Content Areas Study Guide for the MAT

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Humanities

The humanities consist of branches of knowledge mainly concerned with the study of human culture through the ages. Related analogies therefore tend to involve terms, concepts, and information from the fields of history, the arts, literature, and philosophy, as well as the individuals or groups (and their contributions) who have had the most impact on shaping humanity.

Art History

You will be helped immensely by getting to know the artists and art movements that might show up on the MAT®. But you should only focus on the most significant developments, works, and people from art history.

Suggested Topics for Review

  • Famous artists and their works
  • Famous museums
  • Notable architectural structures
  • Famous architects
  • Key architecture vocabulary terms

Examples

WRIGHT : GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM :: (a. Jefferson , b. Woolley , c. Hamilton , d. Strickland ) : MONTICELLO

Among the three given words, you can identify a relationship between the first two: The architect who designed the GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM was Frank Lloyd WRIGHT. So, the missing name must be the architect who designed MONTICELLO. The answer is Thomas “Jefferson.” (a. massive , b. decorative , c. austere , d. simple ) : PLAIN :: CORINTHIAN : DORIC

Among the final three words, you can identify a relationship between the first and the last: The style of columns used for DORIC architecture is PLAIN in appearance. So, the missing term must describe the style of columns used for CORINTHIAN architecture. Such columns were ornate or “decorative” in appearance, so this is the correct answer.

Comparative Religion

To solve religion analogies on the MAT®, you will need to know a little bit about the world’s major religions, famous myths, and related terms.

Suggested Topics for Review

  • The major world religions and related terms
  • Greek, Roman, and Norse gods
  • Key religious figures
  • Revered religious locations and places of worship
  • Religious festivals and holidays
  • Important religious writings

Examples

KORAN : ISLAM :: BHAGAVAD GITA : (a. Confucianism , b. Buddhism , c. Hinduism , d. Shintoism )

Among the first three parts of the above analogy, you can identify a relationship between the first and second terms: The KORAN is the holy book of ISLAM. So, the missing term must be the religion which has the BHAGAVAD GITA as its sacred book. This makes “Hinduism” the correct answer.

BABYLONIAN : (a. Atrahasis , b. Moses , c. Gilgamesh , d. Abraham ) :: HEBREW : NOAH

Among the three given parts of the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the last two words. In the HEBREW account of a great flood, NOAH was ordered to build a ship. So the missing part must be someone who was ordered to build a ship in the BABYLONIAN account of a great flood. The answer is therefore “Atrahasis.”

Ethics

Ethics have to do with moral philosophy and the concepts of right and wrong. For example, an ethics-related analogy might require you to be familiar with a document or school of thought that provided the starting point for many later developments in ethics, or that the English empiricist philosopher J.S. Mill was known in part for his ethical writings.

Examples

JUSTICE : VIRTUE :: (a. right , b. neglect , c. good , d. crime ) : VICE

Among the three given words, you can identify a relationship between the second and the last: VIRTUE and VICE are opposing concepts which ethics seeks to define in its attempt to resolve questions of human morality. So, the missing term must be the opposite of JUSTICE. “Crime” is therefore the correct answer.

(a. purpose , b. tradition , c. outcome , d. goals ) : CONSEQUENTIALISM :: RULES : DEONTOLOGY

Among the last three terms, you can identify a relationship between the final two: A series of RULES is the basis on which conduct is deemed right or wrong from the standpoint of DEONTOLOGY. The missing term must therefore be the basis on which conduct is deemed right or wrong from the standpoint of CONSEQUENTIALISM. So, the answer is “outcome.”

History

To prepare for analogies involving history, you should familiarize yourself with civilization’s most important historical terms, figures, and events—especially the world’s greatest moments as they relate to the Western Hemisphere.

Examples

CHEROKEE : (a. Tecumseh , b. John Ross , c. Sitting Bull , d. Little Raven ) :: NAVAJO : MANUELITO

Among the three given names, you can identify a relationship between the last two: MANUELITO was a leader of the NAVAJOS. So, the missing name must have been a leader of the CHEROKEES. The correct answer is “John Ross.”

SIAM : RHODESIA :: (a. Thailand , b. Angola , c. Tonkin , d. Malagasy ) : ZIMBABWE

Among the three given names, you can identify a relationship between the second and the last: ZIMBABWE is the nation formerly known as RHODESIA. So, the missing term must be the country formerly known as SIAM. The answer is “Thailand.”

Literature

Literature as it relates to the MAT® references written works found to be important enough to stand the test of time. For these analogies, you will need to be familiar with the basics of literary terminology as well as information about major authors and their most important works.

