The Correct Answer and Explanation is:
The correct choice is D) there is no way to reasonably evaluate how a work would be different if it had been written by other means.
The provided text builds a specific argument that leads directly to the conclusion in choice D. The passage begins by noting that some authors still write by hand. It then presents a hypothetical question: how would these novels be different if they were typed from the start? The text immediately dismisses this line of speculation with its most important statement, asserting that “each novel is a unique entity resulting from a specific set of circumstances.” This is the central premise from which the conclusion must be drawn. It suggests that the method of creation, the author’s mindset, and the physical act of writing are all part of the unique circumstances that produce the final work.
Choice D is the only option that logically follows this premise. If a novel is inseparable from the specific conditions of its creation, then it is indeed impossible to “reasonably evaluate” a hypothetical version created under different conditions. To change the writing method is to change the core circumstances, meaning one would be speculating about an entirely different, nonexistent novel, not an alternative version of the existing one. The evaluation would not be reasonable because there is no control group or objective basis for comparison.
The other choices introduce irrelevant or unsupported ideas. Choice A discusses efficiency and offers advice, but the passage is descriptive, not prescriptive. Choice B makes a claim about the “success” of authors, a concept the text never mentions. Choice C brings up the time of production, another detail that is not part of the passage’s argument. The text focuses solely on the unique identity of a creative work, making choice D the most logical and well supported completion.
