HSPT: Cause-and-result analogies: what leads to what
Learn to spot pairs where the first word can bring about the second, keep the order straight, and reject pairs that prevent, reverse or merely go together.
How do you tell a cause-and-result analogy from pairs that just go together?
Short answer
Say ___ can cause ___ with the words in the order given. The answer pair makes that sentence true in the same order. A pair where the first word stops the second is the opposite link.
Know first: The bridge-sentence method for analogies, Which word in a pair comes first
Step 1 of 5
One word brings about the other
In a cause-and-result analogy, the first word can lead to the second. Wind can cause waves. A germ can cause an illness. The cause comes first in time, and the result follows.
The cause doesn't have to work every time. A germ doesn't always make someone sick. What matters is that it's the kind of thing that can bring the result about.
| Kind | Bridge sentence | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Natural event | ___ can cause ___. | WIND : WAVES |
| Action and its effect | ___ produces ___. | SANDING : SMOOTHNESS |
| Something and the feeling it causes | A ___ makes people feel ___. | JOKE : AMUSEMENT |
| Source of illness or injury | A ___ can cause ___. | GERM : ILLNESS |
Step 2 of 5
Say the cause first, every time
Worked example: WIND : WAVES
Which pair has the same relationship as WIND : WAVES?
- Aflood : rain
- Brain : umbrella
- Crain : flood
- Drain : snow
- 1
Build the bridge
Wind can cause waves. Cause first, result second.
- 2
Test each pair
A flood can cause rain. No, reversed.
Rain can cause an umbrella. No. People use an umbrella because of rain, but rain doesn't create one.
Rain can cause a flood. Yes.
Rain can cause snow. No. They're two kinds of weather. - 3
Name the traps
Flood : rain is the reversed pair. Rain : umbrella is the same-topic trap. Rain : snow pairs two members of the same category.
Answer
rain : flood. Heavy rain can cause a flood, just as wind can cause waves.
Find the wrong step
A student answers this question: Which pair has the same relationship as JOKE : LAUGHTER? (A) medicine : pharmacy (B) sorrow : tears (C) tears : sorrow (D) bandage : wound
- 1
Builds the bridge Laughter is caused by a joke.
What went wrong
The bridge starts with the second word, so the order gets flipped. That makes the reversed pair look right.
- 2
Tests (C): Tears are caused by sorrow. That's true.
- 3
Picks (C) tears : sorrow.
The fix
Keep the words in the order given: A joke can cause laughter. Then sorrow can cause tears. The answer is (B) sorrow : tears.
Step 3 of 5
Try it yourself
Check yourself · Question 1
Which pair has the same relationship as SUN : SUNBURN?
Answer: C
Bridge: Too much sun can cause a sunburn. Smoke can cause a cough. Cause first, result second.
Check yourself · Question 2
Which pair has the same relationship as STORM : DAMAGE?
Answer: B
Bridge: A storm can cause damage. An earthquake can cause a collapse. Both start with an event and end with the harm it can bring.
Trap answer: vaccine : disease
Opposite link
- Why it looks right
- It sounds like a cause-and-result pair from science class, and both words are about health.
- Why it's wrong
- A storm brings damage about. A vaccine works to keep a disease from happening.
- The right answer
- earthquake : collapse, because an earthquake can bring about a collapse.
Check yourself · Question 3
Which pair has the same relationship as SLEEPLESSNESS : FATIGUE?
Answer: C
Bridge: Sleeplessness can cause fatigue. Hunger can cause weakness. A lack of something comes first, and the result it brings comes second.
Common mistake
Calling any two things that go together a cause and its result.
- Why it's tempting
- Words that show up together, like rain and umbrella, feel connected.
- Do this instead
- Ask whether the first word produces the second. If it only goes with it, comes before it, or stops it, the link is different.
Step 4 of 5
What to remember
Remember
- Say ___ can cause ___ with the words in the order given.
- Reject pairs where the first word prevents the second.
- Things that go together or happen in sequence aren't always cause and result.
Step 5 of 5
Practice on a real question
Use what you just learned on this question, then check the explanation.
In your own words
What cause sentence did you build for the question at the end? Which choice was reversed, and which named something that prevents or only goes with the result?