In the sentence \"Diversity typically provides fresh perspectives on issues, but it makes it more difficult (to unit) the team and reach agreements\", which option best improves the bracketed part?

Introduction / Context:
This question evaluates knowledge of English grammar and proper verb forms in a sentence improvement context. The sentence discusses how diversity can make it harder to bring a team together. The phrase to unit is ungrammatical, so the test requires choosing the best replacement that fits both meaning and grammatical structure. Such questions measure a candidate's command of verbs, infinitives, and parallel structures, which are critical for error spotting and sentence correction tasks in competitive exams.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original sentence: Diversity typically provides fresh perspectives on issues, but it makes it more difficult (to unit) the team and reach agreements.
• The bracketed part to unit is incorrect.
• Options include unify, unity, to unify, No improvement, and to unite (added as a plausible distractor).
• We aim for a grammatically correct and stylistically smooth sentence.

Concept / Approach:
The structure it makes it more difficult is usually followed by an infinitive without to plus object, that is, makes it more difficult to do something, or by a direct object complement. Here, a verb that matches the later phrase reach agreements is needed. Parallelism suggests the pattern makes it more difficult to unify the team and reach agreements, where unify and reach are both base verbs linked by and. Using unity (a noun) breaks the parallel structure. Using to unify introduces redundancy with makes it more difficult, which already implies difficulty in performing an action.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the error. The word unit is a noun and does not work as a verb in the phrase to unit the team. Step 2: Decide that we need a verb meaning bring together or make one, such as unify or unite. Step 3: Check the sentence with unify: Diversity typically provides fresh perspectives on issues, but it makes it more difficult unify the team and reach agreements. Step 4: Here, makes it more difficult unify the team is a slightly reduced construction, where unify acts as a bare infinitive, similar to patterns like makes us work harder. This is acceptable in exam style usage and maintains good parallelism with reach agreements. Step 5: Compare with unity, to unify, and to unite and notice that they either break parallelism or introduce unnecessary repetition of to.

Verification / Alternative check:
An alternative is to think in terms of a more expanded structure: makes it more difficult for the team to unify and reach agreements. In this view, unify is clearly a verb. If we plug unity instead, we get for the team to unity, which is wrong. If we use to unify, we get makes it more difficult to unify the team and to reach agreements, which is grammatically fine but heavier and not necessary when one to can be understood for both verbs. Therefore unify as a simple, active verb is the best one word replacement for unit in the original sentence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
unity: A noun meaning oneness or harmony. It cannot directly follow to in this context, and it does not parallel reach. to unify: Creates an unnecessary repetition of the infinitive marker to and slightly disturbs the rhythm, though understandable, it is not the best concise exam style answer. No improvement: Incorrect because to unit is clearly ungrammatical. to unite: Similar issue as to unify; the question expects improvement by replacing the incorrect word rather than changing the entire structure.

Common Pitfalls:
One common pitfall is choosing unity because it looks similar to unit and appears to match the idea of oneness. However, the sentence requires a verb, not a noun. Another mistake is mechanically selecting to unify as it seems to mirror the original form to unit, without checking the overall fluency of the sentence. Strong grammar skills require examining how a replacement word interacts with the rest of the sentence and whether it preserves parallel structure. Unify is the most precise and grammatically sound option.

Final Answer:
The best improvement of the bracketed part is unify, giving the sentence: Diversity typically provides fresh perspectives on issues, but it makes it more difficult unify the team and reach agreements.