A question about two texts tests how one author would answer another author’s concern. Read the question to identify who answers whom, then put the concern into a few words. Find the responding author’s claim and the reason behind it. Ask whether that author would reject the concern, add a limit to it, or apply it to a new case. Check the reason and how strong the claim is, because an answer can agree with the author but go beyond the text.
Hints
- Hint 1
In Text 1, look for what remote work is said to take away and why that loss worries the author.
- Hint 2
Connect Text 2’s opening claim to its examples. What are the whiteboards, documents, and voice channels meant to show about where and how people develop ideas?
Step-by-step
Find the response, reason, and limits
Step 1Pin down Text 1’s concern
Text 1 says remote work is eroding the spontaneous exchanges that spark innovation. What concern does the author of Text 2 need to answer? Without office conversations, Text 1 argues, teams get cut off from one another and repeat familiar ideas. The concern is a loss of innovation, so we’re tracking whether people can develop new ideas without being together in an office.
- Step 2
Find Text 2’s response and reason
What does Text 2 offer as another way to brainstorm? Digital whiteboards, shared documents, and quick voice channels let employees brainstorm from anywhere. The author describes this as often resulting in more diverse ideas because people beyond those near the conference room can contribute. Text 2 rejects the concern, rather than accepting that remote teams must lose their ability to innovate.
- Step 3
Check how far the response goes
How far does that rejection go? Creativity isn’t bound to a physical office means an office isn’t necessary, not that location has no effect at all. The response about no impact on creativity or innovation goes too far by ruling out any effect. In contrast, the response that online tools can foster innovation just as effectively makes a limited claim about what online tools can do, which the author supports by describing brainstorming that can produce more diverse ideas. Choice B.