Lesson: Critical Reading - 17t06

Putting It All Together

[Page 17 of 19]

Let's see just how critical your reading has become. See whether what goes through your mind, is what occurs to a truly critical reader making her way through a piece of prose.

The first paragraph of a passage appears below. As you read, take notes on any phrase or Keyword that indicates purpose and structure. Click Continue to proceed to the next paragraph, but first make sure to rollover the passage text to view our responses.

The number of new cases heard by every branch of the U.S. judiciary has risen radically in the last ten years. The Supreme Court caseload alone has increased fourfold, with lower courts in yet more dire straits. Chief Justice Burger spoke of" an "irrational focus — virtually a mania — on litigation as the way to solve all problems. We have, in short, become a nation of litigators.


Now continue your analysis with the next paragraph.

Many of these cases deserve to be heard. Our world grows more complex daily, and important social and technical advances raise questions that properly fall within the jurisdiction of the courts. But the litigation process is prey to abuse. Individuals can and do bring suit simply to force some adversary's hand at negotiation, without any intention of going to a trial; or on the slimmest hope of winning an undeserved decision. The problem runs deeper than backlog: its roots are sociological, not administrative, and enlarging the bureaucracy to accommodate demand would treat the symptoms while ignoring the disease.


Complete your analysis with the final paragraph of the passage.

To the extent that the plaintiff's eagerness to enter into legal combat is an outgrowth of the capitalist spirit of our society, with its emphasis on competitive individualism, any attempt to legislate restrictions on the use of the courts would be politically costly. The members of the bar, on the other hand, constitute a small, relatively coherent group informed by a quasi-public trust. As such, they are both potentially malleable and ethically accountable to society's needs. Therefore, the first point at which the force of change must be applied is legal education. Typically, law schools indoctrinate students in the adversarial process. I do not mean to suggest that lawyers should not be trained to contest for their clients' welfare; but professors should also teach the art of compromise. Mediation and arbitration have the advantages of speed, economy, and, most important, tending not to fan the flame of dispute.


Active reading, such as is demonstrated above, gets you through even the densest passages with the right amount of comprehension, and well within the test's time limits.
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