Although the rights of native peoples of Canada have yet to be

Question

Although the rights of native peoples of Canada
have yet to be comprehensively defined in Canadian
law, most native Canadians assert that their rights
include the right not only to govern themselves and
  (5)   their land, but also to exercise ownership rights over
movable cultural property—artifacts ranging from
domestic implements to ceremonial costumes.
Assignment of such rights to native communities has
been difficult to achieve, but while traditional
  (10)   Canadian statute and common law has placed
ownership of movable property with current
custodians such as museums, recent litigation by
native Canadians has called such ownership into
question.

(15)   Canadian courts usually base decisions about
ownership on a concept of private property, under
which all forms of property are capable of being
owned by individuals or by groups functioning
legally as individuals. This system is based on a
  (20)   philosophy that encourages the right of owners to use
their property as they see fit without outside
interference. But litigation by native Canadians
challenges courts to recognize a concept of property
ownership that clashes with the private property
  (25)   concept. Although some tribes now recognize the
notion of private property in their legal systems, they
have traditionally employed a concept of collective
ownership—and in all cases in which native
Canadians have made legal claim to movable
  (30)   property they have done so by invoking this latter
concept, which is based on the philosophy that each
member should have an equal say regarding the use
of the community’s resources. Under this collective
ideology, access to and use of resources is determined
  (35)   by the collective interests of the community.
Furthermore, collective ownership casts an individual
in the role of guardian or caretaker of property rather
than as a titleholder; while every tribe member is an
owner of the property, individual members cannot sell
  (40)   this right, nor does it pass to their heirs when they
die. Nevertheless, their children will enjoy the same
rights, not as heirs but as communal owners.

Because the concept of collective property assigns
ownership to individuals simply because they are
  (45)   members of the community, native Canadians rarely
possess the legal documents that the concept of
private property requires to demonstrate ownership.
Museums, which are likely to possess bills of sale or
proof of prior possession to substantiate their claims
  (50)   of ownership, are thus likely to be recognized as
legally entitled to the property they hold, even when
such property originated with native Canadian
communities. But as their awareness of the
inappropriateness of applying the private property
  (55)   concept to all cultural groups grows, Canadian courts
will gradually recognize that native Canadians, while
they cannot demonstrate ownership as prescribed by
the notion of private property, can clearly claim
ownership as prescribed by the notion of collective
  (60)   property, and that their claims to movable cultural
property should be honored.    1 
 1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property illustrates how the concept of private ownership has become increasingly obsolete and demonstrates that this concept should be replaced by the more modern concept of collective ownership.
(B) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is likely to succeed more frequently as courts begin to acknowledge that the concept of collective ownership is more appropriate than the concept of private ownership in such cases.
(C) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is in reality a debate over whether individuals should act as titleholders or merely as caretakers with respect to their property.
(D) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property cannot be resolved until the rights of native Canadians have been comprehensively defined in Canadian law.
(E) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property illustrates the need to expand the concept of private property to include cases of joint ownership by a collection of individuals.

2 
 2. According to the concept of private property as presented in the passage, which one of the following most completely describes the meaning of the term “property owner”?

(A) one who possesses a bill of sale to substantiate his or her claims to property ownership
(B) one who possesses proof of prior possession to substantiate his or her claims to property ownership
(C) one who is allowed to make use of his or her property in whatever manner he or she wishes
(D) one who is allowed to transfer ownership rights to his or her children as heirs
(E) one who is allowed to exercise property rights because of his or her membership in a community

3 
 3. The author’s attitude toward the possibility of courts increasingly assigning ownership rights to native communities is best described as which one of the following?

(A) certain that it will never be realized and concerned that it should
(B) concerned that it will never be realized but hopeful that it will
(C) uncertain whether it will be realized but hopeful that it will
(D) uncertain whether it will be realized but confident that it should
(E) convinced that it will be realized and pleased that it will

4 
 4. The primary function of the first paragraph of the passage is to

(A) identify some of the specific types of property at issue in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums
(B) describe the role of the concept of property ownership in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums
(C) summarize the difficulties that have been experienced in attempting to develop a comprehensive definition of the rights of native Canadians under the law
(D) provide the context within which litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is occurring
(E) discuss the difficulty of deciding legal cases that rest on a clash between two cultures’ differing definitions of a legal concept

5 
 5. Given the information in the passage, Canadian courts hearing a dispute over movable cultural property between a museum and a group of native Canadians will be increasingly unlikely to treat which one of the following as a compelling reason for deciding the case in the museum’s favor?

