SAT Reading & Writing · Cross-Text Connections
**Text 1** Advocates of open-plan office design have argued that removing walls and private offices increases spontaneous face-to-face…
**Text 1**
Advocates of open-plan office design have argued that removing walls and private offices increases spontaneous face-to-face interaction among employees, fostering greater collaboration and idea-sharing.
**Text 2**
Field studies tracking employee behavior after several companies converted to open-plan layouts found that face-to-face interaction actually decreased in some cases, while electronic messaging between employees increased substantially, seemingly as a way of preserving some privacy in an otherwise open space.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim in Text 1 that open offices increase face-to-face interaction?
Advocates of open-plan office design have argued that removing walls and private offices increases spontaneous face-to-face interaction among employees, fostering greater collaboration and idea-sharing.
**Text 2**
Field studies tracking employee behavior after several companies converted to open-plan layouts found that face-to-face interaction actually decreased in some cases, while electronic messaging between employees increased substantially, seemingly as a way of preserving some privacy in an otherwise open space.
Based on the texts, how would the author of Text 2 most likely respond to the claim in Text 1 that open offices increase face-to-face interaction?
Answer and explanation
Answer: B: By challenging that specific claim, since field data from several actual office conversions found the opposite pattern for face-to-face contact.
Text 2's specific finding, decreased face-to-face interaction after real-world conversions, directly contradicts the specific claim in Text 1 that open offices increase this kind of interaction. B captures that direct, evidence-based challenge. A misstates Text 2's finding in the opposite direction. C and D both invent broader claims about office design or communication quality that Text 2 doesn't make.
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