Family Dispute Resolution

Answer choices

1. A

   Too Strong: minimal1% picked this

   The differences are minimal and would rarely lead to substantially different settlements

   The author wouldn't bother writing this passage if she thought that court adjudication and family mediation are essentially the same thing (minimal differences that rarely lead to different outcomes). She takes the difference between them seriously enough that she wrote a passage to recommend that we go in the direction of family mediation, not court adjudication.

   1%
2. B

   Correct81% picked this

   The two processes are so different that the attitudes of the participants toward the outcomes reached can vary significantly depending

   Why this is right

   This isn't super appealing on a first pass because "so different that vary significantly" sounds strong, but there is plenty of discussion of how the attitudes of participants at the end of the 3rd paragraph, so it's worth considering. Also, it's only saying that attitudes can vary significantly depending on whether you use court adjudication or family mediation (it would be an extreme claim to say that attitudes never vary significantly). The last few sentences of the passage are attesting to the happier, more satisfied feeling of people who go through mediation. They "perceive it to be more rational and humane than the court system". There's also a common sense element to this answer: in a trial, there is usually a winner and a loser, so someone is likely to have a bad attitude towards the outcome. And that person may have also been at a disadvantage because of imbalances in bargaining power. So it's very likely that a peaceful agreement from mediation could yield attitudes very different from what would be felt by someone who loses a case through court adjudication.

   Skill tested: Author Opinion · how this choice captures the passage's function is the move to repeat next time.

   81%
3. C

   Contradicted13% picked this

   The main difference between family mediation and court adjudication is that while family mediation is less damaging, court

   The second sentence of the final paragraph says that "family mediation is a more efficient and less damaging process than litigation". This answer says that court adjudication (i.e. litigation) is more efficient.

   13%
4. D

   Unsupported Comparison: expert vs. novice2% picked this

   Family mediation led by expert mediators differs much less from court adjudication than does mediation led by mediators

   The author never made a point of distinguishing expert mediators from novice mediators. And thus we have no grounds for thinking she believes that "expert mediators make it feel more like a courtroom trial, whereas less experienced ones make it feel more different from a courtroom trial".

   2%
5. E

   Contradicted: neither is better3% picked this

   While family mediation differs significantly from court adjudication, these differences do not really make one or the other better suited to

   The thesis of the passage, the first sentence of the final paragraph, says that, "In the final analysis, family mediation is better suited to the unique needs of family law".

   3%