{"id":20512,"date":"2019-09-20T05:37:52","date_gmt":"2019-09-20T10:37:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kaptest.com\/blog\/prep\/?p=20512"},"modified":"2020-09-11T20:40:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-11T20:40:35","slug":"the-ssat-analogies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpapp.kaptest.com\/study\/ssat\/the-ssat-analogies\/","title":{"rendered":"The SSAT: Analogies"},"content":{"rendered":"

Analogies may seem frightening because they look pretty weird at first glance. You\u2019ll feel better about them as soon as you realize that you speak and think in analogies all the time. Anytime you say, \u201cMy sister is like a slug,\u201d you\u2019re drawing an analogy between your sister and slugs\u2014perhaps your sister is as gross as a slug, or maybe she\u2019s as slow as a slug getting out of bed in the morning. That may not be the kind of relationship that will appear on your test, but the thinking is the same.
\nOnce you become familiar with their format, you\u2019ll find that Analogy questions are pretty straightforward and very predictable. In fact, prepping often gains you more points on Analogies than on any other Verbal question type. With practice, you can learn to get them right even when you don\u2019t know all of the vocabulary words involved.
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The Format<\/h3>
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\nThe instructions will tell you to select the pair of words that is related in the same way as the two words in the beginning of the question. Those two words are called the stem words. SSAT Analogies test your ability to determine relationships between words. These relationships are called bridges. The SSAT tests certain specific relationships time and time again. These are called classic bridges.
\nConsider the following example:
\nInstrumentalist is to orchestra as\u00a0singer<\/em><\/span>\u00a0is to chorus<\/i><\/span>.<\/strong>
\nHow are these things similar? How would you describe the relationship between the words in each pair?
\nOne classic bridge is group<\/strong>: One word is a part or element of the other word. Try to use this classic bridge on a test like question.
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\nFlake is to snow as
\n(A) storm is to hail
\n(B) drop is to rain
\n(C) field is to wheat
\n(D) stack is to hay
\n(E) cloud is to fog<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>
\nIn this example, the answer is (B). A flake is a small unit of snow, just as a drop is a small unit of rain.
\nAnother classic bridge is characteristic<\/strong>: One word describes what the other word is, has, uses, causes, or does. Let’s look at an example of this:
\nKite is to glide<\/em><\/span>\u00a0as raft<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is to float.
\nLet\u2019s look at one final relationship using another example:
\nNovice\u00a0<\/em><\/span>is to experience as braggart is to modesty<\/em><\/span>.
\nIn this example, the classic bridge is lack<\/strong>: One word describes what the other word lacks, cannot be, or does not do.
\nOn Test Day, you can find the correct answer by putting relationships, like these classic ones, in your own words. This crucial skill is the first step in the Kaplan 3-Step Method, which will help you handle Analogy questions, even the toughest ones. This way, you can approach every question systematically rather than just using instinct. Let\u2019s see how it works.
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The Kaplan 3-Step Method for Analogies<\/h3>
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