Tips to Pass an Analogies Test

What is an Analogies Test?

Verbal analogies tests are standardized psychometric assessment tests (also used on SAT, GRE, and other professional exams) that provide the employing organization with information about a candidate’s general verbal acuity and insight. Verbal analogy tests are designed to assess a candidate’s ability to recognize relationships between ideas, think methodically and fluency in the English language. The questions in the test are designed to assess a candidate’s logical and analytical reasoning through the use of partial analogies.

Several relationships between pairs of words are possible. For instance, expect relations such as:

• Antonyms: words that have opposite meanings.
• Synonyms: words that have similar meanings, such as Buy – Purchase.
• Descriptive: in which one word describes the other word, such as Blue – Ocean.
• Part to Whole: in which one word is a part or piece of the other, such as Head – Body.
• Steps in a Process: such as Cooking-Serving.
• Cause and Effect: such as Fire – Scorch and Blizzard – Freeze
• Things and Their Functions: such as Scissors – Cut.
• Item to Category: in which one-word names something that falls into the group named by the other, such as Lemonade – Beverage.
• Implied Relationships: such as Clouds – Sun.
• Symbol and What it Represents: such as Heart – Love.

Example of what an analogies test looks like:

Tips to Pass Analogies Tests

A few tips and tricks can help you master the analogies tests, such as:

• Keep Track of Time

In analogies tests, candidates are usually required to answer all the given objective types of questions within the designated time. It is important to keep track of the time so that you can attempt all parts of the test. For this purpose, you should divide the total time available based on the number of sections in the exercise and assign equal time to each section. Moreover, you can divide the time per section based on the number of questions in that section. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, you should move onto the next question instead of lingering on it as soon as the time allotted for that particular question expires.

• Be Aware of Negative Marking

In some cases, analogy tests conducted in assessment centres may be negatively marked. Negative marking means that for every wrong answer you give, there will be some deduction in the score you will be awarded. Therefore, it is important that that you don’t guess the answer to any question which you’re not sure of. It is better to leave these questions unanswered. It is helpful to know if your test is negatively marked, so you should ask your assessor or helper at the assessment centre if in doubt.

• Know Your Strength and Weaknesses

Different individuals have different strengths when it comes to subjects of the test. Some may be good at numerical and mathematical analogies while others may be good at general and reasoning analogies. You should know their strengths and focus on the weaker areas. Regular practice can make you aware of these strengths and weaknesses, and improve your weaknesses.

• Improve Your Vocabulary

Some questions in the analogy test may be related to common and rarely used words. These may be especially given in the analogies tests for positions that require candidates to have a comprehensive knowledge and grasp of the spoken and written language. You should read regularly if you’re aiming to improve your vocabulary. These may include books, newspapers and other literary media. There are various applications, website and books available that include the commonly occurring words in different analogy tests. You should devote some time daily to go through the contents of these in order to add to your knowledge.

• Use Elimination Techniques for Difficult Answers

The best way to answer questions that might be difficult and pose a doubt in your mind is doing elimination. The format of the test is generally objective with the candidate being asked to choose the right answer. Only one of the given answer choices will be correct. When uncertain, you should find out the option that has the least probability of being the correct one and eliminate it. Repeatedly striking the least probable choices will leave you with fewer options that may make it easier for you to find out the right one. Moreover, difficult answers should only be attempted once the candidate has completed all other questions.

• Practice

You should practice mock analogies tests regularly in order to be familiar with the format and other aspects related to the test. Regular practice ensures that you will have a good command of overtime management and so will be able to allocate enough time to different questions of the test. There are several online sample tests available and you can use these to prepare for the tests.

• Learn and Educate Yourself

Different analogy tests may cover different subjects depending on the job position they are designed for. These may include numerical, mathematical or general knowledge related questions. A candidate who is going to appear in an analogy test should have comprehensive knowledge about all the topics from which the questions will be posted.

• Familiarize Yourself with the Test Format

You should familiarize yourself with the format of the test beforehand. You should know the number of sections that might be there in the test, the number of question per section, the total time that will be allotted for answering, and the knowledge and skills that might be required to answer the test. This can enable you to strategize how you will go about the test, manage your time and be prepared for what to expect when you will begin the test.

• Concentrate on the Test

As multiple candidates may appear in an analogies test, it is possible that you may get distracted. You should try to focus on their test at all times to save time and ensure that your flow of answering questions continues.

To conclude, learning these tips and tricks can help you not only to find the correct answer but also to save time which can be allotted to more difficult questions.

Quick tips:

Tips for solving Analogies

• The only way to become better at verbal analogies is through practice. Our verbal analogy tests are developed by professionals and provide you with full explanations.
• Try to determine the relationship between the first pair of words.
• Turn the analogies into sentences. Read the analogy problems as sentences, even if they aren’t actually written that way.
• Go through tough problems systematically.
• Read all of the answer choices first before making a decision. This might sound obvious, but candidates commonly stop reading the answer choices once they’ve found what seems like a strong match.
• Eliminate any pairs in the answers that do not have a similar type of relationship.
• If the meaning of a word is unknown, then try to recollect the context in which you have come across the word.
• Also, consider alternative meanings of words.
• Take another look at the relationship possibilities as described above and try to look for them when trying to solve analogies.
• If all else fails, eliminate the unlikely answers and make an educated guess.

How can Assessment-Training.com help you ace your job Analogies test?

Assessment-Training.com is your number 1 online practise aptitude test and assessment provider. Our aim is to help you ace your assessment by providing you with practise aptitude tests that mimic the tests used by employers and recruiters. Our test developers have years of experience in the field of occupational psychology and developed the most realistic and accurate practice tests available online. Our practise platform uses leading-edge technology and provides you feedback on your scores in form of test history, progress and performance in relation to your norm group.

Check out our tailor-made Analogies Pack to fully prepare you for your assessment.

The Assessment-Training.com data science team found that through practise, candidates increased their scoring accuracy and went into their assessments more confident. Remember, you need to practice to make sure you familiarize yourself with the test formats, work on your accuracy and experience performing under time pressure.