A statistical review of word types and frequencies in all

Question

A statistical review of word types and frequencies in all of the works of fiction in a library has found that the works of fiction published prior to 1970 use far fewer slang words, measured as a percentage of the book's total words, than the works of fiction published in 1970 or later. Evidently, whether or not they intended to do so, authors of works published prior to 1970 used less slang than authors of later books.

Which of the following, if true, most seriously weakens this argument?

A. The amount of slang used in non-fiction books in the statistical review is essentially constant across periods of history.

B. Works of fiction published in 1970 or later are often just as critically acclaimed as works of fiction published prior to 1970.

C. Prior to widespread means of information communication, slang words were less likely to be understood by the entirety of a widespread readership.

D. The less slang a published book uses, the more likely it is to remain stocked by a library over time.

E. Writers of manuscripts prior to 1970 used as much slang as those of later manuscripts, but due to more conservative attitudes of editors during the earlier period, the manuscripts written during the earlier period were less likely to be published.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

Official Explanation Reading the question: since we have an argument, we can do some term matching. https://gmatclub.com/forum/download/file.php?id=50162 The conclusion is the last sentence: a comparison of authors and slang. The evidence doesn't discuss authors; it discusses books and slang. So an assumption appears to be a connection between books and authors. Is there some mismatch in how the books represent the authors? We'll use that expectation as our filter. Applying the filter: we can see that the only answer choice that mentions both authors and books explicitly is (E). But choice (E) is flawed; if the books aren't published, they aren't material to the conclusion, which limits itself to authors of works published. Therefore, (E) is out. Starting back at the top of the answer choices: choices (A), (B), and (C) all introduce new concepts that fail to bridge "books" and "authors"; they are non-fiction books, critical acclaim, and likelihood of being understood. Typically, introducing new concepts only causes problems. Choice (D) talks about being "stocked by a library." This may sound irrelevant at first, but in fact, being stocked in this library is the way in which a book represents an author; the authors who don't have books stocked in the library are omitted from this study, potentially distorting it. In other words, if (D) is true, 21st century books may or may not have lots of slang, but older books in a library will only be the non-slang ones. Choice (D) would give an alternate explanation for the point of evidence in the argument, so it seriously weakens the argument. The correct answer is (D). image036.jpg

aditya8062 · Answer

D seems best :  The less slang a published book uses, the more likely it is to remain stocked by a library over time. ----->it correctly points out the flaw in the argument . in a situation where D holds true then it is EVIDENT that we are basically making a FAULTY comparison of TWO ERAS when in fact they are NOT EVEN COMPARABLE because the DATA SAMPLE is NOT EVENLY UNIFORM !!

somtsat99 · Answer

Why not Option A, which says that amount of slang is essentially constant over time.

balaji4799 · Answer

I feel E can also be a strong contender in weakening the author's argument. E is essentially stating that the authors used as much slang words just that editors didn't let their books to get published

Posted from my mobile device

raven09 · Answer

This may not be the case , we need to assume that whatever was published then and now is a part of the library where they checked these statistics

dhirendra25 · Answer

I Chose D as the answer because it does not cover many of the non fiction books post 1970. So, the data set used to arrive at the conclusion is indeed flawed. i eliminated A because the it has a line "essentially constant across periods of history".
This line seems irrelevant to the argument as we are concerned about a specific time in history.

sayantanc2k · Answer

The OA is correct and explanation provided above appears sufficient. If there are any specific questions, please post them here and then click again on the "Request Expert Reply" button.

KarthikSun · Answer

Hi Sayan,

I am not able to understand as to how the choice 'D' is the answer. Works of fiction prior to 1970 and after 1970 can both be stocked in the library for lesser slang. How does it actually weaken the conclusion?

Regards,
Karthik

Joc456 · Answer

E can be ruled out b/c it is referring to works that were NOT published, the passage is concerned w/ public works.

While A is a good choice D is better. Its just that the last line is missing the word "fiction books". However D would still hold true without that word there. Regardless of the category of book choice D still holds to weaken the argument

Joc456 · Answer

E can be ruled out b/c it is referring to works that were NOT published, the passage is concerned w/ public works.

While A is a good choice D is better. Its just that the last line is missing the word "fiction books". However D would still hold true without that word there. Regardless of the category of book choice D still holds to weaken the argument

KarthikSun · Answer

Hi Joan,

Thanks for your reply. But how can A be a contender when A is talking about non-fiction books. We are only concerned about works of fiction. Please correct me if I am wrong. Also I am still not convinced as to how D can be the answer.

Less slang = more time in the library --> how does this mean that works prior to 1970 used more slang in the books?

Regards,
Karthik

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

D makes it likely that a selection effect is at work. Over time, books heavy on slang are weeded out, so that the older population of books becomes less and less slangy. As an analogy, think of the quality of books available in your local bookstore. It is likely to stock many recently-published books, regardless of quality. However, older books will only be in stock if they are good (or at least famous). This might make it appear that the literature of, say, the 1920's is superior to that of today, when in fact the bad books from the 30's have just been selected out.

KarthikSun · Answer

Thanks Dmitry. I can see your logic. So you are saying that the books prior to 1970 may have had a lot of slang but that those books were weeded out, so the argument that the books prior to 1970 used less slang does not hold water. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Regards,
Karthik

gsrividhya · Answer

Hello Dmitry,

I have a different line of reasoning..Please advise..Option E also holds some reasoning right?

The editors were responsible for the less slang words and not the authors.

If the authors were using same amount of slang words before 1970 and editors conservative attitude stopped from publishing those, then the use of slang by authors before and after 1970 is same. Its just more works with slang words were published after 1970 relative to before 1970 period.

Thank you,
Srividhya

KarthikSun · Answer

Hi Srividya,

The conclusion is that the authors used less slang prior to 1970 than authors after 1970 and not the editors of the manuscripts. If E were to be true then it may mean that the author used less slang but editors used more slang. This does not weaken the argument as it is a " may be " case and is not watertight. Another case is that the authors used slang and the editors did not edit them, in which case E might be a weakner. These are my reasons subject to critique.

Regards,
Karthik

Posted from my mobile device

StoicBread · Answer

Option A references "non-fiction" books, which is out-of-scope.

DmitryFarberMPrep · Answer

KarthikSun , you summarized my reasoning correctly. But the problem with E is somewhat different. E specifies that the authors used just as much slang, and that the editors selected slang-heavy works out, so we can't entertain the possibilities you mentioned. However, the argument is restricted to authors of  published  works. Since E addresses the overall population of authors, it's out of scope. It may well be true that authors in 1970 used just as much slang as authors today, but that doesn't undermine the argument that the authors who actually got published used less slang. When we get down to the last two answer choices, it's very common for the final elimination to hinge on a small distinction like this. We have to watch for any difference in terminology!

gsrividhya , does this help?

iridescent995 · Answer

Im not fully convinced with your explanation here. D attacks the premise whereas E attacks the conclusion. 
You are saying "they aren't material to the conclusion" but thats the point in D also right?, d also says some books/manuscripts are not taken to consideration.

Moreover conclusion is about authors  not of published books as is clearly stated in "Evidently, whether or not they intended to do so, authors of works published prior to 1970  used less slang than authors of later books. "

Please elaborate on your official explanation.

YashYashkratos · Answer

It is a very good copy version of an Official GMAT question.
D) old books in the library show less slang words because they stand the test of time not because authors used less slang words prior to 1970.
The official question uses buildings and their good craftsmanship to stand the test of time concept you can check that out too.

A statistical review of word types and frequencies in all

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