Behind every book review there are two key figures: a book review edit

Hmmm.. so you are saying that the passage can answer the question, which makes A a valid choice, right?

I am confused.

Sorry, my bad, I guess, I was having two different trains of thoughts we led to confusion. Though from above we can say that there could be commercial success attached to the books, but we cannot implicit it with certainty, thus eliminating Option A, as it could be true for some of the editors, but we cannot ascertain whether its true of most of the editors.


Hope this Helps.

this passage gives me headache as most of the points are not mentioned directly and need to consider a lot over the top while answering such questions ( 4,5,6,8)?

Could you please advise on tackling these type of questions?
GMATNinja, SajjadAhmad, GMATNinjaTwo, bm2201

I'm not quite sure what you mean by "these types of questions." Are you talking about hard RC passages in general, which require you to "read between the lines"?

If so, there's no easy answer to that question, unfortunately. Sometimes, it's just a question of developing your overall reading skills, and that can take time. This long-winded beginner's guide to RC might give you some context, or you can check out our RC videos.

I hope that helps a bit!

Sorry for not mentioning explicitly before , These type of questions I meant: Question is asked something which is not directly mentioned in the passage but we need to assume a step further to come near to an answer.Yes, questions which need to "read between the lines"

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION5:




But we need to assume

But other choices are not too far from assumption (finding in stores..xx)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION8:

book buyer is not talked directly in the passage and highly enthusiastic reviews are also not talked directly in the passage.

It is hard to imagine what a prospective book buyer can think on seeing highly enthusiastic reviews , he maybe delighted to see good reviews ( amusement- personal experience) , why can’t he be resign to whatever is written ( could be a cold buyer) , but correct answer is skepticism because “ skepticism is most likely to be the author's most usual response.”

A. resignation
B. amusement
C. condemnation
D. skepticism
E. disinterest
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION6:



E. absurd= because it is weird way as per right answer. In fact this could be smart way as well.
A. showy; meaning brilliance but it is not the right answer
B. articulate : meaning express clearly ( because now editor no need to think deeply, he can take a call with the results in front of him)

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
QUESTION4:

publishers will make special efforts to promote these books. They will be heavily advertised and probably be among the books that most bookstores order in quantity

Efforts may or may not be generally effective as per given information in the passage but need to assume.

This choice is very close because editor will consider other factors ( commercial success is one of them) to write reviews. But the option was rejected because “ this does not necessarily indicate what most editors would prefer”


So the question was: how to tackle these type of questions in exam timings. The correct answer choices are remotely connected. These questions are not closed loop type of questions and even not mentioned explicitly in the passage.

VeritasKarishma

Wouldn't stingy (mean) fit better here

Pls explain how Absurd is better

You're right that some of these questions aren't discussed directly in the passage. That makes sense, though, when you look at the exact wording of the questions themselves:

Question 5: "The passage suggests which of the following about book review readers?"

Question 8: "It can be inferred that, as a prospective book buyer, the author of the passage would generally respond to highly enthusiastic reviews of new books with..."

If the passage just "suggests" something, then it doesn't need to outright say that thing. And if you have to "infer" something, then that thing is DEFINITELY not going to be present in the passage. These are fairly common question types, and it would not be unusual to encounter questions like this on the test.

For Question 4, there is evidence for (B), but no evidence at all for (A).

If books that are promoted by publishers will "probably be among the books that most bookstores order in quantity," then we can say that it is more likely than not that the promotional efforts worked. It's not much of a leap to then say that these promotional activities are generally (i.e., "usually" or "in most cases") effective. (B) is looking good.

(A), on the other hand, talks about what editors prefer. Sure, the passage talks about factors beyond commercial success that the editors consider, but do we know that they would prefer to focus on these other factors? Not really. In fact, the passage tells us that editors consider these other things because they "feel some concern." That doesn't sound incredibly enthusiastic.

There is direct evidence in the passage for (A) as the correct answer to question 4.

Your reasoning for Question 6 is solid.

