Step 4 Analyze the text structure.

Question

How is this passage organized?
How did you choose the text structure?
How did this structure help you understand this passage?
Step 5: Identify the author’s purpose.
Why did she write this passage? To persuade, inform, or entertain?
How do you know?

"The artist Leonardo da
Vinci, perhaps best
is as long as what you would expect to see in a man who is 6 feet 8 inches
known for painting the tall. His legs are the length typical of
Mona Lisa, produced
a drawing called the
Vitruvian Man. In it, da Vinci depicted his idea of the perfectly sized and proportioned male body. But is this really what a perfect body looks like? And if it's perfect, does that make every other type of body flawed? Or maybe those are the wrong questions and the idea of a "perfect" body is actually what's flawed.
a man who is 5 feet 10 inches. Phelps has long arms too. Like the Vitruvian Man, most people have a wingspan roughly the same as their height.
Phelps' wingspan is 6 feet 7 inches, three inches longer than his height.
His ankles are (reportedly) double jointed, and thus extremely flexible. And his feet are big-he wears size 14 shoes. So Phelps' legs act like flippers when he swims.
No one could argue that Phelps has a perfect body in da Vinci's sense. But is it correct to say it is imperfect? What does "perfection" mean when we are talking about human biology? Does it even exist?" "the animal kingdom. Imagine a population of brown rabbits and white rabbits in a snowy field. Under these conditions, predators are less likely to see and catch the white rabbits. In a summertime field-all brown soil and green and golden plants-white rabbits are more visible and easier to catch. Neither white nor brown fur is perfect for
rabbit survival. Rabbits need different"
An Imperfect Man Consider Michael Phelps. The winningest swimmer of all time, Phelps earned 28 Olympic medals. His body does not look like the Vitruvian Man. In fact, Phelps' body is quite unusual. The best swimmers tend to have long torsos and short legs. Phelps is 6 feet 4 inches, but his torso
What Is Physical Perfection?
Maybe perfection has more to do with how a body works than how it looks. How we function actually depends upon how well we fit into our environment.
Here's an example from bodies for different seasons. And
in fact, in some types of rabbits, fur
color changes with the seasons. Like
rabbits, all organisms, including
people, adapt to their environments.
The process of evolution selects for
the survival of organisms that thrive
in their specific environments. But
evolution isn’t engineering. Often,
imperfections that don’t affect
survival too badly get passed on
through the generations."
prevent people from
reproducing, though.
Amazingly, most of
us function extremely
well despite these
flaws. Some of us
function spectacularly.
People have plenty. Here are just a few
imperfections in the human body. Our
knees are less flexible than some of
our other joints, which makes injury
common. Unlike most other animals,
we cannot make vitamin C and need
to make sure we get it in our diets.
And our jaws are too small to easily
fit all our teeth, which is why wisdom
teeth usually need to be removed.
All our odd parts and functional
compromises exist because evolution
builds on what came before. Our
ancestors walked on four legs, not
two. Our knees are a compromise that
allow us to be bipedal. More recent
ancestors of humans lost the ability
to make vitamin C, but we figured
out a way to solve this problem with
a change in diet. Humans’ primate
ancestors grew bigger jaws than we
do, because they ate tougher foods.
Now our teeth are crowded. None of
these flaws are so serious that they
Variation as
an Element
of Success
Michael Phelps’
body is not perfectly
symmetrical or
balanced. His physical
variations, however,
may have given him
the raw materials to
be a close-to-perfect
swimmer. Phelps’ case is not unique;
elite athletes highlight dramatic
variability that provides them the
physical characteristics to approach
perfection in action. Usain Bolt, an
Olympic sprinter, has an abundance
of fast-twitch muscle fibers that make
him speedy and legs so long that it
takes him four to five fewer steps to
complete a 100-meter race than his
competitors.
Simone Biles, another Olympic gold
medalist, is both strong and small.
The combination is ideal for her sport
of gymnastics. She may also have a
better-than-average ability to sense
where her body is in space, perhaps
making jumps, spins, and somersaults
a tad easier than for an average person.
No athlete is born with the skills
to win gold medals, though. Those
achievements require years of effort.
Using Variation to
Your Advantage
Da Vinci’s drawing of the Vitruvian Man combined mathematics and art. To
da Vinci, the Vitruvian Man depicted
ideal proportions. It was his image of
the perfectly formed man. Da Vinci is a
time-honored artist, but is there really
such thing as a perfect body?
No.
In biology, there is no such thing
as one ideal body. In fact, variation in
all living things, including us, is the
rule. This variation is essential for our survival. Human variation has
allowed us to live in wildly different
environments—the tropics, deserts,
and the Arctic—and to develop
many different physical, intellectual,
and emotional talents. Not only is
there no ideal human body, but our
species also thrives because we are
different from one another, each of us
particularly suited for our own way
of living.
How might Michael Phelps,
Usain Bolt, and Simone Biles define
perfection? Perhaps they might say
that perfection, or close to it, occurs
in peak athletic performance. Their
physical traits certainly helped them
excel at their sports. However, it was
hard work, dedication, and training
that allowed them to soar.
How do you define perfection?
Maybe something about you
seems different. Can you combine
your unique physical, mental, and
emotional skills and your attitude in
a way that works toward your version of perfection?

Answer 1

Step 4: Analyze the Text Structure

How is this passage organized? The passage is organized thematically and conceptually. It begins with an introduction to the concept of physical perfection using Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man as a reference point. It then moves through various examples, primarily focusing on Michael Phelps, and compares him with other athletes like Usain Bolt and Simone Biles. The author explores the idea of physical variation and how it contributes to overall success in different environments and fields, culminating in a discussion about the subjective nature of perfection.

How did you choose the text structure? The thematic structure was chosen because the passage is centered around the central concept of "perfection" in the human body and how it relates to physical abilities. The use of examples and comparative analysis effectively supports the author’s exploration of how individual differences can lead to success. The structure is logical, allowing the reader to follow the argument that perfection is not a definitive standard but a range of variations suited for different purposes.

How did this structure help you understand this passage? This structure helped me understand the passage by clearly delineating the progression of ideas from a historical and artistic reference to modern implications in sports and biology. It encourages a critical examination of what perfection means in various contexts and illustrates the thesis through concrete examples of athletic excellence. The comparison between athletes emphasizes the author's argument against a singular concept of physical perfection.

Step 5: Identify the Author’s Purpose

Why did she write this passage? To persuade, inform, or entertain? The author wrote this passage primarily to inform the reader about the concept of physical perfection, challenging the traditional notion of what constitutes an ideal body. While there are elements of persuasion—encouraging the reader to reconsider how they define or perceive perfection—the primary goal is to educate the audience on biological variation and its significance.

How do you know? I know the author's purpose is to inform because the passage presents factual information about da Vinci's Vitruvian Man and details specific biological features and athletic characteristics of various high-performing athletes. The author also uses logical reasoning and examples to argue against the idea of a single perfect body, supporting the claim that variation is beneficial and necessary for survival and success in different environments. Additionally, the inquiries posed throughout the passage engage the reader in a thoughtful exploration rather than merely entertaining them.