What the question looks like
Analogy questions are part of the Verbal Skills section, which opens the HSPT. The section has 60 questions in 16 minutes, so analogies must be solved fast.
An analogy gives you a complete pair of words and the first half of a second pair. Your job is to finish the second pair so it has the same relationship as the first. The wording looks like this:
"Pen is to writer as brush is to:"
Four choices follow, A through D. Exactly one choice completes the second pair with the same relationship. On the HSPT the analogy is written out in words rather than with colons or symbols, and the missing word is always the last one.
Several analogies usually appear in a block within the Verbal Skills section. They tend to feel harder than synonyms because you are testing a relationship, not just a meaning.
How to solve it
- Cover the choices and look only at the first pair. Reading the choices first invites you to pick a word that merely sounds related to the third word.
- Write a bridge sentence in your head. Describe exactly how word one relates to word two. "A pen is the tool a writer uses." Make it specific enough that only a true match will fit.
- Plug the third word into the same sentence with a blank. "A brush is the tool a ___ uses."
- Test each choice in the blank. Cross out any choice that breaks the sentence. If two choices survive, make your bridge sentence more specific and test again.
- Check the order. If the first pair goes tool to user, the second pair must also go tool to user, not user to tool.
Worked examples
Example 1
Pen is to writer as brush is to:
- A.paint
- B.painter
- C.canvas
- D.handle
Show answer
Answer: B: painter
This is a tool-to-user relationship: a pen is the tool a writer uses, and a brush is the tool a painter uses. Paint is the trap because it is strongly connected to a brush, but paint is a material, not a person who uses the tool. Canvas is a surface and handle is a part of the brush.
Example 2
Petal is to flower as spoke is to:
- A.bicycle
- B.wheel
- C.tire
- D.road
Show answer
Answer: B: wheel
This is a part-to-whole relationship: a petal is one part of a flower, and a spoke is one part of a wheel. Bicycle is tempting because spokes are found on bicycles, but a spoke is directly a part of the wheel, not the whole bicycle. Keeping the bridge sentence tight, 'a petal is a piece that makes up a flower,' rules out the larger object.
Example 3
Warm is to scorching as damp is to:
- A.dry
- B.wet
- C.drenched
- D.cool
Show answer
Answer: C: drenched
This is a relationship of degree: scorching is an extreme version of warm, so the answer must be an extreme version of damp, which is drenched. Wet is the trap because it is a synonym for damp rather than a much stronger version of it. Dry is an antonym and cool changes the topic to temperature.
Example 4
Drought is to famine as spark is to:
- A.match
- B.fire
- C.light
- D.wood
Show answer
Answer: B: fire
This is a cause-to-effect relationship: a drought can cause a famine, and a spark can cause a fire. Match is the trap because a match produces a spark, but that puts the words in the wrong order, effect to cause. Wood is fuel and light is a feature of fire, so neither is something the spark causes in the way the bridge sentence demands.
Traps to watch for
- Topic matches instead of relationship matches. A choice that belongs to the same topic as the third word is often wrong. Brush and paint go together, but the relationship was tool to user.
- Reversed order. The relationship must run the same direction in both pairs. Cause to effect is not the same as effect to cause.
- Bridge sentences that are too loose. "Petal is related to flower" fits almost anything. Say how they are related.
- Grammar mismatches. If the first pair is noun to noun, the answer should be a noun. A verb or adjective that survives your bridge sentence probably means the sentence was too vague.
Pacing
You have about 16 seconds per question across the Verbal Skills section, and analogies may take a few more seconds than synonyms, so save time on the easier types. If your bridge sentence leaves two choices standing and you cannot break the tie quickly, pick the better one and move on. There is no guessing penalty on the HSPT, so an answer is always better than a blank.
Practice
Our free diagnostic includes timed analogies so you can practice building bridge sentences under the real clock.
Build the word bank behind these questions with the HSPT word list, the roots and prefixes, and the ten-minute study method.