Among the more effective kinds of publicity that publishers can get for a new book is to have excerpts of...
GMAT Critical Reasoning : (CR) Questions
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?
Passage Visualization
| Passage Statement | Visualization and Linkage |
|---|---|
| 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. | Establishes: Magazine excerption as an effective publicity method Key Insight: This is ranked among the "more effective" publicity types Concrete Example:
Pattern Recognition: Magazine excerption → High publicity effectiveness |
| 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. | Establishes: Two specific benefits from excerption Dual Benefits Pattern:
Concrete Example: Book normally sells 5,000 copies → With excerption sells 7,500 copies Plus: Magazine pays $10,000 fee to publisher Key Pattern: Revenue from both sales increase AND direct payment |
| Overall Implication | Core Pattern Revealed: Magazine excerption creates a dual revenue stream while being among the most effective publicity methods Financial Logic: Publisher gains money twice (fee + increased sales) while achieving high publicity effectiveness Strategic Advantage: This publicity method pays for itself through the magazine fee, making increased sales pure profit |
Valid Inferences
Inference: Magazine excerption provides publishers with immediate financial compensation while simultaneously boosting book sales.
Supporting Logic: Since the passage states that excerption results in "not only a sure increase in sales but also a fee paid by the magazine to the book's publisher," and since this method is described as being "among the more effective kinds of publicity," we can conclude that publishers receive dual financial benefits (immediate fee plus guaranteed sales increase) from a highly effective marketing strategy. The word "not only...but also" explicitly establishes that both benefits occur together.
Clarification Note: The passage supports that these benefits definitely occur together, but does not provide information about the relative magnitude of these benefits or compare the total financial return to other publicity methods.
This choice provides the logical foundation for why excerption increases sales. The passage states there's a 'sure increase in sales' from excerption. For this to happen, the excerpt must create more buyers than it satisfies. If most readers found the excerpt an adequate substitute, sales would drop, not increase. Since we know sales increase, we can reasonably conclude that more people are motivated to buy the book after reading the excerpt than are satisfied by just the excerpt alone. This directly supports the passage's claims.
This choice contradicts the passage entirely. The passage tells us that magazines DO publish excerpts and that they PAY fees to publishers for this content. If magazine editors were 'unwilling to publish excerpts,' this entire business arrangement wouldn't exist. The passage presents excerption as a common, effective practice, not something magazines resist. This choice misrepresents the described relationship between magazines and publishers.
This choice makes an unsupported leap about accounting practices. The passage discusses increased book sales due to excerption but never mentions how publishers calculate or count their sales figures. There's no information about whether magazine copies containing excerpts are included in book sales totals. This is purely speculative and goes beyond what we can reasonably infer from the given information.
While this might seem logical, the passage doesn't provide enough information to support this proportional relationship. We know that 'high-circulation magazines' are mentioned, suggesting circulation matters, but we can't conclude that effectiveness is directly proportional to circulation. Many other factors could influence effectiveness, and the passage doesn't give us data to establish this specific mathematical relationship.
This choice compares two different types of books, but the passage only discusses books that ARE excerpted. We have no information about books that aren't suitable for excerpting or how their sales compare. The passage focuses on the benefits of excerption for books that undergo this process, not on comparative sales data between different categories of books. This conclusion requires information not provided in the passage.