Using Analogies in Text

“Fish is to water as bird is to air.” That’s an analogy. It shows a parallel relationship. Analogies can build your vocabulary and reasoning skills. When you understand the relationship on one side of the analogy, you can apply that to the words or ideas on the other side. In this case, if you know that a fish moves through water, you can determine that a bird moves through air. Based on the analogy below, what can you determine about the phrase “a bed of clams”?

Bed is to clams as pack is to wolves.

• “A bed of clams” refers to the furniture clams sleep on.

• “A bed of clams” refers to a group of clams.

• “A bed of clams” refers to what clams eat.

• “A bed of clams” refers to a meal with clams in it.

Answer explanation

A pack is a group of wolves. Based on the analogy, a bed must be a group of clams.

Analogies are similar to similes and metaphors. However, similes and metaphors compare one thing to another directly. Analogies, on the other hand, show a parallel relationship between words or ideas.

They also have different purposes; similes and metaphors can create vivid imagery and add poetry to your writing. Analogies can clarify a relationship and make your writing more persuasive.

Analogies show...

• foreshadowing of things to come.

• how characters disagree with one another

• parallel (same) relationships between words and ideas

• the resolution to a story.

Answer explanation

Similes and metaphors compare one thing to another while analogies show similar relationships between objects.

Read the following passage:

After Maria left me, I felt hollow and weak. I held onto her letter, the only trace of her that remained, but I was afraid to read it. For three weeks, I walked around the house like a lost soul, that letter folded up into a square in my shirt pocket. They say that just as the sword is the weapon of the warrior, a pen is the weapon of the writer. And it’s true. When I opened that letter, her words bruised my heart. Two rivers streaked down my cheeks and leaked onto the carpet.

Which detail from the passage includes the best example of an analogy?

• “...just as the sword is the weapon of the warrior, a pen is the weapon of the writer.”

• “I held onto her letter, the only trace of her that remained, but I was afraid to read it.”

• “...I walked around the house like a lost soul...”

• “...her words bruised my heart.”

Answer explanation

“...just as the sword is the weapon of the warrior, a pen is the weapon of the writer.”

This sentence shows parallel (same) relationship between a writer and her pen and a warrior and her sword.

Sometimes, you’ll see analogies written in a specific way. A double colon (::) separates the two sides of the analogy and means “as.” The words or phrases to the left and right are both separated by a single colon (:), which means “is to.”

The relationship between the words and phrases to the left of the double colon is the same as the relationship between the words and phrases to the right. You might be asked to complete the analogy by determining what that relationship is.

Based on the passage, which of the following would correctly show the analogy “cobbler is to shoes as mason is to stones”?

• COBBLER ::: SHOES = MASON ::: STONES

• COBBLER’S SHOES = MASON’S STONES

• COBBLER : SHOES :: MASON : STONES

• COBBLER : SHOES :: MASON ::: STONES

Answer explanation

COBBLER : SHOES :: MASON : STONES

According to the passage, a "double colon (::) separates the two sides of the analogy and means 'as'. The words or phrases to the left and right are both separated by a single colon, which means 'is to'. "

Analogies can show different kinds of relationships between words and phrases. Some examples include: antonym, synonym, part to wholes, user to tool and producer to product.

If you understand the relationship between words on one side of the analogy, you can use that to complete the relationship on the other side.

Complete the analogy below.

BEE is to HONEY as COW is to

• bull

• steak

• milk

• horns

Answer explanation

milk

The analogy shows a "producer (maker) to product" relationship. A bee produces honey, and a cow produces milk.

Analogies can make writing more persuasive. If your reader has a firm grasp of one subject, she can transfer that certainty to the subject you’re writing about by following your analogy.

A writer can make his or her writing more persuasive by using anlogies.

• True

• False

Read the passage below.

“It’s important that we make clear at this point what definition is and what can be obtained by means of it. It seems frequently to be credited with a creative power, but all it accomplishes is that something is marked out…and designated by a name. Just as the geographer does not create a sea when he draws boundary lines… so too the mathematician cannot really create anything by his defining.”

How does the author of this passage make an argument by analogy?

• The author draws an analogy between a mathematician’s definitions and a geographer’s maps to make the point that both have a creative power.

• The author draws an analogy between the images on a map and the words of a definition to make the point that both can be read and represent the world.

• The author draws an analogy between a mathematician’s skill and a geographer’s knowledge to make the point that both require imagination.

• The author draws an analogy between writing definitions in mathematics and making maps in geography to make the point that neither task is creative.

Answer explanation

The author draws an analogy between writing definitions in mathematics and making maps in geography to make the point that neither task is creative.

The author compares defining mathematical terms to a geographer who "draws boundary lines" on a map to show that defining does not have a "creative power"

Analogies can be very persuasive and may appeal to a reader’s emotions and logic. That’s why you’ll often see advertisements using analogies with words and pictures.

Read the following advertisement.

The new novel by best-selling author Virginia Phillips is sure to become a classic. Set in 1980s Idaho, Easton's follows Daria Garcia on a night that will change her life forever. The Ridgefield Reporter calls it the “Book of the Summer.” Critic Jillian Martinez says Easton’s Daria is “the kind of character you recognize and root for, the Cinderella of new fiction.” Now available in paperback, Easton's is a book you don’t want to miss!

Which of the following best restates the analogy in this advertisement?

• Just as Cinderella is a recognizable and relatable character in fairy tales, Daria Garcia will be a recognizable and relatable character in contemporary fiction.

• Daria Garcia is to Easton's as Cinderella is to the prince.

• Just as Daria Garcia is a character made famous by Virginia Phillips, Cinderella is a character made famous by Disney.

• Just as Cinderella struggles before she meets her prince, Daria Garcia struggles in the first chapter of the novel.

Answer explanation

Just as Cinderella is a recognizable and relatable character in fairy tales, Daria Garcia will be a recognizable and relatable character in contemporary fiction.

The advertisement uses an analogy in the phrase "the Cinderella of new fiction." This analogy draws a parallel between the main character of the novel and Cinderella to show that both are memorable and relatable characters.

Dr. King used this analogy to clarify two abstract ideas: love and hate. He also used it to persuade his listeners that responding to hate with hate would be useless, like fighting darkness with darkness.

King states that the only way to drive out darkness is to introduce light. This is a point his listeners cannot argue with. Dr. King draws the analogy to make his point that the only way to drive out hatred is to introduce love.

Based on this passage, Dr. King used an analogy in a speech about love and hate in order to

• entertain his listeners.

• clarify something abstract and persuade his listeners.

• clarify something abstract and entertain his listeners.

• clarify something abstract only.

Answer explanation

clarify something abstract and persuade his listeners.

According to the passage, "Dr. King used this analogy to clarify or make clear two abstract ideas... He also used it to persuade his listeners."