A question about two texts tests how one author would respond to the other’s claim. Read the question to find who answers which claim, then shorten each text’s claim and reason. Name the stance: reject means challenge the claim, qualify means accept it only partly or in certain cases, and extend means carry it further. Check the reason against the responding author’s own evidence and the claim being answered. Choices can take the right stance but give a reason the author never offers.
Hints
- Hint 1
Find the reason behind Text 1’s prediction. What does it say workers lose when they leave the office?
- Hint 2
In Text 2, look for what each tool lets coworkers do. Ask how those uses answer Text 1’s concern.
- Hint 3
Name the stance from Text 2’s final sentence. Does the author accept the prediction, limit it to certain cases, or reject it?
Step-by-step
Compare the claim with the author’s reasons
Step 1Find who responds and what the prediction rests on
Start with how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond: Text 2’s author is answering Text 1’s prediction that creativity will fall. Why does Text 1 predict that decline? It says informal office exchanges cannot be scheduled or replicated online, so remote work removes a source of new ideas. Text 1’s prediction rests on losing informal idea sharing.
- Step 2
Find how the remote tools answer that concern
Can the tools described in Text 2 provide the exchanges Text 1 says are missing? Coworkers can share half-formed thoughts the moment they occur, and teams can build on those thoughts using virtual whiteboards, so idea sharing doesn’t have to wait for a planned meeting. Archived discussions also mean teammates in different time zones can contribute later. Remote work can bring in ideas right away and from people who aren’t available at the same time.
- Step 3
Name the stance and its limit
What stance follows from those examples? Text 2’s conclusion says remote environments can be more fertile ground for creativity than conventional offices. The author would reject the prediction of a decline, since remote work can help creativity grow. Properly managed limits that claim to tools used well, rather than promising success for every company.
- Step 4
Match the response and its reason
The choice about more spontaneous and inclusive idea sharing captures thoughts shared right away and more coworkers able to join in. Its can foster matches can be more fertile ground for creativity, so it challenges Text 1’s prediction without promising that every company will become more creative. Choice D.