With regard to timing -- this is a tough passage, and you're right that some of the questions feel a bit twisty and difficult to pin down. All you can do on the test is:

1) Have a solid and efficient process for reading the passage the first time through. More on that in this article and some of these videos.
2) Assess each question as you get to it. If you're twisting in the wind, it might be necessary to let that question go and spend your time elsewhere on the test.

There's really not much you can do beyond that. This is kind of unsatisfying, but also an elegant and simple approach -- have your technique and process down to a science, and be prepared to bail out of problems if it's going to take too long.

I hope that helps!

Summary:
1st paragraph - Book review requires two figures: book review editor and reviewer
2nd paragraph - even though periodicals often have the same books reviewed, this doesn't mean each publisher made this decision willingly. In short, there are a lot of factors they must consider.
3rd paragraph - But if there factors are the only things considered, some books would never get reviewed. Editors understand this. An example is used about a newspaper that filtered negative reviews out so that only the positive reviews were published.
4th paragraph - Conclusion: editors print good and bad reviews but still the editor's judgment plays a role.


_______________________________
4. The passage provides information to answer which of the following questions?

A. Would most book review editors prefer to have books reviewed without regard to the probable commercial success of the books?
B. Are publishers' efforts to persuade bookstores to order certain books generally effective?
C. On what basis do literary experts decide that a book is or is not important?
D. What criteria are used to determine the length of a particular book review?
E. Have book review practices in general changed significantly since a generation ago?

The second paragraph speaks to this question:

Choice A is very tempting; however, I think it's too broad -- we don't know how most book review editors prefer. I feel this answer would also be correct if the word 'most' was not included.

________________________________

6. Which of the following words, if substituted for “brilliant” in line 26, would LEAST change the meaning of the sentence?

A. showy
B. articulate
C. literate
D. stingy
E. absurd

I think answering this question requires understanding how the author feels regarding this newspaper from a generation ago. It sounds like the author thought this process the newspaper utilized was ridiculous and humorous. The choice that fits best with these adjectives is E.
_________________________________

7. Which of the following is an assumption made by the book review editor referred to in line 27?

A. A book of great worth will receive only good reviews.
B. An important book will endure despite possible bad reviews.
C. Reviewers might hide their true opinions in order to have their reviews published.
D. Book review editors should select reviewers whose opinions can be guessed in advance.
E. Book review editors have an obligation to print extensive reviews of apparently important books.

The passage states "if a review was unenthusiastic, he reasoned that the book was not important enough to be discussed immediately." In this sense, we can conclude that a good/important book will receive only positive reviews.

Can an expert help me with question 7. I have read all the answers on the forum but everyone seems to be equating the words "unenthusiastic" and "good". An "enthusiastic" review could be good or bad, positive or negative. right?

and because of the above reason, I could never arrive at the OA. Can an expert please help me with this question?

One piece of evidence that suggests an "unenthusiastic" review is a "bad" review comes from the final sentence in that paragraph:

The unenthusiastic reviewers were paid promptly anyway, but they learned that if they wanted their material to be printed, it was advisable to be kind.

A "kind" review is one that has a good or benevolent nature, it will be positive about the book. These "kind" reviews are contrasted with the "unenthusiastic" reviews, suggesting an "unenthusiastic" review is one that is negative about the book.

We can also use the final sentence of the passage:

Editors usually can predict who would review a book enthusiastically and who would tear it to shreds.

Here, there's a contrast between an "enthusiastic" review and a review by a person who would "tear [a book] to shreds". This suggests that "enthusiastic" is being used to mean "positive" in this passage.

Once we've concluded that an "enthusiastic" review is one that is positive about the book, and an "unenthusiastic" review is a negative review, then we can use the reasoning in this post to justify why (A) is the correct answer to this question.

I hope that helps!

Dear Experts GMATNinja / bm2201 / Sajjad1994,
Per my understanding:

Paragraph 1 (lines 1-21): Mechanism driving book review publishing

Paragraph 2 (lines 22-36): In addition to the mechanism presented in paragraph 1, book review editors also listen to literary experts to decide what they should publish. Further, the passage summarizes the mechanism used a generation ago

Paragraph 3 (lines 37-45): The manner in which the content could be influenced by the editor

I have difficulty in understanding Q2. I don’t understand how we can conclude Option A as the main idea of the second paragraph. Please help

Hi VIVA1060,

I am not a expert, but here is my reasoning for Question 2, let me know if this helps.

