GRE - Analogies

Rocky Mountain Range.

Have you wondered why GRE (Graduate Record Examination) General Test can apply
most of graduates in U.S universities ?

Whether it takes a few sentences or an entire essay to develop an analogy,  we should be careful not to push it too far. As we've seen,  just because two subjects have one or two points in common doesn't mean  that they are the same in other respects as well.

Range : Mountain :: Archipelago : Island.

The logic of this relationship is Range consists of Mountains, Archipelago consists of Islands.

Let's see the definition and how it works.
The following definition referred to Wikipedia.


Mountain Range :
A mountain range is a geographic containing numerous geographically related mountains.

Archipelago :
An archipelago is a chain or cluster of islands.

How Analogies Work

An argument that uses a well-known similarity between two things as the basis for the
conclusion about a relatively unknown characteristic of one of those things is an
argument by analogy. Reasoning by analogy is a common way of presenting evidence to
support a conclusion.

Analogies both stimulate insights and deceive us. For example, analogies have been highly
productive in scientific and legal reasoning. When we infer conclusions about humans on
the basis of research of mice, we reason by analogy.


Much of our thinking about the structure of the atom is analogical reasoning.

Accurate analogies are powerful, but are often difficult for people to evaluate. Analogies
compare two known things to allow the reader to better understand the relationship to&
something that is unfamiliar. To be able to identify such comparisons, it is important to
analogies are structured.

The first part of analogy involves a familiar objects or concepts. The object or concept is
being compared to another familiar object or concept. The second part is the relationship

between the familiar objects or concept. The relationship is used to create a principle

that can be used to assist the understanding of a different object or concept. Finally, the relationship of the new or unfamiliar object or concept is described in the same

format as the known object or concept.

Once, the nature and structure of analogies is understood, you should be able to identify

analogies in arguments. It is especially important to identify analogies when they are used

to set the tone of the conversation. Such analogies are used to " Frame " an argument.

To identify framing analogies, look for comparisons that are used to not only explain a point,

but also influence the direction a discussion will take.

Evaluate

Because analogical reasoning is so common and has been the potential to be both 

persuasive and faulty, you will find it very faithful to recognize such reasoning and know how 

to symmetrically to evaluate it. To evaluate the quality of an analogy, you need to focus on 

two factors. 

1. The number of ways the two things being compared are similar and different.

2. The relevance of similarities and differences. 

A word of caution : You can almost always find some similarities between any two things.

So, analogical reasoning will not be ones in which the two things we compare possess

" Relevant Similarities and " Lack Relevant Differences ".

In one sense, all analogies are faulty, because they make the mistaken assumption that

because two things are alike in one or more respects, they are necessarily alike in some

other important respect.

It is probably best for you to think of analogies as varying from very weak to Strategies for Answering

• Establish a relationship between the given pair before reading the answer choices.
• Suggestive. Thus if an author draws a conclusion about one case from a comparison to another case, then she should provide further evidence to support the principle revealed by the most significant similarity.

GRE General Test
The following contents excerpted from " GRE General Test Practice Book ".

Analogies measure your ability to recognize :

1. relationships among words and concepts they represent
2. parallel relationships

Direction:

In each of the following questions, a related pair of words or phrases is followed by five lettered
pairs words or phrases. Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar
to that expresses in the original pair.

Color : Spectrum =

(A) tone : scale
(B) sound : waves
(C) verse :poem
(D) dimension : space
(E) cell : organism

Fresco : Wall =

A fresco is related to a wall. How ? Consider relationships of kind, size, spatial contiguity, or degree.

3. Real all of the options.
    If more than one seems correct, try to state the relationship more precisely.
4. Check to see that you haven't overlooked a possible second meaning for one the words.
5. Never decide on the best answer without reading all of the answer choices.

Answer :

The relationship between Color and Spectrum is not merely that of part of whole, in which case
(E) or (C) might be defended as correct. A spectrum is made up of a progressive, graduated
series of colors, as scale is of a progressive, graduated sequence of tones. Thus, (A) is the
correct choice. In this instance, the best answer must be selected from a group of fairly close
choices.

Barron's GRE Preparation

Analogies come from a wide variety of fields. You need to know that musicians study in
conservations and ministers in seminaries, that panegyrics praise and elegies lament. You need
to be aware of catalysts and conundrums, augers and auguries, and know in which contexts
these words are found. You are not, however, dealing with these words in isolation; you are
always dealing with them in relationship to other words.

Fresco : Wall =

A fresco is related to a wall. How ? By definition, a fresco or mural painting is painted on a wall.

Stammer : Talk =

Stammer is related to talk. How ? To stammer is to talk haltingly, even inarticulately. It is to talk
in detective or faulty manner.

Tile : Mosaic =

(A) hoop : embroidery
(B) wick : candle
(C) whalebone :scrimshaw
(D) easel : painting
(E) knot : macrame

Tile is related to mosaic. How ? A mosaic is made up of tiles. Notice the wording of the last
sentence. You could also have said " Tiles are the pieces that make up a mosaic " and
maintained the word order of the analogy. Sometimes, however, it is easier to express a
relationship if you Reverse the order of the words.

The correct answer is (E). Macrame is made up of knots, Just as tiles in a mosaic make a
pattern, so too the knots in a piece of macrame make a pattern. To answer them correctly
involves far more than knowing single meanings of individual words: it involves knowing the
usual contexts in which they are found, and their connotations as well.

Testing Tactics

1. Before you look at the choices, try to state the relationship between the capitalized
     words in a clear sentence.

Torrent : Droplet =

(A) water : eddy
(B) swamp : desert
(C) downpour : puddle
(D) avalanche : pebble
(E) hurricane : wreckage

A torrent (violent downpour or rushing stream) is made up of droplets. As avalanche or sudden
fall of rocks, snow or earth is made up of pebbles. (D) is the right answer.
Don't  let choice (C) fool you; while a downpour, like a torrent, is a violent rain, it is not made up
of puddles; rather, it leaves puddles in its aftermath.

2. If more than one answer fits the relationship in your sentence, look for a narrower approach.

3. Consider Secondary Meanings of words as well as their primary meanings.
    Frequently, the test-makers attempt to mislead you by using familiar words in relatively
    uncommon ways. When an apparently familiar word seems incongruous in a particular
    analogy, consider other definitions of that word. Precision is important in analogies.

Pan : Camera = 

(A) ban : book
(B) tune : radio
(C) charge : battery
(D) filter :lens
(E) rotate :periscope

Before you can answer this question, you have to know the definition of Pan. You're not dealing
with a frying pan or gold miner's pan or a dish pan; pan is a verb, not a noun. You can tell
because the first word of each answer choice is also a verb.

The verb Pan, however, has several meanings:

The miner panned for gold. (The miner washed gravel to separate out the gold.)
The chef panned the carrots. (The chef cooked the carrots in a pan with a small amount of fat.)
The critic panned the comedy. (The critic severely criticized the comedy.)

However, think how Pan relates to camera. When someone pans a camera, what happens ??
The photographer rotates the camera on its axis so that he or she can film a panoramic scene
(or a moving person or object.) Similarly, a submarine crew member rotates or revolves a
periscope on its axis so that he can make a panoramic observation. (E) is the right answer.

4. Watch out for errors caused by Eye-Catchers
5. Look at the answer choices to determine a word's part of speech.
6. Familiarize yourself with common analogy types