GMAX Challenge Question

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GMAX Challenge Question

by SaraiGMAXonline » Tue Jul 13, 2010 2:48 am
Every book written by June Summers, winner of the Booker Prize, has received critical acclaim from literary reviewers the world over. Moreover, five of her novels have been on the best-seller list over the past decade. Thus, her latest novel, despite initially having earned a rather tepid review in the New York Review of Books, will in all likelihood be another best seller, since Summers has managed to achieve such unparalleled popularity and an international reader base.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

A. Prominent and widely-read publications, such as the New York Review of Books, base their selection of the subjects they review on contemporary readership trends.

B. Readers of the critical reviews are easily influenced by the articles they read and are likely to base their purchases on the advice of those they consider professional assessors.

C. It is often the case that when a reader takes a favorable view to the book he or she has recently read, the reader is more likely to search for and read reviews of the book.

D. The first book Summers wrote after graduating Summa Cum Laud from the creative writing program and Mr. Hartford University received first place in the Mt. Hartford Up-and-Coming-Authors Competition.

E. Literary reviews around the world tend to vary little among publications despite the diversity of international interests and standards.

A

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Source: — Critical Reasoning |

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by gmatmachoman » Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:22 am
How A makes a assumption??

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by sumanr84 » Tue Jul 13, 2010 4:38 am
SaraiGMAXonline wrote:Thus, her latest novel, despite initially having earned a rather tepid review in the New York Review of Books, will in all likelihood be another best seller, since Summers has managed to achieve such unparalleled popularity and an international reader base.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?
In a way,Assumption ( unstated premises) should support the argument conclusion as a base.
Here, the posted answer 'A' and argument conclusion do not seem to have any correlation. In fact, none of the options looks convincing to me.

Could someone explain in detail ?
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by FightWithGMAT » Tue Jul 13, 2010 5:20 am
SaraiGMAXonline wrote:Every book written by June Summers, winner of the Booker Prize, has received critical acclaim from literary reviewers the world over. Moreover, five of her novels have been on the best-seller list over the past decade. Thus, her latest novel, despite initially having earned a rather tepid review in the New York Review of Books, will in all likelihood be another best seller, since Summers has managed to achieve such unparalleled popularity and an international reader base.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

A. Prominent and widely-read publications, such as the New York Review of Books, base their selection of the subjects they review on contemporary readership trends.

B. Readers of the critical reviews are easily influenced by the articles they read and are likely to base their purchases on the advice of those they consider professional assessors.

C. It is often the case that when a reader takes a favorable view to the book he or she has recently read, the reader is more likely to search for and read reviews of the book.

D. The first book Summers wrote after graduating Summa Cum Laud from the creative writing program and Mr. Hartford University received first place in the Mt. Hartford Up-and-Coming-Authors Competition.

E. Literary reviews around the world tend to vary little among publications despite the diversity of international interests and standards.

A

Best,
Sarai
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Mention my name (Sarai) in an email to [email protected] when you register for an online course at gmaxonline and get a 10% discount!
Tough one! 2-3 such questions in actual GMAT are enough to ruin the rhythm of the section :(

Anyways.....the catch is the part "despite initially having earned a rather tepid review in the New York Review of Books"

So the conclusion that the latest novel will be a best seller is arrived by considering that an unfavorable assessment does not impact the sales of a book, the sales that are dependent on the international reader base.

Clues are unparalleled popularity and an international reader base.

So it is assumed that the assessor (NY review of books) considers in its review the international reader base and its trends.

Now, what if NY review of books does not take into account the reader base and its trends...but some other critical factors...................conclusion will fall apart.

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by SaraiGMAXonline » Sat Jul 17, 2010 5:06 am
Good work guys!


2. Every book written by June Summers, winner of the Booker Prize, has received critical acclaim from literary reviewers the world over. Moreover, five of her novels have been on the best-seller list over the past decade. Thus, her latest novel, despite initially having earned a rather tepid review in the New York Review of Books, will in all likelihood be another best seller, since Summers has managed to achieve such unparalleled popularity and an international reader base.

Which of the following is an assumption on which the argument is based?

A. Prominent and widely-read publications, such as the New York Review of Books, base their selection of the subjects they review on contemporary readership trends.

B. Readers of the critical reviews are easily influenced by the articles they read and are likely to base their purchases on the advice of those they consider professional assessors.

C. It is often the case that when a reader takes a favorable view to the book he or she has recently read, the reader is more likely to search for and read reviews of the book.

D. The first book Summers wrote after graduating Summa Cum Laud from the creative writing program and Mr. Hartford University received first place in the Mt. Hartford Up-and-Coming-Authors Competition.

E. Literary reviews around the world tend to vary little among publications despite the diversity of international interests and standards.

A. Correct: This answer indicates that the popularity of a book is not determined by the reviews it receives, but rather that the review is written in response to what is popular.

B. This answer makes the argument implausible, as it suggests that the Summers new book will not sell after having received poor reviews.

C. What happens after a book sells does not affect the plausibility of the argument, which is concerned with how well the book will sell.

D. The success of Summers' first book bears no implication on the likelihood that her latest book will become a best-seller.

E. Whether literary reviews tend to agree bears no implication on whether or not a book is likely to become a best-seller.


Let me know if that was confusing!
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Sarai
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by paes » Sat Jul 17, 2010 8:17 am
very tough question.

Sarai :

Explanation given for A is not looking relevant.


FightWithGmat's explanation for A is looking better.