Representation of performers by agents is still the predominant way in which theatrical and other performers secure employment, even though agents may take between 10 and 15 percent of a performer's income. Apparently, most performers reason that agents have the resources to find roles to which the performers might not otherwise have access.

Which of the following can be properly concluded from the passage above?


A The work accomplished by a performer's agent is too extensive for the performer to accomplish alone.

B When a performer and a performer's agent work together, the results are far superior to those of a performer working alone.

C The representation of performers by agents is not an entirely new method by which performers secure employment.

D The financial results of the 10 to 15 percent earned from the representation of a performer are enough to provide a living for a performer's agent.

E When a performer and a performer's agent work together, generally the company or person offering the performer employment is the one who will benefit most from the relationship.

When a Critical Reasoning question asks what can be "properly concluded," the answer has to be something that not just is likely but rather follows directly from the information presented by the passage and basically has to be true given the information presented in the passage.

In this case, the passage tells us that:

Performers usually work with agents "even though agents may take between 10 and 15 percent of a performer's income."

Apparently performers use agents because "performers reason that agents have the resources to find roles to which the performers might not otherwise have access."

The correct answer will follow from that information. We have to be careful not to bring in our opinions or other information.

Now let's consider choice (A).

A The work accomplished by a performer's agent is too extensive for the performer to accomplish alone.

Does (A) follow directly from what the passage says?

What (A) says seems reasonable given what the passage says, but we are not looking for something that just seems reasonable.

The passage says that performers use agents. Can we conclude from that information that there is no way for a performer to accomplish what an agent accomplishes? No.

The passage says that performers REASON that agents have resources to find roles to which the performers MIGHT not otherwise have access. Can we conclude from this statement that there is no way for a performer to accomplish alone what an agent accomplishes?

Not really. For one thing, the wording "apparently performers reason" indicates that what the performers reason may not be true. Secondly, the word "might" indicates that it may be the case that actually the performers "might" have access to those roles even without an agent. In other words, the wording indicates that it may be the case that the performers could accomplish what the agents accomplish.

Also, what the passage says does not lead to ruling out the possibility that, should a performer so desire, a performer could acquire the same resources that an agent has.

So (A) neither follows directly from what the passage says nor must be true given what the passage says.

Let's contrast (A) with the OA, (C).

C The representation of performers by agents is not an entirely new method by which performers secure employment.

The passage says "Representation of performers by agents is still the predominant way in which theatrical and other performers secure employment."

The one word "still" tells us that (C) is correct, as "still" indicates that what is true now was true previously.

An additional takeaway from this question is that the OA to an Inference question, which this question is, doesn't have to follow from all of the information presented in the passage. It can follow from a small part of the information presented in the passage. In this question the OA is fully supported by just part of what is said in the first sentence of the passage.
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