Consider these from the 2nd paragraph till the end: "Before publication, editors receive news releases and printer's proofs of certain books, signifying that the publishers will make special efforts to promote these books. They will be heavily advertised and probably be among the books that most bookstores order in quantity. Not having such books reviewed might give the impression that the editor was caught napping,...............Editors can risk having a few of the less popular titles reviewed, but they must consider what will be newsworthy, advertised, and written about elsewhere."

The mentioned lines, especially the bold ones imply that editors mostly prefer to review the books that might sell the most. Thus A is a direct inference of option A.

Thanks.

I am still not following it. Let's say an important worthy book got 100 reviews out of which 2 are unenthusiastic. According to the editor's logic, if 98 reviews are sufficient, the 2 unenthusiastic reviews will not be published at all. Editor doesn't risk not publishing a worthy book. There is no need for ALL reviews to be enthusiastic, just sufficient number (a vast majority) to be enthusiastic.

Why is ONLY necessary?

But, you can't really fit any one of the other options as an answer. B is tempting but there is nothing in the passage about "enduring in spite of bad reviews". You have to evaluate this question with respect to the risk mentioned before.
So, to quote Spock -

If you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth

 publishers will make special efforts to promote these
⠀⠀⠀ books. They will be heavily advertised and probably
⠀⠀⠀ be among the books that most bookstores order in
⠀⠀⠀ quantity

lines 11,12,13.

The question in ans B is:
B. Are publishers' efforts to persuade bookstores to order certain books generally effective?

It would have been much better had there been thus in the passage; i.e

Before publication, editors receive news releases and
(10)⠀⠀printer's proofs of certain books, signifying that the
⠀⠀⠀ publishers will make special efforts to promote these
⠀⠀⠀ books. They will be heavily advertised and thus[not included in the passage] probably
⠀⠀⠀ be among the books that most bookstores order in
⠀⠀⠀ quantity.

inclusion of thus would have extablished the relationship between publishers and the ordering of certain books..

Hello Pranavjn98

Answering your report on this question, If you are having the line # distorted you need to do a couple of things probably:

1. You can reduce the zoom level in your chrome or whichever browser you use. (This one is easy)

2. You can change the zoom level in the display settings of your window. (This could be tricky and might disturb your other display settings)

Let me know if after doing the above you still face the same issue.

Good Luck!

GMATNinja
Q2. The main idea of the second paragraph is that
A. decisions made by book review editors are influenced by the business of selling books
How biz of book sales influence the decision of editors?
Can you please explain the flow of passage?

6. Which of the following words, if substituted for “brilliant” in line 26, would LEAST change the meaning of the sentence?
B. articulate
C. literate
How to reject b & c? As per my understanding, "brilliant" was used to explain a "good system" of choosing which books to feature.

Question 2

The first paragraph (lines 1 through 5) tells us about two roles: a book reviewer, and an editor of book reviews.

The second paragraph (lines 6 through 17) tells us about the "individual decisions" that book review editors make. We're told that:

• Certain books are heavily advertised and ordered in large quantities.
• NOT reviewing these books gives a bad impression.
• Reviewing too many OTHER books also is inappropriate.

So, overall paragraph 2 tells us that editors make decisions based on the advertisement and ordering of books. That fits well with answer choice (A) for question 2:

(A) is the correct answer to question 2.

Question 6

The word "brilliant" sounds like a good thing -- but what does the author really think about the system that the newspaper used?

Well, the newspaper's goal was to figure out which books "might endure" through time, even if they weren't heavily advertised at first. To accomplish this goal, the paper weeded out all of the negative reviews and only published positive reviews. Sadly, this creative a strange incentive for people writing the reviews -- if they wanted to be published, they need to write good things about the books.

So, the system was not great. Instead of accurately choosing which books might endure, it incentivized book reviewers to give positive reviews. The author of the passage uses the word "brilliant" ironically, and actually means that the system didn't make any sense.

For that reason, you can eliminate (B) and (C). (E), "absurd," is a much better fit.

I hope that helps!