(A) The museum is able to produce evidence that the property did not originate in the native community.
(B) The museum cannot produce written documentation of its claims to ownership of the property.
(C) The group of native Canadians produces evidence that the property originated in their community.
(D) The group of native Canadians cannot produce written documentation of their claims to ownership of the property.
(E) The group of native Canadians do not belong to a tribe that employs a legal system that has adopted the concept of private property.

6 
 6. The passage suggests that the concepts of collective and private ownership differ in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

(A) The collective concept allows groups of individuals to own property; the private concept does not.
(B) The collective concept requires consideration of community interests; the private concept does not.
(C) The collective concept assigns ownership on the basis of membership in a community; the private concept does not.
(D) The private concept allows owners to function as titleholders to their property; the collective concept does not.
(E) The private concept permits individuals to sell property; the collective concept does not.

7 
 7. The passage most supports which one of the following statements about the tribal legal systems mentioned in the second paragraph of the passage?

(A) All tribes whose legal system employs the concept of collective property have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property.
(B) Only tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property.
(C) All tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property.
(D) All tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property.
(E) Only those tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property.

LSAT Official PrepTest 48

TryingToAceVerbal · Accepted Answer

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property illustrates how  the concept of private ownership has become increasingly obsolete and demonstrates that this concept should be replaced by the more modern concept of collective ownership .
- To strict. The concept of private ownership is not appropriate for tribes. But nowhere is stated that the concept of private ownership is obsolete or that it should be replaced.

(B) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is likely to succeed more frequently as courts begin to acknowledge that the concept of collective ownership is more appropriate than the concept of private ownership in such cases.
- Correct. The author first sets the context, then explains some details and finally gives the main idea of the text in the form of an outlook on the future from line 53 to line 61.

(C) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property  is in reality a debate over whether individuals should act as titleholders or merely as caretakers with respect to their property .
- Overrated. The statement "collective ownership casts an individual in the role of guardian or caretaker of property rather than as a titleholder" is clearly just some sort of side information.

(D) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property  cannot be resolved until the rights of native Canadians have been comprehensively defined in Canadian law. 
- Out of scope. Maybe right maybe wrong but definitely not the main idea of the author.

(E) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property  illustrates the need to expand the concept of private property to include cases of joint ownership by a collection of individuals .
- Wrong. This is counterproductive to view of the author.

2. According to the concept of private property as presented in the passage, which one of the following most completely describes the meaning of the term “property owner”?

(A) one who possesses a bill of sale to substantiate his or her claims to property ownership
- Wrong. A way to prove that you are the property owner but not the meaning of the term property owner.

(B) one who possesses proof of prior possession to substantiate his or her claims to property ownership
- Wrong. Same as (A).

(C) one who is allowed to make use of his or her property in whatever manner he or she wishes
- Correct.
Passage: "This system is based on a philosophy that encourages the right of owners to use their property as they see fit without outside interference"

(D) one who is allowed to transfer ownership rights to his or her children as heirs
- Wrong. Just because this property does not apply to the stem - as mentioned in the text - does not mean that this property is synonymous with the meaning of the term.

(E) one who is allowed to exercise property rights because of his or her membership in a community
- Wrong. While this property applies to the tribe, it is not the meaning of private property.

3. The author’s attitude toward the possibility of courts increasingly assigning ownership rights to native communities is best described as which one of the following?

As mentioned in my answer to Q1, the author gives an outlook on the future from line 53 to line 61.
Passage: "But as their awareness of the inappropriateness of applying the private property concept to all cultural groups grows, Canadian courts will gradually recognize that native Canadians, while they cannot demonstrate ownership as prescribed by the notion of private property, can clearly claim ownership as prescribed by the notion of collective property, and that their claims to movable cultural property should be honored."
Since the text predicts a positive development of such litigation - positive from the tribes' and the author's point of view - all answers except answer (E) are incorrect because they predict a negative or uncertain development.

(A) certain that it will never be realized and concerned that it should
- Wrong.
(B) concerned that it will never be realized but hopeful that it will
- Wrong.
(C) uncertain whether it will be realized but hopeful that it will
- Wrong.
(D) uncertain whether it will be realized but confident that it should
- Wrong.
(E) convinced that it will be realized and pleased that it will
- Correct.