Examples

STEINBECK : THE GRAPES OF WRATH :: (a. Orwell , b. Morrison , c. Dreiser , d. Hugo ) : ANIMAL FARM

Among the three given parts of the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the first two: John STEINBECK wrote the novel THE GRAPES OF WRATH. So the missing writer must be the author of ANIMAL FARM. The answer is George “Orwell.”

COMPLEX : (a. Dreiser , b. Bunyan , c. Proust , d. Nabokov ) :: DUALITY : HESSE

Among the three given parts of the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the last two: Herman HESSE often wrote about the DUALITY of life, as in his novel Siddhartha. So, the missing author must have written works that were COMPLEX. That author is Marcel PROUST, who wrote complex novels and stories, including the series Remembrance of Things Past.

Modern and Classical Languages

The MAT® sometimes includes foreign words. But fortunately, they are usually so commonly used in English that they have become part of the modern English lexicon. They include terms such as ad hoc, bona fide, and déjà vu. Many have their origin in Greek and Latin, the literary languages of the Mediteranean world in classical antiquity which also served as the context for traditional European studies.

Examples

SLAVIC : ROMANCE :: CZECH : (a. Hindi , b. Kurdish , c. Russian , d. Italian )

Among the first three words, you can identify a relationship between the first and third. An example of a SLAVIC language is CZECH. So, the missing term must be an example of a ROMANCE language. The answer is “Italian.”

(a. piscine , b. ovine , c. porcine , d. vulpine ) : PIG :: CANINE : DOG

Among the final three words, you can identify a relationship between the last two: CANINE means of, relating to, or resembling a DOG. So, the missing term must mean of, relating to, or resembling a PIG. The answer is “porcine.”

Philosophy

Here you will need to be familiar with basic philosophy terms, schools of thought, famous philosophers (especially from the West) and the philosophers’ corresponding works. For example, you would want to be aware that tabula rasa is John Locke’s theory that the human mind is a blank slate at birth, a view that is part of what is known as empiricism.

Examples

(a. Mill , b. Kant , c. Habermas , d. Epictetus ) : RATIONALISM :: BENTHAM : UTILITARIANISM

Among the last three words, you can identify a relationship between the final two. Jeremy BENTHAM is regarded as the founder of modern UTILITARIANISM. So, the missing part of the analogy must be the person regarded as the founder of modern RATIONALISM. This individual was Immanuel “Kant.”

STOICISM : ZENO :: (a. Peripatetic , b. Nihilism , c. Taoism , d. Solipsism ) : ARISTOTLE

Among the three words that are given, you can identify a relationship between the first two: STOICISM was a school of philosophy founded by ZENO of Citium. The missing term must therefore be the school of philosophy founded by ARISTOTLE, which means the answer is “Peripatetic.”

Music

As with art, you will be helped immensely by getting to know the musicians, composers, musical styles, and related vocabulary which might show up on the MAT®. But focus only on music history’s major eras, works, and figures.

Examples

(a. dulcimer , b. tonette , c. oboe , d. timbale ) : KAZOO :: STRING : WIND

Among the last three terms in the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the second and the fourth: A KAZOO is a WIND instrument. So, the first part must be a STRING instrument. Since the only string instrument listed is the “dulcimer,” it must be the correct answer.

BACH : THE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS :: (a. Coltrane , b. Purcell , c. Sousa , d. Ravel ) : STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER

Among the three given parts of the above analogy, you can identify a relationship between the first two: Johann Sebastian BACH is the composer of THE BRANDENBURG CONCERTOS. So, the name that is missing must be the composer of STARS AND STRIPES FOREVER. The correct answer is therefore John Phillip “Sousa.”

PIANO : PIANISSIMO :: FORTE : (a. presto , b. vivace , c. fortissimo , d. largo )

Among the first three words, you can identify a relationship between the first two terms: PIANO means soft volume and PIANISSIMO means exceptionally soft volume. Given that FORTE means loud volume, the missing term must mean extremely loud volume. The answer is therefore “fortissimo.”

Visual Arts

The MAT® can test on a variety of art terms, movements, and museums. Most of the terms you can expect will likely be about types of art and the ways in which they relate to artistic movements.

Examples

MONET : IMPRESSIONIST :: (a. Warhol , b. Duchamp , c. Picasso , d. Matisse ) : CUBIST

Among the three given parts of the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the first two in that MONET was the founder of the IMPRESSIONIST school. So, the missing name must be an artist who helped found the CUBIST movement. Hence, the answer is “Picasso.”

(a. Degas , b. Miró , c. Munch , d. Ernst ) : KLIMT :: THE SCREAM : THE KISS

Among the final three parts of the analogy, you can identify a relationship between the first given part and the last: KLIMT is best known for painting THE KISS. So, the missing name must be the artist best known for painting THE SCREAM. The answer is therefore “Munch.”

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