Animals use many objects as tools to achieve goals more easily. Such goals include grooming, finding food, and protecting themselves....
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Animals use many objects as tools to achieve goals more easily. Such goals include grooming, finding food, and protecting themselves. For a long time, people thought tool use was unique to primates. Dolphins and other animals, though, have busted the myth that tool use requires hands. Inventively, dolphins use sponges to protect their noses from scratches when foraging on the seafloor. Palm cockatoos also get creative. They use leaves to pad their beaks when opening nuts.
Which choice best states the main purpose of the text?
To question the belief that birds are intelligent
To compare tool use in humans with tool use in palm cockatoos
To establish that tool use doesn't indicate intelligence
To argue that a variety of animals use tools
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Part A: Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| Animals use many objects as tools to achieve goals more easily. |
|
| Such goals include grooming, finding food, and protecting themselves. |
|
| For a long time, people thought tool use was unique to primates. |
|
| Dolphins and other animals, though, have busted the myth that tool use requires hands. |
|
| Inventively, dolphins use sponges to protect their noses from scratches when foraging on the seafloor. |
|
| Palm cockatoos also get creative. |
|
| They use leaves to pad their beaks when opening nuts. |
|
Part B: Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Various animal species use tools creatively, disproving the old belief that tool use was limited to primates.
Argument Flow: The passage starts with a broad claim about animal tool use, then introduces the historical misconception that only primates used tools, before systematically dismantling that belief with specific examples from dolphins and birds.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
What's being asked? The main purpose of the entire text.
What type of answer do we need? The central goal or function the author had in writing this passage.
Any limiting keywords? 'Best states' means we need the most accurate and complete purpose, not just a partial one.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The correct answer should capture that the passage's main job is to show that tool use isn't limited to primates - it should acknowledge that many different animal species use tools
- The key elements we need are: Recognition that multiple/various animals use tools
- Some sense that this challenges or expands previous thinking
- Focus on the breadth of tool use across species
To question the belief that birds are intelligent
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the purpose is questioning bird intelligence
- The passage never discusses intelligence at all - it focuses purely on tool use behaviors
- Only mentions one bird species as part of a broader point about diverse animal tool use
To compare tool use in humans with tool use in palm cockatoos
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests the passage compares human and cockatoo tool use
- Humans aren't even mentioned in the passage
- The cockatoo example is just one of several examples, not the main focus
To establish that tool use doesn't indicate intelligence
✗ Incorrect
- Claims the passage establishes that tool use doesn't indicate intelligence
- Intelligence is never discussed or even implied in the passage
- The passage is about which animals use tools, not what tool use means about intelligence
To argue that a variety of animals use tools
✓ Correct
- Captures exactly what our passage analysis showed: the text demonstrates that various animals use tools
- Matches our prethinking about showing diversity of tool use across species
- Encompasses both the myth-busting aspect (challenging the primate-only belief) and the evidence provided (dolphins, cockatoos)