PrepTest 37, Section 4, Question 3
By Brandon Beaver | Published October 29, 2024
Type: Analogy / Principle
Difficulty:
Explanations
We're asked to determine the principle underlying our author's argument in the third paragraph.
The author's argument can be summed up in their topic sentence: "Requiring unanimity provides a better chance that a trial, and thus a verdict, will be fair."
So, what principle underlies this idea? My prediction is something like, "We need measures—such as the unanimity rule—that improve the likelihood of fair trials."
Let's take a look.
A
Solid. This principle's at the heart of our author's argument.
B
Nope. It's true, our author would agree that fairness is crucial, but what's this business about judges? We literally didn't talk about them (DRDP—Didn't read? Don't pick.)
C
No, this goes way too far. Our author concedes that unjust verdicts already happen, but that the unanimity rule helps limit them, not prevent them entirely over time.
D
Nah. This conflates ideas from the second paragraph with our author's argument in the third. Moreover, it's just not central to their argument in the third paragraph.
E
No, this is a trap. Don't fall for it. Our author might argue that the jury trial system has flaws, but not that it's an inherently flawed system. They're arguing that, despite some flaws leading to unfairness, we need safeguards to reduce that unfairness from happening, and they should be heavy-handed safeguards like the unanimity rule.
Passage
The jury trial is one of the handful of democratic instituti
Question 3
Which one of the following principles can most clearly be sa