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Miller Analogies Test (MAT) Review Series: Pivot Terms

In this continuation of our MAT review video series, we approach working through a standard MAT style Analogy via a technique using the “Pivot Term.”

A “Pivot term” is a term that cannot relate to the blank in the analogy; it helps you correctly determine the relationship between the given terms in the original analogy before evaluating answer choices. It’s imperative to identify this relationship before looking to the answer choices, as you will be better able to narrow your focus to pair the blank to one term vs. anything in the list of choices.

 

Key pointers from this video:

  1. Identify the pivot term in the analogy
  2. Articulate the original analogy and identify the specific relationship between the pair
  3. Apply this relationship to help you fill in the blank by eliminating answer choices which don’t fit the relationship
  4. The MAT likes to pair one familiar term to one unfamiliar term in the given analogy, which can make it harder to eliminate answer choices.
  5. Avoid trap answer choices which offer a simple relationship such as, A is like B & C is like D.

 

This video was produced by MyGuru Director of Online Instruction and expert online MAT tutor Stefan Maisnier. Visit our YouTube channel for more MAT analogy videos.