#7 - Global Reference, Main Point

[Administrator]

Question Line Reference
(See the complete passage discussion here: lsat/viewtopic.php?t=11038)

The correct answer choice is (A)

The justification for the correct answer can be found on:

(Lines 26-27; 59-63)

Within the VIEWSTAMP Analysis above, there is a good prephrase to this question. Note that the three line description above is not likely to show up as an answer choice, which is why for these types of questions, we should eliminate definite loser answer choices, and compare the contenders against one another to find the one which best reflects the overall main point. In this case, the author is clearly focused on making the point in answer choice (A).

[LaCrosse]

#7 and #8 are both Global Reference (GR) Main Point questions. What is the difference between them? Are they both essentially the same question?

In #7, (A) is correct because it accurately describes the author’s opinion on Gray marketing, while (D) is incorrect because it does not mention author’s opinion on Gray marketing.

(A) is very narrow in scope: it makes no mention of channel flow diversion vs. parallel importing (the first two paragraphs) or the differences between the universality, exhaustion, and territoriality theories in trademark law (the 4th paragraph).

But isn’t the main point of the passage to inform the reader about Gray marketing and to provide an opinion about Gray marketing as opposed to just giving an opinion? That opinion only takes up 3 or 4 lines out of more than 60 lines in the passage. Shouldn’t the correct answer somehow reflect the rest of the information we are given? Is the “main point of the passage” synonymous with the “conclusion of the passage” most of the time?

In #8, we are asked for the “function of the passage as a whole”. Doesn’t the “function of the passage” mean the “purpose of the passage”?
(D) is correct despite not mentioning author’s opinion on Gray marketing. It says it’s “controversial” but fails to name what side the author takes on the issue.

How does the correct answer to #7 “get away with” covering the author’s opinion put not the content of the passage while #8’s answer can include the content but omit the author’s opinion and still be right?

Can you help me understand this apparent contradiction? What’s more important in a Main Point question: the passage content or the conclusion/opinion of the author?

[Nikki Siclunov]

LaCrosse,

Main Point and Purpose questions are quite similar in scope: the Main Point asks you to identify what the author said in a nutshell (i.e. the conclusion of the passage, covering as much ground as possible), while Purpose questions ask what the author did, abstractly speaking. The Purpose question is usually broader in scope than the Main Point question.

Your distinction between "content" and "opinion" is troubling, the author's opinion is part of the content of the passage. By "opinion" you probably mean "conclusion," while by "content" you mean the context/premises for that conclusion.

The answer to question #7 is (A), because it captures the conclusion of the passage (3rd paragraph), and it also alludes to the legal control outlined in the 4th paragraph. The definitions laid out in the first two paragraphs are clearly not part of the main point: they help establish context, more than anything else. None of the remaining answer choices come even close to capturing the conclusion of the passage.

The answer to question #8 (Purpose) can be rather abstract and general: it need not capture what the author said; just what he/she did. Did the author describe a controversial marketing practice? Yes - in paragraphs 1 and 2. Did the author evaluate several legal views regarding it? Yes - in paragraph 4. Just because the Purpose answer doesn't explicitly present the Main Point of the passage doesn't matter: that's why they are different questions.

The Purpose answer can obviously be worded in many different ways, just like the Main Point answer can. The goal is to choose the best answer of the bunch: if you're looking for an "ideal" answer, you might end up not finding any of them attractive.

Good luck!

[LaCrosse]

Hi Nikki,

Thank you for the clarification. My blunder was to conflate the Main Point and the Global Purpose questions into the same question subtype.

Regards,

Alex

[FK00144]

how do you know that lines 25-26 are part of the main point when reading the passage?

[Malila Robinson]

Hi FK00144,
Generally when you look for the main point, you want to look for things that have been repeated/focused upon. In this passage I would have noted the repetition of 'gray marketing,' 'harm to manufacturers,' and 'regulation'. The lines you mentioned are related to the 'harm to manufacturers' aspect of the main point.
Hope that helps!
-Malila

[Anshul]

Hello PowerScore Team,

I would love some help on this question. I found myself narrowing it down to A and D, but decided to go with D since it discusses the three law theories, which seems to be rather important as it took up the whole last paragraph. I now see how A slightly encompasses this idea with "should be legally controlled" but I felt as if specific mention of the law theories was needed.

I also would love to hear any overall advice regarding how to tackle the main point questions. Oddly enough for most passages I have been getting the main point questions wrong, but tend to do relatively well on the remaining questions.

[Adam Tyson]

Hey Anshul! For Main Point in Reading Comp you want an answer that is comprehensive enough to capture all the big ideas in the passage. It should also reflect the author's tone and viewpoint. I like to use this prompt when formulating my prephrase: "What the author wants me to believe is ________."

In this passage the author wants me to believe more than just that the regulatory scheme is a bit of a mess. They want me to believe that the confusion among the different legal theories is a problem that ought to be fixed because gray marketing is bad for trademark holders. That's where answer D falls down. That answer doesn't even completely capture what the last paragraph is about, because it leaves out the very strong author viewpoint expressed at the end.

Compare this to a Main Point question in Logical Reasoning, and you'll see that answer D is more like a premise than like the conclusion of the argument. That's another way to look at Main Point questions in RC - think conclusion, not premise!