During the course of a good education, one that has both depth and breadth, and is delivered by way of quality educators and rigorous pacing and standards, analogies have long been part of the instructional toolkit. Simply defined, an analogy seeks to compare two things, emphasizing the relationship between them, and then seeks to find two more things that are related to each other in the same way. An analogy is a type of comparison; it is when two seemingly unlike things are found to be related in some way. It is a puzzle that answers the question, “How are these two things somehow tied together?” Analogies require analysis, consideration, and careful slicing and dicing, as one seeks to define the exact nature of how two things compare to each other.
So why teach analogies anyway? As students, when we learn analogies, the relationships between things, and then seek to observe the same relationship between other things, our overall comprehension is raised, and as we attempt to explain our thinking and communicate it to others, our ability to grasp many fundamental concepts in our world is enhanced. Analogies focus on a variety of word relationships. Studying them will enhance, strengthen and reinforce skills in areas such as reading comprehension, attention to detail, vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, homophones, deductive reasoning and logic. It is for this reason that nearly all standardized tests include some form of analogical questioning.
In preparing for taking such an exam, it is important to be aware of the many various types of analogies that will likely be presented. For specific content areas, analogies may be subject-specific, focusing on science, mathematics, or social studies. These will generally require good background knowledge of the content of a particular discipline.
Generally, however, analogies can be reduced to eleven key types. Knowing these types is extremely important, as identifying the relationships between the two parts of an analogy is key to finding the missing information that follows. Below are the eleven analogy types with which any student taking an exam should be familiar:
The Eleven Most Common Types of Analogies:
- Part:Whole (eg: leg:body)
- Synonyms/Antonyms/Homophones (huge:enormous; little:big; serial:cereal)
- Device or Tool/Object:User/Maker (hammer:carpenter)
- Member/Leader:Group (coach:baseball team)
- Characteristic:Degree of that Characteristic (cool:cold)
- Causal:Effect (virus:sickness)
- Characteristic/Description:Object (humid:rainforest)
- Member:Category (cantaloupe:melons)
- Location:Item usually housed there (hangar:airplane)
- Serial/First This:Then This (summer:autumn)
- Association/(This is Associated with) :That (milk:cookies)
After familiarizing oneself with the types of analogies, students should seek to be able to identify the type of analogy with which they are faced as they begin to practice analogical reasoning. This is the FIRST and most important strategy in solving analytical puzzles! By knowing the type of analogy you are looking at, it is easier to deduce the answer that will represent a similar relationship. Recognizing the type is the juncture at which solid analytical reasoning begins, and training oneself to think in a logical, deductive manner is key to acing tests of analogies; gaining mastery in these exercises pours over into all areas of life, and in approaching comprehension in many areas both academic and otherwise.
A good vocabulary will also enable one to approach any test of analogies with greater ease and success. Reading and reviewing vocabulary lists are two ways, and studying Greek and Latin word roots is an incredibly efficient way of becoming knowledgeable of myriad words at the same time! For example, if you know that the Latin root for “bad” is “mal,” even if you are not familiar with “malicious,” “maladaptive,” “malignant,” or “malevolent,” on a test you will immediately know that all of these words have something to do with a “bad” element. By being able to eliminate answers and by being able to favor ones that you have a suspicion may be correct analogy-wise, you will have that much of an advantage.
In taking an exam of analogies, it is also key to be on the lookout for answers that are put there to attract, and to detract from the correct answer. It is important to watch out for switched up choices; for example cat:meow::bark: dog is NOT correct. The order of animal:sound is key, and when the order of the analogy is switched up, it is not the same!
While most students specifically prepare for standardized tests that incorporate analogies, the work included in this preparation is actually enrichment study that would benefit students of all ages as core curriculum. The process of solving analogies is “cognitive food,” and its ability to bolster deductive analytical thinking over content areas academically and all areas of comprehension and life is extremely powerful.