Critical Reasoning

Hi All,

In the below question, I narrowed down to "A" and "D". Can somebody please tell "A" is preferred over "D" ?

Also how "A" is following logically from the information in the passage. I think even if reverse of "A" happens then too increase in sales will happen. For e.g. let's say we change the "A" to below "Modified A", then will "Modified A" also follow logically.

(Modified A) The number of people for whom seeing an excerpt of a book in a
magazine provides an adequate substitute for reading the whole book is "greater" than the number for whom the excerpt stimulates a desire to read the book.

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Among the more effective kinds of publicity that publishers can get for a new book is to have excerpts of it published in a high-circulation magazine soon before the book is published. The benefits of such excerption include not only a sure increase in sales but also a fee paid by the magazine to the book's publisher.

Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above?

(A) The number of people for whom seeing an excerpt of a book in a
magazine provides an adequate substitute for reading the whole book is smaller than the number for whom the excerpt stimulates a desire to read the book.

(B) Because the financial advantage of excerpting a new book in a
magazine usually accrues to the book's publisher, magazine editors are unwilling to publish excerpts from new books.

(C) In calculating the total number of copies that a book has sold,
Publishers include sales of copies of magazines that featured an excerpt of the book.

(D) The effectiveness of having excerpts of a book published in a magazine, measured in terms of increased sales of a book, is proportional to the circulation of the magazine in which the excerpts are published.

(E) Books that are suitable for excerpting in high circulation magazines sell more copies than books that are not suitable for excerpting.

Thanks
Mohit

Experts please help.

Thanks
Mohit

Experts, can you please share your thoughts.

Thanks
Mohit

Assume the opposite of choice A, here. In other words, assume that the number of people for whom seeing an excerpt of a book in a
magazine provides an adequate substitute for reading the whole book is not smaller than the number for whom the excerpt stimulates a desire to read the book.

In other words, take 100 people. They all see the excerpt of the book in a magazine. According to the opposite of choice A, at least 51 people will not purchase the book, and at most 49 people will purchase the book. The is because the excerpt provided a substitute for the book, and the 51 people no longer felt the need to purchase it.

But if that is true (the opposite of choice A), then the conclusion of the passage falls apart, because the conclusion states that excerpting a book in a magazine will lead to a greater number of sales for the book. So, in order for the conclusion to be valid, choice A must also be valid. If choice A is negated, the conclusion falls flat.

But IMO, sales will happen and are happening without this publicity too. Let's say initially 500 copies are selling. and Argument is talking about the increase in sales.

IMO, here the publicity in magazine provides additional stimulus. Let's say as in your example 100 people are there. Even if 1 person extra decides to take a copy and 99 do not, the total sales become = 501 which is greater then 500.

But yes, the above reasoning of mine will fail in case there are some people among initial 100(i.e. magazine readers) that were among the customers who would have purchased the book(i.e. initial 500). and some decide (say 20) not to read based on excerpts. So total sales will actually be 500 - 20 + 1 = 481. which is less than 500.

But IMO, for this to be true, we need extra assumption that sets of magazine readers and those 500 people who initially purchased the books overlap and overlapping is sufficiently bigger than the potential "new" customers that magazine publicity can bring in.

Please tell can we make extra assumption here ? If yes, why ?

Thanks
Mohit

But choice A specifically tells us that more people will buy the book than will not buy the book after seeing the excerpt. That absolutely has to be true for the conclusion stating that the excerpt will lead to an increase in sale.

Once you've figured out that the answer choice has to be true for the conclusion to be valid, you've found the answer choice which is an assumption upon which the arguments depends.

In this case that answer choice is A. It has to be true for the conclusion to be valid, and if it's not true (in other words, by negating it), the conclusion falls apart.

But if we do the negation test then IMO conclusion is not falling apart.

Please see the example that I gave.

out of 100 new potential customers = 99 not interested in book purchase. They have read enough of book in the magazine itself.

But 1 gets deeply interested and purchases the book.

Here 1 ( interested) < 99(not interested)..which IMO is the negation of option "A".

But still with negation we are getting increased sales = 500 + 1 = 501.

Please tell what I am missing over here.

Thanks
Mohit

I think I understand your confusion, and it's warranted. But look at the wording in the passage. It says that the excerpt will lead to a sure increase in sales. If it's true that the excerpt causes less people to buy the book than to not buy the book, it's no longer true that the excerpt will lead to a sure increase in sales. In other words, when negating A it's possible that zero people will purchase the book after reaading excerpt, and if zero people purchase the book after reading the excerpt, then the excerpt did not lead to an increase in sales.

But the conclusion stated that it would lead to an increase in sales. When negating choice A, it's possible that the conclusion is no longer valid, and that's all that is needed to state that the answer choice is an assumption upon which the argument depends.[/u][/i]

Hi Sean,

Thanks. What is wrong with "D".

Thanks
Mohit

Mohit,

Choice D goes beyond the scope of the passage. Although we're told that high circulation magazines will lead to a sure increase of sales, we are told nothing about magazines which are not circulated widely. It's a stretch to claim anything about the proportion of the circulation of the magazine to the sales of the book, and because it's a stretch and not supported by the passage, any statement about proportion is not a statement supported by the passage.

Thanks Sean. Got it.

what's wrong with E??

I don't agree with the explanation given by ssilver0210.

He says "because the conclusion states that excerpting a book in a magazine will lead to a greater number of sales for the book. "

This is not a conclusion, its a premise.
We are reqd to draw a conclusion.
Its not stated in the argument.

Look at the question:
"Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above? "

ssilver0210 wrote:Mohit,

Choice D goes beyond the scope of the passage. Although we're told that high circulation magazines will lead to a sure increase of sales, we are told nothing about magazines which are not circulated widely. It's a stretch to claim anything about the proportion of the circulation of the magazine to the sales of the book, and because it's a stretch and not supported by the passage, any statement about proportion is not a statement supported by the passage.

Great explanation. Thanks Sean.

anshulseth wrote:I don't agree with the explanation given by ssilver0210.

He says "because the conclusion states that excerpting a book in a magazine will lead to a greater number of sales for the book. "

This is not a conclusion, its a premise.
We are reqd to draw a conclusion.
Its not stated in the argument.

Look at the question:
"Which of the following conclusions is best supported by the information above? "

Experts.. please help