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1.) Before reading the passage, read the questions first (not the choices). If
you know the questions, then you can choose what to take note while reading.
2.) Pay attention to the first and last sentences in the each paragraph.
Usually, those sentences state the main idea of the passage.
3.) Most passages have clues about the important ideas. Phrases like “note
that,” “clearly,” and “do not overlook” give you hints on which ideas to focus
on.
4.) Read ALL the choices. Do not rush answering if you think you found the
correct answer. The next answer might be a better answer.
5.) Take note of the difference between the true answer and correct answer.
Carefully read the passage and understand the ideas it communicates. Be
sure that your answer is based on the passage and not your own opinion.
6.) Do not spend a lot of time in one question. If you cannot find the
answer even if you refer to the passage, eliminate the obviously wrong
choices, and choose your answer from the remaining choices.
7.) Review your answers. If you finished the exam early, go back to the
questions where you have doubts. Reread the passage and answer the
question.
It is important to know the relationship among words and their particular order
as shown in the next example.
petal: flower
A. hands: nail
B. car: road
C. monitor: computer
D. daughter: mother
2. In this post, we are going to look at a single word analogy question and discuss
how to answer it. In single word analogy, we are just looking for one word, not a
pair of words.
Consider the example below.
a. sandwich
b. dinner
c. eggs
d. countdown
Analysis
One of the best ways to answer analogy questions is to know the meaning of the
words. If you do not know the meaning of the words, then it is likely that you will
just have to rely on your best guess. That is why it is important to always improve
your vocabulary by reading, writing, etc.
In the example above, I think we all understand the meaning of lunch and
breakfast, so we only need to know about “launch.” Well, launch is not really a
difficult word. Companies launch products, scientist launch rockets. So, to launch
means to start something (start a product, start a rocket so it can take off). Now,
that we know the meaning of all the words, we analyze what goes into the blank.
First, it is quite tempting to choose sandwich and eggs because they are related to
breakfast and lunch. However, choosing sandwich or eggs would mean that
“launch” should be strongly related to them as breakfast relates to lunch. Looking
closely, it is easly to see there is none. So, it seems that (a) and (c) are not the
correct answer. Therefore, we are left with dinner (b) and countdown (d).
Let’s try putting dinner in the blank. Well, it has some connection. You probably
have dinner if you launch something. But then, breakfast and lunch are both ‘eating
events’ and so there is no connection between the launch and dinner. Launch is
not necessarily an eating event!
[dinner: launch] [breakfast:lunch]
Remember that we are looking for the relationship between [breakfast:lunch] that
is the same as the relationship of [dinner:launch] and looks like we can’t find any.
Can you think of one?
Now let’s put countdown. Can you see the relationship between countdown and
launch?
[countdown: launch] [breakfast:lunch]
When there is a launch, there is usually a countdown. And when does the
countdown happens? A countdown happens before a launch. Is this relationship
connected to [breakfast:lunch]. Oh yes, breakfast happens before lunch. So, we
can see that the relationship between the pair words is the order in which they
happen.
Hmmm, you can probably argue that [dinner:launch] is also a correct answer since
it is possible to have dinner before a launch. Yes, it’s possible, but it’s not absolute.
Meaning, we can have dinner after a launch. But breakfast ALWAYS happens
before dinner. And nobody does a countdown after a launch — it’s
ALWAYS before. So, the correct answer is (d) for countdown.
1. Definition
brother: sibling:: mother: ______
a. father
b. sister
c. parent
d. daughter
Correct Answer: c. parent
Explanation: A brother is a sibling by definition. A mother is a parent by
definition.
2. Synonyms or Sameness
pity: compassion:: grief:_____
a. sorrow
b. comfort
c. blunt
d. regret
a. pollution
b. fire
c. inhale
d. heat
a. printer
b. keyboard
c. scanner
d. spreadsheet
Answer: b. keyboard
Explanation: A petal is an essential part of a flower. A keyboard is an
essential part of a computer. Other parts such as pinter and scanner are just
accessories. A spreadsheet is a software and is not included as a hardware.
6. Objects and Their Functions
This is the example in first part of this series.
7. Objects and Their Characteristics
ball:round::paper: ____
a. light
b. white
c. rectangular
d. smooth
Answer: c. rectangular
Explanation: Although all the choices are characteristics of a paper, round
describes shape.
8. Objects and Their Groups
fish:school::cow: _____
a. flock
b. herd
c. pack
d. pride
Answer: herd
Explanation: School is the term used to call a group of fish and herd is used for
cows, antelopes, etc. The term pack is used for wolves, coyote, etc. while pride
is used for lions.
Aside from the examples above, you should also watch out for things that go
together (spoon:fork::bread:butter), problem
and solution (thirsty:drink::tired:rest), verb tenses (walk:walked::seek:sought),
and performer and their actions (singer:sings::actor:acts).
There are so many relationships that could exist between words, so it is
important that you analyze the words carefully before answering
word analogy questions. That’s it. In the next post, we are going to summarize
what we have learned in this series.