What differentiates brainstorming from brainwriting in idea generation?

• A. Brainwriting is only for managers; brainstorming for all.
• B. Brainstorming is group session aloud generating many ideas; brainwriting has participants write ideas silently and share them.
• C. Brainstorming is slower; brainwriting is faster.
• D. Brainwriting evaluates ideas during generation; brainstorming does not.

Answer: (B)

The key idea being tested is how ideas are generated in a group. In brainstorming, people share ideas aloud in a live session, listening to and building on what others say in real time. In brainwriting, ideas are captured silently in writing—participants jot down thoughts on paper or a digital sheet and then pass them along so others can add to them without immediate verbal discussion. This written approach often reduces production blocking and gives quieter participants a stronger chance to contribute, leading to a larger and more diverse set of ideas.

That’s why this distinction is about the mode of generation—spoken aloud versus written and shared. The other statements don’t capture the fundamental difference: both methods can be used by various kinds of participants, speed depends on the situation, and whether ideas are evaluated during generation isn’t a defining feature of brainwriting versus brainstorming.