Passage Discussion

[RuthS478]

Hi there, could someone help out with a passage map/scale? I got a few questions wrong here, and want to go over my map to see where I could have been clearer on the front end of the passage.

[smiller]

Thanks for your patience. We're catching up with a few posts that slipped by us earlier.

Passage Map:

Passage A:
Paragraph 1 - There must be a plausible explanation for muscle memory since so many athletes experience it.
Paragraph 2 - Possible explanation: muscle retains the ability of neurons to stimulate muscle fibers
Paragraph 3 - Different explanation: knowledge of our ability to increase weight lets us progress rapidly

Passage B:
Paragraph 1 - Scientists know why "pumping up" is easier for people who did it before: muscles retain one aspect of fitness
Paragraph 2 - During exercise, muscle cells take nuclei from stem cells; extra nuclei die when muscles atrophy
Paragraph 3 - new discovery: extra nuclei remain and are ready to help build muscle again

There are a couple of ways to look at the scale in a comparative passage set like this. We could say that the scale of Passage A is "physical explanation of muscle memory (neurons) vs. mental explanation (knowing how much we can increase weight)." The scale of Passage B might be, "old view: extra nuclei die vs. new view: nuclei remain."

We could also describe a scale based on the different explanations for muscle memory: "Passage A: neuron or mental explanation vs. Passage B: nuclei explanation."

The scale is a useful tool, but for comparative passages it's sometimes more useful to create your big-picture view of the passages by noticing how they are similar and how they are different. Both passages offer explanations for so-called "muscle memory." Passage A provides two possible explanations, but doesn't indicate if one or the other is more likely to be correct. Passage B presents a different explanation, and states that scientists believe it is the correct explanation (lines 39-40). It's also useful to note that Passage B never uses the term "muscle memory," but based on context we can tell that both passages discuss the same phenomenon.