Manufacturers of mechanical pencils make most of their profit on pencil leads rather than on the pencils themselves. The Write Company, which cannot sell its leads as cheaply as other manufacturers can, plans to alter the design of its mechanical pencil so that it will accept only a newly designed Write Company lead, which will be sold at the same price as the Write Company's current lead.
Which of the following, if true, most strongly supports the Write Company's projection that its plan will lead to an increase in its sales of pencil leads?
A. The new Write Company pencil will be introduced at a price higher than the price the Write Company charges for its current model.
B. In the foreseeable future, manufacturers of mechanical pencils will probably have to raise the prices they charge for mechanical pencils.
C. The newly designed Write Company lead will cost somewhat more to manufacture than the Write Company's current lead does.
D. A rival manufacturer recently announced similar plans to introduce a mechanical pencil that would accept only the leads produced by that manufacturer.
E. In extensive test marketing, mechanical-pencil users found the new Write Company pencil markedly superior to other mechanical pencils they had used.
Let’s look at the stimulus-
Premises
Manufacturers of mechanical pencils make most of their profit on pencil leads rather than on the pencils themselves.
The Write Company cannot sell its leads as cheaply as other manufacturers can
Conclusion/ plan-
to alter the design of its mechanical pencil so that it will accept only a newly designed Write Company lead, which will be sold at the same price as the Write Company's current lead.
We need to find an option that supports the Write Company's projection that its plan will lead to an increase in its sales of pencil leads
A. The new Write Company pencil will be introduced at a price higher than the price the Write Company charges for its current model.
If the new Write Company increases the price of its new pencil, how will the sales increase?
It may very well go down as well. If that’s the case, option A weakens the conclusion.
Eliminate.
B. In the foreseeable future, manufacturers of mechanical pencils will probably have to raise the prices they charge for mechanical pencils.
This does not tell us whether the company’s plan will work or not. Eliminate.
C. The newly designed Write Company lead will cost somewhat more to manufacture than the Write Company's current lead does.
Same as B. Eliminate.
D. A rival manufacturer recently announced similar plans to introduce a mechanical pencil that would accept only the leads produced by that manufacturer.
How would that make customers buy/ not buy the new Write Company pencil?
Irrelevant. Eliminate.
E. In extensive test marketing, mechanical-pencil users found the new Write Company pencil markedly superior to other mechanical pencils they had used.
Option E tells us why customers would buy the new Write Company pencil- Because of the superior quality.
This will increase the sale of the new Write Company pencil. Hence E strengthens the plan and is the correct answer.