Question

I am sometimes attacked for imposing ‘rules’. Nothing could be further from the truth. I hate rules. All I do is report on how consumers react to different stimuli. I may say to a copywriter, “Research shows that commercials with celebrities are below average in persuading people to buy products. Are you sure you want to use a celebrity?” Call that a rule? Or I may say to an art director, “Research suggests that if you set the copy in black type on a white background, more people will read it than if you set it in white type on a black background.”

• A. Guidance based on applied research can hardly qualify as ‘rules’.
• B. Thus, all my so-called ‘rules’ are rooted in applied research.
• C. A suggestion perhaps, but scarcely a rule.
• D. Such principles are unavoidable if one wants to be systematic about consumer behaviour.
• E. Fundamentally it is about consumer behaviour — not about celebrities or type settings.

Hint:

When the author is defending against criticism, the Correct Answer often directly reinforces their defence with the core reasoning they provided.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is B

The speaker rejects the notion that they are imposing arbitrary "rules" and instead frames their advice as based on empirical evidence from consumer behaviour research. They give examples related to celebrity endorsements and text readability. The logical completion must tie these examples back to the claim that the so-called "rules" come directly from research findings. - Option (1) is a partial match but does not emphasize the direct link to research.
- Option (2) makes the explicit connection — the rules are grounded in applied research — which directly supports the author's main defence.
- Option (3) downplays the importance of the advice, which does not align with the author's tone.
- Option (4) shifts the focus to systematic behaviour without reinforcing the "research" point.
- Option (5) moves away from the defence and onto the scope of topics, which is irrelevant here.
Thus: \[ \boxed{\text{Option (2)}} \]