Application Questions

　　Application questions differ from extension questions only in degree. Extension questions ask you to apply what you have learned from the passage to derive new information about the same subject， whereas application questions go one step further， asking you to apply what you have learned from the passage to a different or hypothetical situation.

　　To answer an application question， take the author‘s perspective. Ask yourse

　　lf： what am I arguing for？ what might make my argument stronger？ what might make it weaker？

　　Example： （Refer to the first passage.）

　　Based on the information in the passage， it can be inferred that which one of the following would most logically begin a paragraph immediately following the passage？

　　（A） Because of the inquisitorial system‘s thoroughness in conducting its pretrial investigation， it can be concluded that a defendant who is innocent would prefer to be tried under the inquisitorial system， whereas a defendant who is guilty would prefer to be tried under the adversarial system.

　　（B） As the preceding analysis shows， the legal system is in a constant state of flux. For now the inquisitorial system is ascendant， but it will probably be soon replaced by another system.

　　（C） The accusatorial system beginsswheresthe inquisitorial system ends. So it is three steps removed from the system of private vengeance， and therefore historically superior to it.

　　（D） Because in the inquisitorial system the judge must take an active role in the conduct of the trial， his competency and expertise have become critical.

　　（E） The criminal justice system has evolved to the point that it no longer seems to be derivative of the system of private vengeance. Modern systems of

　　criminal justice empower all of society with the right to instigate a legal action， and the need for vengeance is satisfied through a surrogate——the public prosecutor.

　　The author has rather thoroughly presented his position， so the next paragraph would be a natural place for him to summarize it. The passage compares and contrasts two systems of criminal justice， implying that the inquisitorial system is superior. We expect the concluding paragraph to sum up this position. Now all legal theory aside， the system of justice under which an innocent person would choose to be judged would， as a practical matter， pretty much sum up the situation. Hence the answer is （A）。

　　Tone Questions

　　Tone questions ask you to identify the writer‘s attitude or perspective. Is the writer’s feeling toward the subject positive， negative， or neutral？ Does the writer give his own opinion， or does he objectively present the opinions of others？

　　Before you read the answer-choices， decide whether the writer‘s tone is positive， negative， or neutral. It is best to do this without referring to the passage.

　　However， if you did not get a feel for the writer‘s attitude on the first reading， check the adjectives that he chooses. Adjectives and， to a lesser extent， adverbs express our feelings toward subjects. For instance， if we agree with a person who holds strong feelings about a subject， we may describe his opinions as impassioned. On the other hand， if we disagree with him， we may describe his opinions as excitable， which has the same meaning as “impassioned” but carries a negative connotation.

　　Example： （Refer to the first passage.）

　　The author‘s attitude toward the adversarial system can best be described as （A） encouraged that it is far removed from the system of private vengeance （B） concerned that it does not allow all members of society to instigate legal action （C） pleased that it does not require the defendant to conduct his own pretrial investigation （D） hopeful that it will be replaced by the inquisitorial system（E） doubtful that it is the best vehicle for justice.The author does not reveal his feelings toward the adversarial system until the end of paragraph one. Clearly the clause “the adversarial system of criminal procedure symbolizes and regularizes the punitive combat” indicates that he has a negative attitude toward the system. This is confirmed in the second paragraph when he states that the inquisitorial system is historically superior to the adversarial system. So he feels that the adversarial system is deficient.