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SalahT
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 16 Aug 2021, 09:35
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D
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46% (02:02) correct 54% (01:52) wrong based on 214 sessions

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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town. The neighboring town of Hicks, with which Reading has a reciprocal book-lending agreement, also has a centrally located library. More books are taken out per year in Reading than in Hicks. Therefore, the residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks.

All the following statements weaken the conclusion except:
A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
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D
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SalahT
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 16 Aug 2021, 09:36
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Answer is D
The only choice that could support the conclusion is Choice D—the fact that Reading lends out more books per capita could be used as evidence that its citizens are more well read.
Choices A and B might explain more books taken out, but not necessarily more per capita.
Choices C and E aren’t relevant to the conclusion.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 18 Mar 2025, 02:10
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hey napolean92728,

could you tell how (b) weakens the conclusion?


SalahT
The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town. The neighboring town of Hicks, with which Reading has a reciprocal book-lending agreement, also has a centrally located library. More books are taken out per year in Reading than in Hicks. Therefore, the residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks.

All the following statements weaken the conclusion except:
A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 18 Mar 2025, 07:33
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How B Weakens the Argument:
Option B states:
"The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day."
The argument concludes that Reading residents are more well-read than Hicks residents because more books are borrowed per year in Reading. However, the number of books borrowed depends not just on people's reading habits but also on accessibility to the library.
If Hicks' library is only open three days a week while Reading's library is open every day, then Hicks residents have fewer opportunities to borrow books. This means the difference in borrowing rates might not be because Reading residents read more but simply because their library is more accessible.
Thus, Option B weakens the argument by providing an alternative explanation for the disparity in book lending—reduced access rather than lower reading habits.

RiyaJ0032
hey napolean92728,

could you tell how (b) weakens the conclusion?


SalahT
The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town. The neighboring town of Hicks, with which Reading has a reciprocal book-lending agreement, also has a centrally located library. More books are taken out per year in Reading than in Hicks. Therefore, the residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks.

All the following statements weaken the conclusion except:
A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 18 Mar 2025, 07:35
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Correct Answer:D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
Reasoning:
The conclusion of the argument is that residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks based on the premise that more books are borrowed annually in Reading than in Hicks.
To weaken this conclusion, we need statements suggesting factors other than actual reading habits are responsible for the difference in borrowing rates. The correct answer is the one that does not weaken the conclusion.

Eliminating the Wrong Options:
  1. A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
    • This weakens the argument because if Reading has a much larger population, then the higher number of books borrowed could simply be due to more people rather than a higher level of reading per person.
  2. B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
    • This weakens the argument because if Hicks' library is open fewer days, then fewer books would be borrowed, making the borrowing numbers an unfair comparison.
  3. C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
    • This weakens the argument indirectly because it suggests that library use in Hicks may be focused on activities other than book lending, which might explain the lower number of books borrowed.
  4. E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
    • This weakens the argument because a comfortable reading environment may encourage people to use the library without necessarily borrowing books, meaning the higher book borrowing rate may not directly reflect higher reading levels.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 18 Mar 2025, 11:35
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while the other options can be eliminated, (B) is a poorly constructed option

even if the comparison is unfair

does not mean that more books are not borrowed in Reading than in Hicks
and hence it does not affect our conclusion that people are well read in Reading than in Hicks
napolean92728
Correct Answer:D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
Reasoning:
The conclusion of the argument is that residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks based on the premise that more books are borrowed annually in Reading than in Hicks.
To weaken this conclusion, we need statements suggesting factors other than actual reading habits are responsible for the difference in borrowing rates. The correct answer is the one that does not weaken the conclusion.

Eliminating the Wrong Options:
  1. A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
    • This weakens the argument because if Reading has a much larger population, then the higher number of books borrowed could simply be due to more people rather than a higher level of reading per person.
  2. B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
    • This weakens the argument because if Hicks' library is open fewer days, then fewer books would be borrowed, making the borrowing numbers an unfair comparison.
  3. C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
    • This weakens the argument indirectly because it suggests that library use in Hicks may be focused on activities other than book lending, which might explain the lower number of books borrowed.
  4. E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
    • This weakens the argument because a comfortable reading environment may encourage people to use the library without necessarily borrowing books, meaning the higher book borrowing rate may not directly reflect higher reading levels.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 18 Mar 2025, 12:23
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Well, I would say that's the GMAT style , not all options are perfect, rather most of the options in strengthen/weaken questions strengthen/weaken slightly, and you need to accept it cause it's the GMAT way of giving options.
RiyaJ0032
while the other options can be eliminated, (B) is a poorly constructed option

even if the comparison is unfair

does not mean that more books are not borrowed in Reading than in Hicks
and hence it does not affect our conclusion that people are well read in Reading than in Hicks
napolean92728
Correct Answer:D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
Reasoning:
The conclusion of the argument is that residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks based on the premise that more books are borrowed annually in Reading than in Hicks.
To weaken this conclusion, we need statements suggesting factors other than actual reading habits are responsible for the difference in borrowing rates. The correct answer is the one that does not weaken the conclusion.

