Statistics from the National

Answer choices

1. A

   Correct80% picked this

   Mail order book clubs have enjoyed substantial growth in fiction sales throughout the

   Why this is right

   This could explain the declining revenues at bookstores. Readers have shifted their purchases from bookstores to mail order book clubs.

   Skill tested: Weaken · how this choice captures the argument's function is the move to repeat next time.

   80%
2. B

   Out of Scope3% picked this

   During the last five years the most profitable items in bookstores have been newspapers and

   The issue is revenue, not profits.

   3%
3. C

   Out of Scope - Other Group3% picked this

   Fierce competition has forced booksellers to make drastic markdowns on the cover price

   The argument is about declining revenue from the sale of fiction, while this is about biographies.

   3%
4. D

   Too Weak4% picked this

   Due to the poor economic conditions that have prevailed during the last five years, most libraries report substantial increases in the number of patrons

   Unless those library users are also acquiring books of fiction, this doesn’t provide an alternative explanation for the declining revenue from fiction at bookstores.

   4%
5. E

   Out Of Scope / Strengthens10% picked this

   The National Booksellers Association statistics do not include profits from selling novels by mail

   Profits are not relevant, this argument is about revenue. But even if the terms were equivalent, this would strengthen the argument since it would demonstrate that the decline in revenues could not be explained by a decline in foreign sales outside the area these national campaigns operate.

   10%