Reading comp PrepTest 136 · Section 1 · Question 4

Topic: Social Science

Paragraph 1

• Paragraph note
  • Introduction of new technology (book digitization) and author's prediction (not e-books but on-demand book printing)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Traditional view:
    • Digital books will replace printed books (second sentence)
  • Author's view:
    • Books will be printed on demand at the point of sale (i.e., B&N will have printers instead of books) (third and last sentences)
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • Books printed on demand will be "indistinguishable" from traditional books (third sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "widely assumed" (second sentence), "it is more likely, I believe" (third sentence); "anyone with access to the Internet will be able" (last sentence); "practically limitless" (last sentence)

Paragraph 2

• Paragraph note
  • Author's support (on-demand printing would eliminate many costs)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparison, according to the author:
    • Because on-demand printing doesn't require physical inventory, it would eliminate many costs, making this printing "much less expensive" than traditional publishing (first and second sentences)
  • List of costs eliminated by the new model of on-demand printing, according to the author:
    • Warehousing, shipping, displaying, returning books (first sentence)
  • Author's view:
    • Because of on-demand printing's economic efficiency and convenience, it will eventually take over publishing, but it will take some time to digitize enough books to make it worth the investment in printers (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: "eliminating" (first sentence); "much less expensive" (second sentence); "economic efficiency and convenience" (last sentence); "it is likely to eventually supplant or at least rival" (last sentence); "although" (last sentence)

Paragraph 3

• Paragraph note
  • Author's predictions about royalties (authors/lit agents will expect more under the on-demand printing model) and publishing competition (greater competition from upstarts)
• Views, minor Meta-Structures, and the author's attitude
  • Comparisons, according to the author:
    • Because on-demand printing will eliminate many traditional expenses, lit agents will argue that authors are entitled to a larger share of books' revenue (first through third sentences)
  • Author's view:
    • Because traditional publishing companies will be reluctant to provide authors a bigger slice of books' revenue, upstart digital publishers will get new books, forcing old ones to adapt or go bankrupt (fourth through sixth sentence)
  • Example, according to the author:
    • The industry prediction follows a common trend when economic models are replaced (last sentence)
  • Author's attitude: “has found a way, paradoxically” (first sentence)”; "irrelevant" (second sentence); "could thus be expected" (third sentence); "initially will be reluctant" (fourth sentence); "will go first" (fifth sentence); "will have to reduce" (sixth sentence); "or else they will lose their authors" (sixth sentence); "typical" (last sentence); "may help explain" (last sentence)

Main Point: The internet's ability to digitize and instantaneously transmit texts will lead to massive economic changes in the publishing industry, influencing how books are sold and how much authors are paid.

Old Approach/New Approach: This passage best exemplifies the Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure. In such a passage, the author will describe the old way of doing something or thinking about something. Often, this is referred to as the "traditional" approach or theory. The author then describes a new, alternative way of doing or thinking about that same thing.

This passage fits that mold. The author describes the "traditional" approach to book publication before making a prediction about a new approach — one that relies on the digitization of the texts and allows consumers to instantaneously print out copies of books. And as is often the case, this author is in favor of the new approach.

When the passage uses an Old Approach/New Approach Meta-Structure, the main point is generally the author's opinion on the new approach. The author summarizes their opinion in the third and fourth sentences of the first paragraph, so we can use that to answer any questions that require us to consider the main point. However, we decided to make our own summary to include the parts about authors' royalties and competition: "The internet's ability to digitize and instantaneously transmit texts will lead to massive economic changes in the publishing industry, influencing how books are sold and how much authors are paid."

Comparison: As is often the case when the passage's major Meta-Structure is Old Approach/New Approach, the most prominent minor Meta-Structure is the comparison. The author frequently compares the traditional publishing model to the new model of digitized texts and on-demand printing, particularly the costs of both models, the royalties authors can demand under both models, and traditional publishers' competition under both models. Highlighting these points of comparison will help us quickly answer inevitable questions about the differences between the two models.

The author hops into the first-person (P1, S3), which isn't particularly common. When it happens, the author's attitude tends to be a bit stronger since the author directly associates themselves with the arguments in the passage.