Question Type:
Inference
Stimulus Breakdown:
For fiction books we published:
most were submitted by literary agents
not submitted by literary agents → submitted by writers after we requested submissions
For nonfiction manuscripts:
given serious attention or published → from renowned figure OR was requested after review of proposal
Answer Anticipation:
It's important to notice that some information in the stimulus is about books of fiction, while some is about nonfiction. Watch out for incorrect answers that try to connect these in a way that isn't supported by the stimulus.
Correct Answer:
(E)
Answer Choice Analysis:
(A) Unsupported. Nonfiction manuscripts from renowned authors, and fiction manuscripts submitted by literary agents, could be given serious attention without being requested. These could represent a large percentage of the manuscripts received.
(B) Unsupported. The stimulus tells us about nonfiction works by renowned authors, and about books of fiction, but doesn't compare the two in terms of numbers that are published.
(C) Contradicted. We know that a nonfiction manuscript that is not from a renowned author might be given careful attention if the publisher requests it.
(D) Unsupported comparison. We know that the publishing house publishes works submitted directly by writers, and also publishes ones submitted by agents. Nothing tells us that ones submitted by writers are less likely to receive careful attention.
(E) This is correct. The stimulus states that the publishing house has only published four types of manuscripts: ones that have been requested from fiction writers; ones that have been requested from nonfiction writers; ones that are submitted by agents; and ones from renowned figures. If they published an unrequested manuscript, and it wasn't submitted by an agent, it must be the work of a renowned figure.
Takeaway/Pattern: When an Inference question describes two different groups, keep track of ways in which the groups overlap, and ways in which they don't.
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