Eliminating the Wrong Options:
  1. A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
    • This weakens the argument because if Reading has a much larger population, then the higher number of books borrowed could simply be due to more people rather than a higher level of reading per person.
  2. B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
    • This weakens the argument because if Hicks' library is open fewer days, then fewer books would be borrowed, making the borrowing numbers an unfair comparison.
  3. C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
    • This weakens the argument indirectly because it suggests that library use in Hicks may be focused on activities other than book lending, which might explain the lower number of books borrowed.
  4. E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
    • This weakens the argument because a comfortable reading environment may encourage people to use the library without necessarily borrowing books, meaning the higher book borrowing rate may not directly reflect higher reading levels.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 19 Mar 2025, 01:55
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GMAT's style does not mean the logic is utterfly flawed
like in this option, it's clear from the outset that unfair comparison b/w Reading and Hicks does not negate that more people are well read in Reading than in Hicks

strengthening/weakening slightly is fine, but there is logic to that

On the contrary, this argument is not a GMAT style but a poorly constructed argument by some test prep provider or someone else
napolean92728
Well, I would say that's the GMAT style , not all options are perfect, rather most of the options in strengthen/weaken questions strengthen/weaken slightly, and you need to accept it cause it's the GMAT way of giving options.
RiyaJ0032
while the other options can be eliminated, (B) is a poorly constructed option

even if the comparison is unfair

does not mean that more books are not borrowed in Reading than in Hicks
and hence it does not affect our conclusion that people are well read in Reading than in Hicks
napolean92728
Correct Answer:D. The Reading library lends out more books per capita than any other library in the state.
Reasoning:
The conclusion of the argument is that residents of Reading are more well-read than those of Hicks based on the premise that more books are borrowed annually in Reading than in Hicks.
To weaken this conclusion, we need statements suggesting factors other than actual reading habits are responsible for the difference in borrowing rates. The correct answer is the one that does not weaken the conclusion.

Eliminating the Wrong Options:
  1. A. The population of Reading is twice the population of Hicks.
    • This weakens the argument because if Reading has a much larger population, then the higher number of books borrowed could simply be due to more people rather than a higher level of reading per person.
  2. B. The library in Hicks is open three days a week while the library in Reading is open every day.
    • This weakens the argument because if Hicks' library is open fewer days, then fewer books would be borrowed, making the borrowing numbers an unfair comparison.
  3. C. The library in Hicks has a full-time research assistant available to help schoolchildren with research projects.
    • This weakens the argument indirectly because it suggests that library use in Hicks may be focused on activities other than book lending, which might explain the lower number of books borrowed.
  4. E. The Reading library has a reading room with comfortable chairs and sofas.
    • This weakens the argument because a comfortable reading environment may encourage people to use the library without necessarily borrowing books, meaning the higher book borrowing rate may not directly reflect higher reading levels.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 19 Mar 2025, 02:15
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Well, I agree with you it's logic is a bit flawed as (B) states that Hicks' library is open only three days a week, while Reading's library is open every day.
This suggests that Hicks’ residents may borrow fewer books simply because they have fewer opportunities to do so—not necessarily because they read less. However, this does not directly challenge the idea that Reading’s residents are more well-read. Even if Hicks' library were open more often, it does not guarantee that its residents would borrow as many books as those in Reading.
And we end up eliminating it just for the sake of elimination assuming that access level leads to unfair comparison.

Bunuel , KarishmaB please check the authenticity of this question.
RiyaJ0032
GMAT's style does not mean the logic is utterfly flawed
like in this option, it's clear from the outset that unfair comparison b/w Reading and Hicks does not negate that more people are well read in Reading than in Hicks

strengthening/weakening slightly is fine, but there is logic to that

On the contrary, this argument is not a GMAT style but a poorly constructed argument by some test prep provider or someone else
napolean92728
Well, I would say that's the GMAT style , not all options are perfect, rather most of the options in strengthen/weaken questions strengthen/weaken slightly, and you need to accept it cause it's the GMAT way of giving options.
RiyaJ0032
while the other options can be eliminated, (B) is a poorly constructed option

even if the comparison is unfair

does not mean that more books are not borrowed in Reading than in Hicks
and hence it does not affect our conclusion that people are well read in Reading than in Hicks
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 20 Mar 2025, 06:24
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All I will say is that the answer here is non-negotiable. It is certainly (D). If I were to judge the validity of a question based on that, I wouldn't doubt it.
(D) strengthens the conclusion a bit. All other options can lead to weakening the conclusion whereas (D) cannot. I can justify them in some way to say that "Hey, this is why more books taken out does not indicate that Reading people are more well read.
The logic holds for (B) too somewhat. Realistically speaking, a less accessible library will see lesser outflow. On other days, perhaps the people of Hicks' borrow from Reading library (since we are given they have this relation). So it could weaken the given conclusion.

Btw, to your point about option (B), fewer books borrowed means less well read even if the intent to read is there. But since they have this reciprocal book-lending agreement, (B) works too in a way.

napolean92728
Well, I agree with you it's logic is a bit flawed as (B) states that Hicks' library is open only three days a week, while Reading's library is open every day.
This suggests that Hicks’ residents may borrow fewer books simply because they have fewer opportunities to do so—not necessarily because they read less. However, this does not directly challenge the idea that Reading’s residents are more well-read. Even if Hicks' library were open more often, it does not guarantee that its residents would borrow as many books as those in Reading.
And we end up eliminating it just for the sake of elimination assuming that access level leads to unfair comparison.

Bunuel , KarishmaB please check the authenticity of this question.
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The town of Reading has a large lending library in the center of town 25 Mar 2025, 06:59
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Is this an official GMAT question? My argument with D is: As Reading and Hicks have a reciprocal loan system, the high per capita rate in Reading could be partly due to loans from Hicks residents. We do not know whether the statistics differentiate between residents or simply count all borrowing. GMATNinja GMATNinjaTwo RiyaJ0032
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