A question about two texts tests whether you can tell how one author would answer the other’s claim. Read the question to find who answers whom and the exact claim marked in bold. Put that claim and its reason in a few words, then do the same for the responding author’s view. Name the author’s view: does that author reject the claim, accept it with limits, or take it further? A response needs that author’s own reason, not a reason that only sounds sensible.
Hints
- Hint 1
The question singles out the bolded claim in Text 1. Read it as the exact claim Text 2’s author must answer, rather than treating every detail in Text 1 as the target.
- Hint 2
Read Text 2’s opening and final sentences for what the author accepts and recommends. What do the school examples suggest the author would say about the bolded claim?
Step-by-step
Answer the ban from Text 2’s view
Step 1Find the exact claim
Text 1 says smartphones should be banned from classrooms entirely, so the target is a complete classroom ban. The question has Text 2’s author answer that specific claim. Why does Text 1 call for a ban? It links phones to reduced focus, students scrolling during group work, and unequal access to the latest devices.
- Step 2
Find Text 2’s claim and reason
What does Text 2 accept about the problem? It says Smartphones can certainly distract, so it shares Text 1’s concern about lost attention. But phones can also be valuable learning tools when used with clear rules. Phones can help students learn with clear rules, so Text 2 has a reason to challenge the ban, rather than deny that distraction happens.
- Step 3
Find the author’s view from the example
Does accepting the distraction problem mean accepting the ban? No: Text 2 describes schools that store phones during lectures while permitting brief, teacher-directed use for polls, research, or translation. That example limits phone use without removing it from all classroom work. The author would reject the total ban while accepting the concern behind it, because a phone can still help students learn.
- Step 4
Match the view and reason
Which response uses Text 2’s own reason to answer the ban? The choice advocating teacher-guided, limited use follows Text 2’s call for rules: schools should set consistent protocols. By saying that phones can distract, it keeps the author’s concern, while rather than a total classroom ban rejects the exact bolded claim. Choice C.