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:unitIs an ounce a small piece of a unit? – B. splinter:woodIs a splinter a small piece of wood? – C. water:bucketIs water a small piece of a bucket? – D. twine:ropeIs twine a small piece of rope? – E. cream:butterIs 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