PrepTest 141

Correct. Argument or Facts:
Facts

Question Type:
Must Be True

Stimulus Summary:

(1) More books were sold last year than ever
(2) More cookbooks were sold last year than ever
(3) 1st time: Cookbooks sold-most-not Beginners
(4) More cookbooks were bought by chefs last year than ever
(5) Cookbooks-most-not Available on every continent
(6) Problem-Free Cooking, a book for beginners, available on every continent

Answer Anticipation:
That is a lot of information! There are a lot of very strong comparisons (more last year than ever before), a few most statements, and some information about a particular book. There aren't any straightforward chains or inferences, so this is looking like a question where we need to have a solid view of the provided information and then head to the answers and check the details back against the stimulus.

One quick note—statement 5. Since the stimulus states that PFC was "one of the few" available on every continent, then it's implied that most aren't sold on every continent.

Answer Explanation:
Looking at this answer, it seems to be making an inference from statements #2 and 3. We do know that there were more cookbooks sold last year than ever before, and that, for the "first time ever" most of them weren't for beginners. Since previous years had fewer than half of the cookbooks sold targeted not at beginners, and fewer books were sold, last year having more books sold and most of them targeted at not beginners means that there were more of these books sold than any other year. This answer is supported by the information in the stimulus.

Key Takeaway:
When the stimulus of a Must Be True question throws a wall of information at you, try to simplify it, look for overlap, and, when all else fails, head to the answers and then check them against the details provided. Additionally, as we saw in answer choice (C), wrong Must Be True answers frequently are wrong because of a common flaw that we've seen in other question types.

Incorrect. There's no indication of what the best-selling book was, so this answer isn't supported.

Incorrect. While sales of books targeted at beginners fell below the 50% mark of cookbooks sold last year for the first time ever, that could have come from a surge in sales of other books, not a decline in sales of beginners books. Selecting this answer would mean that you fell for a percent to amount flaw.

Incorrect. While more cookbooks than ever were purchased by professional cooks, the majority of those non-beginner books could have been purchased by home cooks who have some skills. More than ever doesn't mean most.

Incorrect. While PFC was available on every continent, there's no indication in the stimulus of how well it sold compared to other books, so this answer is out of scope.