4. The primary function of the first paragraph of the passage is to

(A)  identify some of the specific types of property  at issue in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums
- Wrong. The 1st paragraph does not identify something. Especially no specific types of something.

(B)  describe the role of the concept of property ownership  in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums
- Wrong. But "describe" sounded good, so I kept this answer for a moment. When I later compared the answer with answer (D), however, it became clear rather quickly that this is not about describing the realities, but about describing the role of the concept of property ownership. Therefore, (B) is wrong.

(C)  summarize the difficulties  that have been experienced in attempting to develop a comprehensive definition of the rights of native Canadians under the law
- Wrong. No summarization here.

(D)  provide the context  within which litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is occurring
- Correct. "provide the context" fits best.

(E)  discuss the difficulty  of deciding legal cases that rest on a clash between two cultures’ differing definitions of a legal concept
- Wrong. No discussion here. Especially no discussion about difficulty.

5. Given the information in the passage, Canadian courts hearing a dispute over movable cultural property between a museum and a group of native Canadians will be increasingly unlikely to treat which one of the following as a compelling reason for deciding the case in the museum’s favor?

To be honest, I answered the question incorrectly at first. It is important to note that your task is not to find the answer that most weakens the court's decision in favor of the museums, but to find the answer that provides the weakest argument in favor of the museums.
The relevant passage is the whole 3rd paragraph.

(A) The museum is able to produce evidence that the property did not originate in the native community.
- Wrong. The court would be likely to decide in favor of the museums.

(B) The museum cannot produce written documentation of its claims to ownership of the property.
- Wrong. If the museum could not document its own claims, the court would never rule in the museums' favor.

(C) The group of native Canadians produces evidence that the property originated in their community.
- Wrong. The court would be likely to decide in favor of the natives.

(D) The group of native Canadians cannot produce written documentation of their claims to ownership of the property.
- Correct. This case would benefit the museums, but it would be unlikely that the court would rule in favor of the museums based on this fact alone. They would have to provide some additional evidence of ownership, otherwise it would be likely that courts would recognize collective property claims in the absence of documentation. In the case of collective property claims, the court would rule in favor of the locals.

(E) The group of native Canadians do not belong to a tribe that employs a legal system that has adopted the concept of private property.
- Wrong. Not relevant. In this case, it would only be a matter of who provides proof of ownership.

6. The passage suggests that the concepts of collective and private ownership differ in each of the following ways EXCEPT:

(A) The collective concept allows groups of individuals to own property; the private concept does not.  
- Correct. This answer is correct because the statement does not hold true. The private concept allows groups of individuals to own property, too.
Passage: "Canadian courts usually base decisions about ownership on a concept of private property, under which all forms of property are capable of being owned by individuals  or by groups functioning legally as individuals ."

(B) The collective concept requires consideration of community interests; the private concept does not.  
- Wrong.
Passage: "Under this collective ideology, access to and use of resources is determined by the collective interests of the community."  and  "This system is based on a philosophy that encourages the right of owners to use their property as they see fit without outside interference."

(C) The collective concept assigns ownership on the basis of membership in a community; the private concept does not.  
- Wrong.
Passage: "Because the concept of collective property assigns ownership to individuals simply because they are members of the community"  and  "native Canadians rarely possess the legal documents that the concept of private property requires to demonstrate ownership."

(D) The private concept allows owners to function as titleholders to their property; the collective concept does not.  
- Wrong.
Passage: "This system is based on a philosophy that encourages the right of owners to use their property as they see fit without outside interference."  and  "Furthermore, collective ownership casts an individual in the role of guardian or caretaker of property rather than as a titleholder"

(E) The private concept permits individuals to sell property; the collective concept does not.  
- Wrong.
Passage: " legal documents that the concept of private property requires to demonstrate ownership .  Museums, which are likely to possess bills of sale  or proof of prior possession to substantiate their claims of ownership , are thus likely to be recognized as legally entitled to the  property they hold"  and  "while every tribe member is an owner of the property, individual members cannot sell this right"

7. The passage most supports which one of the following statements about the tribal legal systems mentioned in the second paragraph of the passage?

