LSAT 136 | Section 1 | Reading Comprehension: Q10

RC Question 10 Explanation

DISCUSSION: To figure out an author’s perspective, it helps to read the start and end of a passage.

The first line says the text is written for an appeal of a criminal conviction. The final line says that the trial court was right. Those sound like the words of an appeals court judge.

It’s also clear throughout the passage that the author is judging the defendant’s argument, and deciding what should happen to him.

See line 21, where the author refers to himself as ‘this court’. Really, this line reference alone is enough to eliminate answers B, C, D and E.

___________

1. CORRECT. See the explanation above.
2. A defense attorney would attack the fingerprint evidence. This passage argues for using the fingerprint evidence.
3. A prosecutor would be more forceful in arguing for the defendant’s conviction. This passage seems to weigh evidence evenhandedly before coming to a conclusion. Also, in line 21 the authors refers to himself as ‘this court’.
4. The author of the passage appears to be coming to a decision as they write. The judgement uses present tense, while a law professor would use past tense.
5. When an academic presents a paper, they usually talk about the paper. This passage is a judgement of a man’s future, not an introduction to a scholarly paper.