LSAT 21 | Section 4 | Reading Comprehension: Q15

RC Question 15 Explanation

DISCUSSION: Reread the fourth paragraph. Law and Literature says that judges will “translate” (line 50) old decisions by adapting them to a new context.

So by “re-constituting” a text, a judge is adapting old art to a new situation.

___________

1. Categorizing (classifying) opinions is never mentioned, even if “rephrase” sounds like translating.
2. Re-constituting means putting something in a new form. Summarizing is different. It means putting something in a new, shorter form.
3. CORRECT. This is it. Judges must understand what the old opinions meant, and then create new versions for the modern world.
4. Paraphrase just means: say the same thing in different words. But judges must go further. They have to adapt old wisdom to new circumstances.
5. Negotiate? That has nothing to do with translating a text to a new form.