Make Better Analogies

Start with what needs explaining

An analogy connects a familiar situation with a less familiar one. It can clarify a relationship, but it can also carry misleading assumptions. First, name the part of the new topic you want to explain. A narrow target makes the comparison easier to assess.

Suppose you want to explain a queue in a computer system. A café line may help show waiting and service, but it may not represent priorities, parallel processing, or how requests are dropped. The analogy should have a defined job before you use it.

Map the roles

Write the main elements of both situations and connect the corresponding roles. Customers may represent requests; the counter may represent a processing resource; waiting time may represent delay. Explain each connection in a sentence.

Now ask what happens when a condition changes. If more requests arrive while service capacity stays the same, what does the café comparison suggest? Check that prediction against a reliable explanation of the actual system. A good analogy should help you reason about a relationship, not simply make the subject sound friendly.

Name the breaking point

Identify at least one important mismatch. In some computer systems, tasks may be handled simultaneously or reordered in ways a single café queue does not capture. Put that limit next to the analogy when teaching it.

Try a second comparison that highlights a different feature. A traffic network might help with alternative paths, while the café helps with waiting. Multiple analogies can be useful if you keep their jobs separate. Combining every detail into one sprawling metaphor can make the original idea harder to understand.

Use the comparison to check understanding

Explain the topic without the analogy after using it. If you can only retell the café story, return to the actual concepts and labels. The comparison is a bridge; you still need to know what is on the other side.

Research on self-explanation motivates examining connections in learning, but this analogy workflow is an original practice format. Evaluate it by whether the explanation becomes more accurate and usable. A clever comparison earns its place when it preserves the relevant structure and makes its own limits visible.

Ask a listener to make one prediction using the comparison. If the prediction is wrong for the actual topic, inspect whether the analogy encouraged the error and revise the explanation before using it again.

Sources & further reading

• Chi and colleagues: Eliciting self-explanations improves understanding ↗