Test Your Knowledge of the Analogy Structure of MAT Questions

The Miller Analogies Test (MAT) is a standardized test for graduate school admissions, composed entirely of analogies. To select the right answer to an MAT test question, you must correctly identify the structure of its analogy.

Analogies on the Miller Analogies Test take only two forms: 1:2,3:4 or 1:3,2:4. Identifying which type of analogy a question is presenting is more than half the battle of cracking it. The next MAT-style questions allow you to practice identifying analogy structure.

Determining structure is the first step in attacking any analogy question on the MAT. Test your knowledge of MAT analogy structure by correctly identifying whether the analogy for each of the questions below is 1:2,3:4 or 1:3,2:4.

1. Bomb : bombast :: device : _________________

   1. (A)devilish

   2. (B)speech

   3. (C)machine

   4. (D)mechanical

2. Aberrant : abnormal :: _________________ : abject

   1. (A)anonymous

   2. (B)astute

   3. (C)abstemious

   4. (D)abysmal

3. _________________ : washboard :: dryer : washing machine

   1. (A)shirt

   2. (B)outdoors

   3. (C)clothesline

   4. (D)rope

4. _________________ : dolphin :: psittaciformes : parrot

   1. (A)cetacean

   2. (B)orthoptera

   3. (C)oceanic

   4. (D)intelligent

5. –tude : -tion :: _________________ : result of

   1. (A)producing

   2. (B)capable of

   3. (C)absence of

   4. (D)state of

Here are the answers:

1. 1:3,2:4. A bomb is a type of device, as bombast (pompous speech) is a type of speech.

2. 1:2,3:4. Something aberrant (unusual) is abnormal (unusual), as something abysmal (extremely low) is abject (miserable).

3. 1:3,2:4. A dryer is a machine that automates what a clothesline does, as a washing machine automates what a washboard does.

4. 1:2,3:4. In terms of biological classification, a dolphin is a cetacean, as a parrot is a psittaciformes.

5. 1:3,2:4. The suffix –tude means “state of,” as the suffix –tion means “result of.”