Question

Difficulty: MediumExplicit Main Point Identification

Read the passage below.

[1] It is frequently argued by legal historians that the proliferation of intellectual property laws in the eighteenth century was primarily a philosophical triumph of the Enlightenment, rooted in a newfound respect for individual genius. [2] In this view, early copyright statutes were enacted to protect the inherent moral rights of authors. [3] However, an analysis of the legislative debates from that period complicates this idealistic picture. [4] The initial establishment of modern copyright protections was not principally motivated by a desire to reward authors, but rather functioned as a commercial regulation designed to dismantle the monopolistic power of traditional publishing guilds. [5] By granting limited-term rights directly to creators, lawmakers aimed to break the permanent stranglehold that a few entrenched publishers held over the book trade, thereby fostering a more competitive market.

Which sentence number contains the author's explicit main point?

Answer: 4 / Sentence 4 / Four

Answer

Sentence 4
Sentence 4 accurately captures the author's explicit thesis. After spending the first two sentences outlining a traditional view (that copyright emerged from Enlightenment ideals respecting authors) and using sentence 3 to pivot away from that view, the author explicitly states their own argument in sentence 4: copyright was actually a commercial tool to break the power of publishing guilds. Sentence 5 then acts as a supporting premise explaining how this tool worked.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Analyze the structure of the passage to determine the author's primary goal.
The passage begins by presenting a widely held view in sentences 1 and 2, signals a shift in sentence 3, and presents the author's own claim in sentence 4. Sentence 5 provides supporting evidence.
Understanding the function of each sentence is necessary to distinguish the main point from background information and supporting premises.
2
Locate the sentence that explicitly states the author's central thesis.
Sentence 4 contains the central thesis: that early copyright protections were a commercial regulation to dismantle publisher monopolies, not a moral reward for authors.
The main point must be the overarching claim that the rest of the author's argument seeks to prove.

Key Concept

The explicit main point is the primary claim or thesis that the author is trying to prove, often introduced after pivoting away from a traditional or opposing viewpoint.
Rate this question