(A) All tribes whose legal system employs the concept of collective property have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property.
- Opposite. Not all tribes with property X have engaged in litigation, but all tribes who are engaged in litigation have property X.
Passage: "they have traditionally employed a concept of collective ownership—and in all cases in which native Canadians have made legal claim to movable property they have done so by invoking this latter concept"

(B) Only tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property.
- To strict. Not given.

(C) All tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property.
- Correct.
Passage: "they have traditionally employed a concept of collective ownership—and in all cases in which native Canadians have made legal claim to movable property they have done so by invoking this latter concept"

(D) All tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property.
- Wrong.
Passage: "Canadian courts will gradually recognize that native Canadians, while they cannot demonstrate ownership as prescribed by the notion of private property"

(E) Only those tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property.
- Opposite.
Passage: "Canadian courts will gradually recognize that native Canadians, while they cannot demonstrate ownership as prescribed by the notion of private property, can clearly claim ownership as prescribed by the notion of collective property, and that their claims to movable cultural property should be honored."

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Welcome to GMAT Club!

Explanation

5. Given the information in the passage, Canadian courts hearing a dispute over movable cultural property between a museum and a group of native Canadians will be increasingly unlikely to treat which one of the following as a compelling reason for deciding the case in the museum’s favor?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

This question stem is unusually long, so we should be able to make an unusually precise prephrase. Here, we must deal with a hypothetical court case between a private owner and a native Canadian tribe.  “Increasingly unlikely”  should have sent you to the last paragraph, where the author discusses the likelihood of the courts recognizing collective property rights in favor of private property’s  “documents that...demonstrate ownership” (lines 46–47). (D)  cites the increasing likelihood that courts will recognize collective ownership claims in the absence of documentation.

(A)  Origin within the native community is cited as evidence of collective ownership in  lines 52–53 . But if a museum could prove that the property in question did not originate within the native community, courts would be less likely to recognize native claims and more likely to favor the museum. This choice is a 180.

(B)  is another 180. If the museum could not document its own claims, the court would never have been likely to rule in its favor.

(C)  and  (E)  Be careful to note exactly what the stem asks for.  (C)  gives us a piece of evidence that the courts would be increasingly likely to accept as evidence in favor of tribal ownership claims, as does

(E).  This is not the same as evidence that the courts would be less likely to use in favor of the museum.

Answer: D

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Welcome to GMAT Club!

Explanation

7. The passage most supports which one of the following statements about the tribal legal systems mentioned in the second paragraph of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The question stem sends us to the second paragraph, and specifically to its discussion of tribal legal systems. These systems are mentioned beginning in  line 26 , and the passage uses them as a springboard to discuss collective ownership, implying that the tribes involved in litigation have traditionally used this concept to define ownership of their cultural property. Look closely at the answer choices: they all begin with formal logic statements about the characteristics of the tribes in question. We can use our knowledge of formal logic to find the accurate description of tribal legal systems.

(A)  is a Distortion. All of the tribes that are involved in litigation employ the concept of collective property, but the reverse is not necessarily true. Eliminate.

(B) is a Distortion: while we know that the tribes engaged in litigation employ the concept of collective property, they are not necessarily the only ones. Eliminate.

(C)  hits the mark.  Lines 28–31  state that all of the tribes involved in litigation have based their claims on the concept of collective property. This choice is correct. For the record:

(D)  is yet another Distortion. While the author does mention that some tribes have recognized the concept of private property, she does not imply that this will allow them to succeed in litigation over their cultural property.

(E)  contradicts the Main Idea of the passage, that collective property rights will be increasingly recognized by the courts.

Answer: C

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main idea of the passage?

Difficulty Level:   Hard

Explanation

The Author’s Main Idea comes through loud and clear in the final paragraph: courts will increasingly recognize collective property rights, which will allow native Canadians to succeed more frequently in their lawsuits over cultural property.  (B)  is a perfect paraphrase of the last sentence, and the correct answer.

(A)  fundamentally distorts the author’s viewpoint. Neither private nor collective property is a concept that is  “modern”  or  “obsolete.”

(C)  Contains a detail from  lines 36–38  rather than the author’s Main Idea.

(D)  The lack of a comprehensive definition of native Canadians’ property rights may have led to the dispute outlined in the passage, but the author never implies that a comprehensive definition is necessary to resolve the dispute.

