What are Analogies?

Analogy questions present a logical relationship between two pairs of words or numbers. Consider the following sentences:

1. A mason works with stone; similarly a carpenter works with wood.
2. A square has four sides, just as a hexagon has six sides.
3. Copper is a metal, whereas oxygen is a non-metal.

These sentences could be represented as logical analogies of the form A : B :: C : D. For example,

1. MASON : CARPENTER :: STONE : WOOD
   or
   MASON : STONE :: CARPENTER : WOOD


2. SQUARE : FOUR :: HEXAGON : SIX
   or
   SQUARE : HEXAGON :: FOUR : SIX


3. COPPER : OXYGEN :: METAL : NON-METAL
   or
   COPPER : METAL :: OXYGEN : NON-METAL

You can read these statements as: A is to B as C is to D. (Or A is to C as B is to D. But never A is to D as B is to C!)

These logical statements are converted to questions of the type that appears on the MAT by replacing one of the terms in the analogy by a blank. Four choices are given for the blank and the test taker selects the correct answer.

Sample Miller Analogy Question

MASON : (____) :: CARPENTER : WOOD
(A) iron
(B) chisel
(C) stone
(D) building

Correct Answer:
C

Next steps

• Learn how to solve a Miller Analogy question
• Try our MAT practice tests