Critical Reasoning

As an example of the devastation wrought on music publishers by the photocopier, one executive noted that for the recent choral festival with 1,200 singers, the festival's organizing committee purchased only 12 copies of the music published by her company that was performed as part of the festival.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the support the example lends to the executive's contention that music publishers have been devastated by the photocopier?

a) Only a third of the 1,200 singers were involved in performing the music published by the executive's company.

b) Half of the singers at the festival had already heard the music they were to perform before they began to practice for the festival.

c) Because of the shortage of funding, the organization committee of the choral festival required singers to purchase their own copies of the music performed at the festival.

d) Each copy of the music that was performed at the festival was shared by two singers.

e) As a result of the publicity generated by its performance at the festival, the type of music performed at the festival became more widely known.

Rastis wrote:As an example of the devastation wrought on music publishers by the photocopier, one executive noted that for the recent choral festival with 1,200 singers, the festival's organizing committee purchased only 12 copies of the music published by her company that was performed as part of the festival.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens the support the example lends to the executive's contention that music publishers have been devastated by the photocopier?

a) Only a third of the 1,200 singers were involved in performing the music published by the executive's company.

b) Half of the singers at the festival had already heard the music they were to perform before they began to practice for the festival.

c) Because of the shortage of funding, the organization committee of the choral festival required singers to purchase their own copies of the music performed at the festival.

d) Each copy of the music that was performed at the festival was shared by two singers.

e) As a result of the publicity generated by its performance at the festival, the type of music performed at the festival became more widely known.

Conclusion: Music publishers have been devastated by the photocopier.

Premise: At a festival with 1200 singers, only 12 copies of music were purchased by the organizing committee.

So the argument assumes that only those 12 copies were purchased, and these copies were later photocopied and distributed to the singers. We want to weaken this. One potential weakener: someone, other than the organizing committee, is buying copies of the music. This is what C gives us. It suggests that plenty of copies are still being sold, they're just purchased by the singers themselves, rather than the organizing committee, thus weakening the contention that the photocopier has devastated publishers.