Analogies

What are they and why should I know how to make and/or solve them?

Analogy: A definition

 What do a dam and a road block have in common?

Think about each structure

 What does a dam look like?

 What does a roadblock look like?

Now think about the function of a damn and the function of a roadblock

 What does a dam do?

 What does a roadblock do?

The foundation of an analogy

 A dam holds water back  A roadblock holds traffic back – Dam is to Water as Roadblock is to Traffic

A definition…

 An analogy refers to a similarity between two thing that are otherwise not alike.

– For example: Your doctor will urge you to eat a well-balanced diet and exercise regularly, arguing the your heart should be properly maintained just like a well-maintained electric pump.

Analogies in school…

 Teachers often use analogies to help you understand important concepts.

– For example:  A world history teacher explaining the concept of excommunication might say, “Being excommunicated from Church is like being expelled from school.”  A science teacher explaining how a geyser works might say, “Steam is to a geyser as lava is to a volcano.”  A literature teacher introducing an epic poem could point out, “An epic is to literature as a symphony is to music.”

So exactly what purpose do analogies serve?

 Forming analogies is an important and ongoing aspect of how we view the world around us.

 They test our vocabulary.

 They test our ability to see relationships  They test our knowledge of subject matter  They test our knowledge of every day affairs  They foster critical thinking skills

So exactly how does an analogy work?

 They are designed to test your verbal reasoning skills by asking you to first establish a relationship between a pair of words and then to recognize a similar relationship between another pair of words.

– Example: Which of the following pairs best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair?  Crumb:Bread::      A. ounce:unit B. splinter:wood C. water:bucket D. twine:rope E. cream:butter

So now I know what an analogy is..how do I solve them?

 Analogies are verbal riddles. Follow this 3 step procedure for solving them… – – 1. Relate 2. Apply – 3. Select

Relate

 Crumb and Bread. (stem) – Establish a clear relationship between these two words by forming a sentence connecting them.

 Example: A crumb is a small piece of bread.

– – Note the sentence is short and specific.

The relationship is solid and tangible.

– The sentence you form must be short, and show relationship between the 2 words. There is a crumb of bread on the plate. Does not do this.

Apply

 Look at the choices you are given and apply your sentence to each of those choices.

– – – – – A. ounce:unit B. splinter:wood C. water:bucket D. twine:rope E. cream:butter Is an ounce a small piece of a unit? Is a splinter a small piece of wood?

Is water a small piece of a bucket?

Is twine a small piece of rope?

Is cream a small piece of butter?

Select

 The answer that best matches the relationship between the original pair of words is the correct answer.

– So the correct answer for this example would be  B since a crumb is a small piece of bread in the same way a splinter is a small piece of wood.

4 types of anlaogies we will study are…

 Is a Type of  Is a Part of  Is a Place where  Is Used to  Studying analogies will help build our vocabularies  Improve our verbal reasoning skills  Make our writing more clear and concise  Improve our critical thinking skills