Publisher: I believe we will not publish any science fiction and fanta

Question

Publisher: I believe we will not publish any science fiction and fantasy novels this year for two reasons. The first is that the market for such novels is small compared to more mainstream genres. The second is that these genres' classics, the rights to which are owned by other publishing houses, constitute almost half of the sales in these two genres.

Author: the literary market is large enough so that even the remaining portion of the relatively small science fiction and fantasy market would justify publishing my novel.

Which of the following, if true, would contribute most to the publisher’s claim?

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre.

B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers.

C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies.

D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers.

E. In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers.

Bunuel · Accepted Answer

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

Publisher: I believe we will not publish any science fiction and fantasy novels this year for two reasons. The first is that the market for such novels is small compared to more mainstream genres. The second is that these genres' classics, the rights to which are owned by other publishing houses, constitute almost half of the sales in these two genres.

Author: the literary market is large enough so that even the remaining portion of the relatively small science fiction and fantasy market would justify publishing my novel.

Which of the following, if true, would contribute most to the publisher’s claim?

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre.

Incorrect.

This is a Conclusion Strengthening question in the Dialog format. You are asked to choose the answer choice which strengthens the publisher's conclusion (or weakens the author's conclusion):

This answer choice weakens the publisher's conclusion indirectly, by strengthening the author's conclusion, as it shows that the audience for the author's book is potentially very large (favorite genre).

B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers.

This answer choice enhances the publisher's claim indirectly by weakening the author's claim. If even the remainder of the science fiction and fantasy market (i.e., the half not dominated by the successful classics) is fragmented, and if every title must struggle for a few readers, then the market must not be big enough.

C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies.

Incorrect.

This is a Conclusion Strengthening question in the Dialog format. You are asked to choose the answer choice which strengthens the publisher's conclusion (or weakens the author's conclusion):

This answer choice weakens the publisher's conclusion by showing that a small number of buyers could cover publishing costs. In other words, even a few readers will justify the publication of the novel.

D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the publisher's conclusion by showing that while the science-fiction and fantasy market constitutes a small part of the novel publishing market, it is still a huge market. This undermines the first premise presented by the publisher about the aforementioned market being small.

E. In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers.

Incorrect.

This answer choice weakens the publisher's conclusion by showing that readers have been abandoning classics in favor of new novels in recent years. This undermines the second premise presented by the publisher about the dominance of classics in the science-fiction and fantasy market.

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sj296 · Answer

Publisher and author are of the opposite opinion. We are asked to strengthen the publisher's claim (or weaken the author's argument).

Let's scan the options.

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre..............  Weakens the publisher's claim

B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers................  Strengthens the Publisher's claim

C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies................  Weakens the publisher's claim

D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers................  Weakens the publisher's claim

E. In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers...............  Weakens the publisher's claim

IMO OA should be B

sumitkrocks · Answer

(B) is the answer IMO

A.  Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre. 
Strengthens Author's claim

B.  The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers. 
Yes, this option tell there are already too many titles for few readers: So it is likely that newly published science fiction and fantasy title will have to face huge competition: Strengthens Publisher's claim 
 
C.  Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies.
 Strengthens Author's claim

D.  Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers. 
Strengthens Author's claim

E.  In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers. 
Strengthens Author's claim

asishron29181 · Answer

Publisher: Reluctant to publish any science fiction and fantasy novels this year.

Author: Shares reason to publish his novel.

We need to strengthen publisher's claim.

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre. - Does nothing to help our cause. Irrelevant.

B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers.  - Correct. Gives a reason for the publisher to not publish any science fiction and fantasy novels this year.

C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies. -Incorrect. This actually strengthens author's claim .

D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers. -Incorrect. This strengthens author's claim .

E. In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers. - Irrelevant.

IMO B

mSKR · Answer

Publisher: I believe we will not publish any  science fiction and fantasy novels  this year for two reasons. The first is that the market for such novels is small compared to more mainstream genres. The second is that these  genres' classics , the rights to which are owned by other publishing houses, constitute almost half of the sales in these two genres.

Author: the literary market is large enough so that even the remaining portion of the relatively  small science fiction and fantasy market  would justify publishing my novel.

Which of the following, if true, woul d contribute most to the publisher’s claim ?

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre. = supports investing in science fiction and fantasy novels
 B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market  is  characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers. 
C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies.= supports Author
D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers.= suppprtd Author
E. In recent years, there has been a  shift of readership  from the  classics to new and innovative writers.

E says shift of readership , so why shall we continue to invest? Author says that still remaning portion is a big amount. It doesnt defend publisher argument
B says: too much struggle and only relatively few readers , So it doesnt make sense to such a struggling field that has only few readers.
B wins over E.

hence B

IanStewart  ： please share your comments. I find there is a gap with financial aspect . What if in B relatively few readers struggle over relatively few readers , but most of them don't struggle. 
B doesnt mean that it has only few readers. Only few readers who struggle --> one meaning disparity
2ndly : financial aspect.

please comment thanks
B says now it has relatively few readers . Can these few readers pay a lot? I

kantapong · Answer

Support publisher claim: should not publish science fiction and novel fantasy

A. Over the past decade, fantasy has become many children and teenagers' favorite genre. (should publish)

B. The other half of the science fiction and fantasy market is characterized by thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers. (low readers means should not publish)

C. Publishing costs are very low and can be covered by sales of a few hundreds of copies. (should publish)

D. Although the science fiction and fantasy market is small in comparison to that of mainstream genres, it is still a gigantic market with millions of readers. (should publish)

E. In recent years, there has been a shift of readership from the classics to new and innovative writers. (should publish)

Ans: B

swim2109 · Answer

Imo B is the answer.

Pre-thinking: We have to weaken the authors claim and strengthen the puclishers claim.

Anything that tells the other half is also characterized by a a lot of competition and lot of players.

Only B does that.

thelonghalloween · Answer

An easy one..
Publisher: No SF and Fant. this year --> 1. Small wrt mainstream 2. existing classics 50% sales
Author: Market large --> small piece justify MY novel

So strengthen publisher's position we need something that would support either of those 2 points

A. Irrelevant what is happening in kids and.. genres
B. Remaining 50% represents 1000s of titles but few readers.. Looks good.. Keep
C. Weakens publisher
D. Strengthens author
E. Irrelevant or maybe it says classics market is shrinking.. but doesnt directly relate to argument

So best is B

IanStewart · Answer

I don't really have much to say about this question -- we want an answer that explains why it might not be profitable to publish a new sci-fi novel. Four answer choices suggest the market for new sci-fi novels is strong, and one answer, answer B, suggests that market is not strong, so B is correct.

The standard of writing in this question though is shocking. There are two glaring SC errors in the stem alone, and the second half of answer B doesn't make sense, so if you're asking what precise meaning the phrase "thousands of titles which struggle over relatively few readers" has, I have no idea. You can't say that in English unless you're using words like "struggle" incorrectly. I can guess what it's trying to say -- the readership for these titles is small -- but as written, it's barely intelligible.

Publisher: I believe we will not publish any science fiction and fanta

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Publisher: I believe we will not publish any science fiction and fanta

Prep Toolkit

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