(E)  The author does not advocate an expansion of the definition of private property, as  (E)  does, but a recognition of the concept of collective property.

Answer: B

Raman109 · Answer

1. Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property illustrates how the concept of private ownership has become increasingly obsolete and demonstrates that this concept should be replaced by the more modern concept of collective ownership. - hyperbolic.

(B) Litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is likely to succeed more frequently as courts begin to acknowledge that the concept of collective ownership is more appropriate than the concept of private ownership in such cases. - ok.

(C) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is in reality a debate over whether individuals should act as titleholders or merely as caretakers with respect to their property. - Limited in scope.

(D) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property cannot be resolved until the rights of native Canadians have been comprehensively defined in Canadian law. - No such minimum condition was identified. Wrong.

(E) The conflict between the concepts of collective and private ownership that has led to litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property illustrates the need to expand the concept of private property to include cases of joint ownership by a collection of individuals. - The passage is about the recognition of the idea of collective ownership and not about expanding the preview of private ownership to include collective ownership. Both are separate.

Raman109 · Answer

7. The passage most supports which one of the following statements about the tribal legal systems mentioned in the second paragraph of the passage?

(A) All tribes whose legal system employs the concept of collective property have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property. - The passage doesn't make this claim.

(B) Only tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property. - No.

(C) All tribes that have engaged in litigation over control of movable cultural property have a legal system that employs the concept of collective property. - ok. "Lines 25-30: Specifically state that native Canadians have invoked the concept of collective ownership in all cases where they have made legal claims to movable property. This directly supports the assertion that all tribes engaged in such litigation employ the concept of collective property in their legal systems."

(D) All tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property. - No.

(E) Only those tribes whose legal system recognizes the concept of private property can expect to succeed in litigation over control of movable cultural property. -No

vasu1104 · Answer

passage 1= native canadians assert that their rights doesnt include only about land but also the ownership rights over movable cultural property. common laws have placed ownership to current custodian but the native canadians called such ownership into qustion.
passage 2= mentions how court use concept of private property to make decisions about ownership. native canadians challenged court to recognize a concept of property ownership. traditionally natives have used concept of collective ownership. description of collective ownership has been mentioned in last few lines of the passage.
passage 3= document is key between private ownership and collective ownership. since museums have record of sale, they can claim for ownership even though community is entitled originally. author then says court will recognize the inappropriateness of such instances and will eventually honor the notion of collective owership.

main idea is between two type of ownership and how court will eventually shift the case in the favor of native canadians.

Ques 1=
A litigation is not demanding for any replacement.
B this perfectly captures the heart of the passage
C its not about choosing whether to be title holder or care taker.
D passage is not concerned about defining the rights of natives into law.
E its not concerned with expanding concept of private property

Ques 2
passage doesnt mention explicitly the definition of property owner. but we have been informed about collective ideology. and based on that we can draw inferences about definition of property owner.
the collective ideology says that use of resources is defined by collective interests of community. so we can say that in the form of property owner, use of resources will be independent and can be exercised on their own will. aslo 2nd line of passage says this: "This system is based on a philosophy that encourages the right of owners to usetheir property as they see fit without outside interference."

only C encapsulte the above mentioned part

Ques 3
in the last line author says that since court cant demonstrate as prescribed by notion of private property, court will realize that native canadians can claim ownership as prescribed the notion of collective property and their claim should be honored.
so it means author is convinced that change will soon happen.
only option E states that perfectly. all other options are wrong and in opposite direction than of authors tone.

Ques 4

A non specific types of property issue has been identified in litigation.
B no its not describing the role of concept of property ownership.
C its not about summarizing difficulties in developing definition of rights of native canadians.
D perfect. this states clear point. common laws has placed ownership to custodians, litigation by native canadians has called onto such ownership. so its about providing context and in the following passage coming up with reason to back that litigation.
E. its not discussing difficulty of deciding the legal cases.

Ques 6
option B,C,D,E are mention in passage 2 and 3 directly/indirectly. so with POE its A.

