ANALOGIES

ANALOGIES
Analogies test your vocabulary and your ability to figure out the relationships between pairs of words. You're given a pair of capitalized words (for example, POTATO:VEGETABLE), and you're asked to determine their relationship, then identi@ the answer choice that has the same relationship.

The directions for this question type look like this:

Directions: In this question, a related pair of words is followed by five lettered pairs of words. Choose the one pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

THE FOUR FUNDAMENTALS

To improve your skill in answering analogy questions, you'll need to familiarize yourself
with the basic principles for approaching them-and you'll need some practice. The Four
Fundamentals below will help you to increase your skills and confidence as you approach the day of the test. And with skills and confidence, you'll be able to earn points on test day!

Analogy Questions Consist of Two Words
The two words, called the stem pair, are followed by five answer choices, each consisting of two words that are also separated by colons.Analogy questions on the look like this:
1. LITER : VOLUME ::
a) bottle : can
b)knob : radio
c) scale : height
d)gram : weight
e) juice : vitamin

There Will Always Be a Direct and Necessary Relationship between the Words in the Stem Pair

You can express the relationship between the two stem words by making a short sentence that we call a bridge. Your goals when you build an analogy bridge should be to keep it as short and as clear as possible.
For the analogy above, as strong bridge would be:
A LITER is by definition a measure of VOLUME.

WHAT'S A STEM PAIR?
Analogy questions consist of two words-the stem pair-that are separated by a colon.
Stem pairs look like this:

PREPARATION : SUCCESS ::

Try to Build a "Bridge" before Looking at the Answer Choices

In a standardized test, we'll find that certain kinds of bridges appear on the test over and over again. At VA4CAT, we call these frequently appearing bridges Classic
Bridges. Getting familiar with Classic Bridges now will help you quickly recognize these relationships when we encounter them on the CAT.

WHAT'S A BRIDGE?
A bridge is a short sentence that connects the two words in the stem pair. You should
always build a bridge before you look at the answer choices.

The Five Classic Bridges
1. Definition ("is always" or "is never")
2. Function or Purpose
3. Lack
4. Characteristic Actions or Items
5. Degree (sometimes to the point of excess)

Each of the five classic bridges are illustrated below.

The Definition Bridge
CYGNET : SWAN A CYGNET is a young SWAN.

The Function or Purpose Bridge
TRUSS : SUPPORT A TRUSS is used as a SUPPORT.

The Lack Bridge
LOUT : GRACE A LOUT lacks GRACE.

The Characteristic Actions or Item Bridge
SKUNK : SCENT A SKUNK defends itself with its SCENT.

The Degree Bridge (sometimes to the point ofexcess)
INTEREST : ENTHRALL To INTEREST greatly is to ENTHRALL.

Remember the five classic bridges and keep them in mind as you practice for the CAT

WHAT MAKES A STRONG BRIDGE?
We might think that the words apple and pie have a strong bridge. Don't be fooled. We can make many things other than pies out of apples, such as apple juice and apple
sauce. And there are many different types of pies. Apple and fruit, on the other hand,
do have a strong bridge. An apple is a type of fruit. This is always true: It's a strong,
definite relationship.

Watch Out for Common Wrong Answer Types
Because the bridges on CAT analogies are predictable, wrong answer types to these questions are also predictable. If you get stumped on any CAT analogy, we can earn points by ruling out as many wrong answer choices as we can and then picking from the remaining choices.
Here are some of the typical wrong answer choices that appear on analogies:

Unrelated Words
A pair of words with no strong relationship is a common wrong answer.

Same Subject Trap
The words in the answer choice are in the same fields (or have the same subject) as the words in the stem pair, but don't have the same bridge.

"Both Are" Bridges
This involves words that aren't related to each other, but are both related to a third word. For instance, the words bracelet: necklace refer to pieces of jewelry. Yet a bracelet has no necessary connection to a necklace.

Context Traps
Words that often appear together in context, but don't have any relationship. For instance, mitigating : circumstance

Reverse Analogy
The bridge would be right if the order of the words were reversed.

Opposite Bridge
The bridge is the exact opposite of the bridge between the wbrds in the stem pair.

Irrelevant Bridge
The bridge is strong, but it doesn't have anything to do with the bridge in the stem pair.

THE FOUR-STEP METHOD
Approaching analogies in a systematic manner is the best way to avoid common pitfalls and improve your score.

Find a Strong Bridge between the Stem Words
In most cases, the more precisely you can express the connection between the two
words, the better. A precise formulation is more likely to help you find the right
answer.

Plug the Answer Choices into the Bridge
1.Look for the answer choice pair that has the same relationship as the stem pair.
2.Immediately eliminate answer choices that don't fit the bridge.
3.Always try all the answer choices; you might find that more than one answer choice
works with the bridge that you built.
4.If only one answer choice works with the bridge you built, select that answer choice.

Adjust the Bridge, if Necessary
1.If more than one answer choice works, you'll have to narrow your bridge (make it
more precise).
2.If none of the answer choices work, you probably need to expand it (make it more
general).
3.Consider alternate definitions for the stem words. Perhaps your bridge uses the wrong

If Stuck, Build Bridges between Answer Choice Pairs and Work
Backwards
1.Eliminate all answer choices that have no strong bridge.
2.Eliminate all answer choices that have an identical bridge to another answer choice.
3.Beware of answer choices that reverse the bridge.
definition of a word.