thanks!

[cyt5015]

Hello, I'm having trouble in categorizing each answers in this question. Could you explain more specifically about what types of incorrect anwers they are, like you usually did to other questions?

Thank you!

[doug.feng]

Hello, I'm having trouble in categorizing each answers in this question. Could you explain more specifically about what types of incorrect anwers they are, like you usually did to other questions?

Thank you!

Incorrect Answers:
(B): While the information can be found in the text, the answer choice is too narrow for a "main point" question.
(C): The information about what is outlined by copyright law is correct, BUT it wasn't the court ruling that determined this. Also, the information is still too narrow to address a "main point" question and requires more synthesis.
(D): Unsupported (as discussed above).
(E): The court ruling wasn't an "exception" to copyright laws, rather the court found that the copyshop owner is protected UNDER the laws.

[tommywallach]

Great work, Doug!

-t

[WaltGrace1983]

Hello, I'm having trouble in categorizing each answers in this question. Could you explain more specifically about what types of incorrect anwers they are, like you usually did to other questions?

Thank you!

Incorrect Answers:
(B): While the information can be found in the text, the answer choice is too narrow for a "main point" question.
(C): The information about what is outlined by copyright law is correct, BUT it wasn't the court ruling that determined this. Also, the information is still too narrow to address a "main point" question and requires more synthesis.
(D): Unsupported (as discussed above).
(E): The court ruling wasn't an "exception" to copyright laws, rather the court found that the copyshop owner is protected UNDER the laws.

I think I would also add that (E) is super general - maybe too general to be a correct answer. This passage deals specifically with only one case. (E), on the other hand, is very vague and doesn't capture what the passage is truly about - this ONE case.