#13 - Concept Reference, Must Be True

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Question Classification. The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[avengingangel]

In B, the correct answer, can someone please clarify exactly who "many medieval guilds" are? Where are they mentioned in the passage (I know "all over", but pointing out on exactly which lines(s) will be helpful, because I'm only aware of the ecclesiastical/church bar/guild and the civil bar/guild, which are both a type of medieval guild. And in which case, is answer choice B saying that's true of both of those types of guilds? Where can we find that in the passage ??

Also, how is C wrong? It seems like Lines 7-11 ("One might...happened") perfectly illustrates answer choice C!

Also also, how is E wrong? It seems it could very much be true, supported by the author stating: "Some even attempted to hobble efforts of enforcement. The Florentine guild of lawyers, for example..." Which means that a Florence guild, and thus has different ethical standards!

Thanks!!!! This passage was a real doozy.

[David Boyle]

In B, the correct answer, can someone please clarify exactly who "many medieval guilds" are? Where are they mentioned in the passage (I know "all over", but pointing out on exactly which lines(s) will be helpful, because I'm only aware of the ecclesiastical/church bar/guild and the civil bar/guild, which are both a type of medieval guild. And in which case, is answer choice B saying that's true of both of those types of guilds? Where can we find that in the passage ??

Also, how is C wrong? It seems like Lines 7-11 ("One might...happened") perfectly illustrates answer choice C!

Also also, how is E wrong? It seems it could very much be true, supported by the author stating: "Some even attempted to hobble efforts of enforcement. The Florentine guild of lawyers, for example..." Which means that a Florence guild, and thus has different ethical standards!

Thanks!!!! This passage was a real doozy.

Hello,

Answer C is not provable, as we don't know "most" guilds were more exacting than canon lawyers.
Answer E, as you say yourself, is more "It seems it could very much be true" rather than a Must Be True.
And, the evidence you use for answer C, around lines 7-11, supports answer B, especially since "many" is more flexible than "most". The guilds could be of whatever type. And re "And in which case, is answer choice B saying that's true of both of those types of guilds? Where can we find that in the passage ??", answer B does not say anything has to be true of church or civil law guilds.

David

[Khodi7531]

i'm confused about this question. I was looking for medieval guild and none of the supported lines bring up medieval guilds....just guilds. It may be true that you can "infer" that but I feel like most RC answers that would be chosen with an inference like that would be wrong.

Through the other 3 passages I got only 2 wrong. On this passage alone I got 5. This one was ridiculous.

[Francis O'Rourke]

Hi Khodi,

This may be an example of an early LSAT expecting a slightly different set of knowledge from the more modern LSAT. In 1996, when this test was given, the LSAC may have expected people to be more familiar with what Medieval referred to.

The author does begin the passage with discussing a specific time period: the mid-14th century. This time period does happen to line up with the late Medieval era, but the author only hints at that association in line 22. In that line, the author described Medieval cannon lawyers, seemingly to refer to what she has been discussing up until this point. This is the best evidence that this out-of-date passage provides to interpret the mid-14th century as a part of the Medieval era.

[Khodi7531]

Got it. So are these passages from the 90s and early 00s not good indicators of how one does on a RC passage?

I've made the commitment to do better on RC and been doing surprisingly well lately. I don't see it being an issue with new ones, but just curious to know the difference - if there are any serious ones.

[Jonathan Evans]

Hi, Khodi,

Good questions. A couple points:

• As Francis notes, the passage at least once (line 23) mentions the behavior of "medieval canon lawyers," who were the members of the guilds in question. Further, on line 53, the passage discusses "medieval church records" in England. It is thus a fair inference that the guilds were "medieval," even without appealing to outside knowledge.
• With that point in mind, be careful to read both holistically and for detail. By holistically, I mean to pay attention to the S, structure, and the MP, main point, in the ViewSTAMP system. These "big-picture" aspects of the passage help to ground you as you answer the more detail-oriented Specific Reference or Concept Reference questions. For this question, it would have been helpful to note that we are discussing medieval events.
• There are differences in older Reading Comprehension passages vs newer RC passages, such that for purposes of self-assessment, you will likely wish to rely on the newer material that appears on your full-length practice tests. However, all the released RC material, even back to '91, can be used for preparation. The structure, requisite skills, and knowledge required have not changed dramatically. The general "cultural literacy" necessary to do an older passage has not shifted appreciably enough to make the older material outmoded.

Most important is that you have been doing well on RC. Keep building on these successes and solidify your strengths. Challenge yourself on harder passages, whether old or new. You have all the skills necessary to tackle any LSAT RC section, whether older or newer. Keep up the good work!