An improved vocabulary is within your reach.
“The use of verbal analogies is very common to many types of tests, including professional exams and university entrance exams. Verbal analogies are designed to assess a person’s verbal logic and how successful they are at interpreting connections and relationships between sets of words. The best vocabulary software systems incorporate verbal analogies as part of vocabulary building and language enhancement.
In a standard verbal analogy, the focus is centered on word relationships. It can illustrate thoughts, ideas, or functions that are all relative in nature when combined and read. The key is to understand relationships between given words. To select between the options offered on the test, start out by getting rid of words that are clearly different, either in substance, nature or meaning, and keep the ones that are similar in certain ways.
In order to interpret verbal analogies you first need to understand the meaning of the colon and double-colon symbols used. The colon symbol is equivalent to the phrase “is to” while the two colons indicate the meaning, “in the same way as.” For instance, if you are given the sample analogy “apple: fruit::eggplant: vegetable,” it’s the same as saying “’apple’ is to ‘fruit’ in the same way as ‘eggplant’ is to ‘vegetable’.” In other words, an apple is a type of fruit, and an eggplant is a type of vegetable.
Some of the common examples of relationships attributed to word pairs are synonyms, antonyms, and classifications, both general and specific. Other analogies use classes based on connotative values, persons of particular interests and fields, steps forming a process, cause and effect relationships, or functions. Word relationships are also defined using implied meanings or nuances. Some non-verbal analogies can even use symbols and representations that depict people, events, or things.
A good vocabulary software system helps users by giving them verbal analogy exercises. These exercises should come in several levels of difficulty and be filled with common samples used in various types of tests. It should give you a preview of what to expect when undergoing similar tests and it provide you with good tips and advice to make your analogies quicker and efficient.
Students and professionals are often pressured by time when taking tests and exercises. And while verbal analogies may seem simple, not everyone has the skill to evaluate and understand the more subtle meanings of words. To be successful in this type of test, it’s important that you are familiar with word functions, classification types, and definition differences.
A wide and rich vocabulary is essential in getting an improved score in such an exercise or test. Because of this, one of the best things you can do is to constantly read and take notes about the words you need to learn. Know the basics of English grammar, like parts of speech. Learn the difference between nouns, verbs, and adjectives. Vocabulary software designers usually provide several different options, so make sure that the system contains exercises and tools that meet your needs before you purchase any system so you don’t run the risk of wasting your money. A good way of identifying the most useful vocabulary software is to read the user reviews.
Keep in mind that word comparisons are present in most if not all screening tests and your ability to get higher scores clearly determines your success, either as a potential employee or student. Mastering the verbal analogies exercise helps not only in terms of passing that one test, but it also increases your confidence and improves your sharpness with words.
LESSON 10
Vocabulary Building Exercises