Ques 7
passage says that although tribes have understood the definition of private property, they have traditionally employed collective ownership concept. and in every instances they have made claim to movable property, they have done by using collective ownership concept under which each member should have an equal say about usage of resources. in simpler words its saying that in their litigation they used the concept of collective ownership

A. its actually other way arounbd.
B its not saying only some. its says traditionally that refers to general and not just few people.
C it clearly captures the above mentioned point.
D & E its not saying anything about expecting to succeed in litigation.

kartickdey · Answer

Sajjad1994  please provide the official explanation for Q4

Sajjad1994 · Answer

Explanation

4. The primary function of the first paragraph of the passage is to

The  first paragraph  gives us the crux of the dispute that the passage is based on. Native Canadians assert ownership rights over their cultural property, but the court system assigns ownership to the current, private owners. It also introduces the fact that some recent lawsuits have begun to question the traditional bias towards private property. In sum, this paragraph provides background for the in-depth discussion done in the rest of the passage.  (D)  accurately matches this summary.

(A) Line 7  identifies some specific types of cultural property at issue, but this is a detail within the paragraph, not its entire purpose.

(B)  may have been tempting, but this is really the role of  paragraph 2 . The native Canadians’ concept of collective property ownership is not mentioned in the passage until  line 27.

(C) Paragraph 1  mentions the fact that there is no comprehensive definition of native Canadian rights, but provides no indication that there has been an attempt to make one or that difficulties have been encountered during that attempt.

(E)  The two differing definitions are not discussed until  paragraph 2 , and in any case, the first paragraph implies that courts haven’t had much difficulty in siding with private owners.

Answer: D

guddo · Answer

Official LSAT questions are released by LSAC, but I don't believe LSAC provides "official" solutions anymore. The solutions often referred to as "official" are typically provided by prep companies.

4. The primary function of the first paragraph of the passage is to

Let's break this down in simple steps. The first paragraph does three main things:

1. It says the legal rights of native Canadians aren't fully written down in law.
2. It states that native Canadians believe their rights include owning their cultural items (like tools and costumes).
3. It explains that giving them these rights is hard because traditional Canadian law says museums own these items, but native Canadians are now going to court to challenge this.

In short, this paragraph  sets up the background . It tells us  why  there is a legal conflict and  what  the conflict is about (museums vs. native communities over cultural items). It gives us the situation before the detailed discussion in the rest of the passage.

The question asks for the  primary function , the main job, of this first paragraph. It's not about tiny details; it's about the big picture of what this paragraph accomplishes for the whole passage.

(A) identify some of the specific types of property at issue in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums

Why it's wrong: The paragraph does list examples ("domestic implements to ceremonial costumes"), but that's just a small detail. The main job isn't to list types; it's to introduce the whole conflict. It's like saying the main point of a movie trailer is to list the characters' names, when its real job is to show you what the movie is about.

(B) describe the role of the concept of property ownership in litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property from museums

Why it's wrong: The paragraph mentions that litigation has "called such ownership into question," but it doesn't describe  how  the concept of ownership is used in court or what that concept is. That detailed description, private vs. collective property, is the main point of the  second and third  paragraphs. This paragraph just says a fight exists.

(C) summarize the difficulties that have been experienced in attempting to develop a comprehensive definition of the rights of native Canadians under the law

Why it's wrong: The first sentence says rights aren't "comprehensively defined," but the paragraph doesn't talk about the difficulties of  creating  that definition. It immediately switches to talking about ownership of cultural property and litigation. The "difficulties" mentioned are about assigning rights, not defining them.

(D) provide the context within which litigation by native Canadians to regain control of their movable cultural property is occurring

Why it's correct:  This perfectly captures the paragraph's job. It gives us the background: Native Canadians claim rights to cultural property, Canadian law currently gives it to museums, and this mismatch has led to lawsuits. This context is the foundation for the rest of the passage, which will then explore the legal concepts (private vs. collective property) at the heart of those lawsuits.

(E) discuss the difficulty of deciding legal cases that rest on a clash between two cultures’ differing definitions of a legal concept

Why it's wrong: The paragraph doesn't "discuss" or analyze the difficulty of judging these cases. It simply states that litigation is happening. The discussion of the clash between "private property" and "collective ownership" concepts, and the difficulty it causes, comes later in the passage.

So,  the correct answer is (D) . The first paragraph's main job is to set the stage, to give us the necessary background information so we can understand the more complex legal discussion that follows.

Although the rights of native peoples of Canada have yet to be

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745 with Only Self-Prep and GMAT Club

From 555 to 765: 210-point Improvement

Perfect 805 Score Debrief by Julia

My Rewards