Self-study
P1
While courts have long allowed custom-made medical illustrations depicting personal injury to be presented as evidence in legal cases, the issue of whether they have a legitimate place in the courtroom is surrounded by ongoing debate and misinformation. ███
Intro to Issue ·
Should custom medical illustrations be allowed in the courtroom?
Opponents ·
Custom illustrations unnecessary
Medical textbooks are adequate for most types of injuries. Only for the most unusual injuries should custom medical illustrations be allowed.
P2
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Opponents ·
Custom illustrations misrepresent facts
Even some lawyers believe that custom illustrations can be distorted to bolster a weak case.
Author's Critique ·
of misrepresentation argument
Medical experts must testify in court to the illustrations' accuracy.
P3
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Opponents ·
Custom illustrations may subtly distort issues
Author's Critique ·
of subtly distort issues argument
Custom illustrations don’t distort. They just emphasize relevant details and leave out the kinds of irrelevant details that clutter up textbook illustrations.
P4
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Author’s Main Point ·
Custom illustrations have high value
X-rays; tomography scans; medical reports; expert testimony; etc. can be challenging for jurors to understand. Custom illustrations turn that data into visuals which can be clarifying.
Passage Style
Critique or debate
9.
Which one of the following ██ ████ █████████ ██ ███ ████ █████ █████████ ██ ███ ███████ ███████████ ███████ █████████████ ████ ██ ████████ ██████ ██████
a
schematic drawings accompanying ██ ██████████ ████ ████████████
This is the closest analogy. Schematic drawings illustrate the details of an oral presentation, making those details easier to visualize. This is analogous to how custom medical illustrations illustrate the details of expert testimony. In both cases, a visual aid helps convey the details presented by a speaker.
b
road maps used ██ ██████ ██████████ ████ ██ ████ ██ ████ ████ ████ ███ ████ ██ ███ ██████ ████████████ ████ █████████
Disanalogous. This describes something that repalces the need for a verbal explanation. But custom medical illustrations aren’t meant to replace verbal testimony—they’re meant to accompany it and help clarify it. (B) would be right if the maps were simply used alongside the verbal instructions, instead of replacing those instructions.
c
children's drawings that █████████████ ███ ██ ██████ ██████ ███ █████████ ███ ████████ ██ ███ ██████████ ████████
Disanalogous. This describes a situation where a drawing helps the viewer infer something about the person who made the drawing. This isn’t what custom medical illustrations do. Jurors and judges don’t use medical illustrations to infer something about the person who drew the illustration. They use them to better visualize the details of an expert’s testimony.
d
a reproduction of █ ██████ ████████ ██ ██ ███ ███████ ████████
Disanalogous. This describes a copy of a textbook image. But,
e
an artist's preliminary ████████ ███ █ ████████
Disanalogous. This describes a draft version of something that will be created in more detail. But custom medical illustrations aren’t just draft versions of something to be made later.