Exactly six different essays will appear in a coming issue of a magazine. Three of the essays- G, I, and Jare by the writer K, and the other three essays-M, N, and P-are by the writer Y. Each essay will appear exactly once in the issue, and an essay must appear on each of the pages 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18. The order in which the essays appear in the issue will be governed by the following conditions: The essays on pages 3, 9, and 15 must all be by the same writer. I must precede P. M must precede J. Which of the following is an acceptable order, from first to last, in which the essays can appear in the magazine?

Explanation: The pages are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18. K essays: G, I, J. Y essays: M, N, P. Rules: (1) 3, 9, 15 must have the same writer. (2) I < P. (3) M < J. Check the options against the rules: Option 1: I, P, M, G, N, J. Page 3, 9, 15: I (K), M (Y), N (Y). **Violates Rule (1)** (I, M, N are not all the same writer). Option 2: J, N, I, P, G, M. Page 3, 9, 15: J (K), I (K), G (K). **Satisfies Rule (1)**. I < P: I (Page 9) precedes P (Page 12). **Satisfies Rule (2)**. M < J: M (Page 18) must precede J (Page 3). **Violates Rule (3)**. Option 3: M, I, G, J, N, P. Page 3, 9, 15: M (Y), G (K), N (Y). **Violates Rule (1)**. Option 4: M, I, P, G, N, J. Page 3, 9, 15: M (Y), P (Y), N (Y). **Satisfies Rule (1)**. I < P: I (Page 6) precedes P (Page 9). **Satisfies Rule (2)**. M < J: M (Page 3) precedes J (Page 18). **Satisfies Rule (3)**. Option 5: N, G, M, J, P, I. Page 3, 9, 15: N (Y), M (Y), P (Y). **Satisfies Rule (1)**. I < P: P (Page 15) must precede I (Page 18). **Violates Rule (2)**. **Therefore, Option 4 is the only acceptable order.** (The solution shows D is correct but does not check the options systematically in the text, so the manual check above confirms the answer).