A question about how one author would respond tests how that author would judge another’s proposed solution. Start with the question to find whose view matters and which proposal they’re judging. Then put each text’s claim and reason in a few words so you can name the response: agree, reject, add limits, or apply the idea to a new case. Check the reason behind the response, because a choice can take the right position for a reason the author never gives.
Hints
- Hint 1
Find Ramirez’s proposed solution in the last sentence of Text 1. Patel is the person evaluating it, so her view will guide the response.
- Hint 2
In Text 2, connect the classroom projects to Patel’s claim about empathy. What do those projects lead students to do?
- Hint 3
Compare the advice in each text’s final sentence. Does Patel accept Ramirez’s solution, add a limit, or offer a different one?
Step-by-step
Judge the proposal from Patel’s view
Step 1Pin down Ramirez’s solution
Ramirez proposes limiting daily screen time as the solution Patel is being asked to evaluate. Why does he recommend it? He argues that online interactions lack the nonverbal cues found in face-to-face conversations, which makes teenagers less able to read feelings and respond with care. His solution follows that reasoning: less online time should restore empathy.
- Step 2
Read Patel’s evidence
What do Patel’s examples show about online interactions? Students follow aid workers’ feeds and then initiate local charity drives, so what they see online leads them to help others. Patel uses these projects to argue that online platforms can deepen their capacity for empathy. The kind of online experience matters, because these students become more caring through social media.
- Step 3
Set the stance and its limits
Patel would reject Ramirez’s solution because the examples challenge his reason for limiting online time. How far does her disagreement go? She says the key is not restricting screen time, but she doesn’t claim teenagers need increased screen time. Her evidence shows that online activity can help, not that more hours are needed.
- Step 4
Match Patel’s reason
What would Patel put in place of a time limit? She favors teaching students to curate meaningful content. To curate means to select carefully, so her concern is what students choose and how they use it. The phrase use social media constructively means using it in a helpful way, which sums up her advice and gives her own reason for questioning Ramirez’s limit. Choice D.