Analogies that identify shared abstraction. This type of analogy compares two things that are technically unrelated, in order to draw comparisons between an attribute or pattern they share. For instance, consider the analogy, “Raising children is like gardening—nurture them and be patient.” This example compares the pattern that is similar in both raising children and gardening. This type of analogy is useful in writing because it can help make abstract ideas (like raising children) more concrete by drawing on readers’ background knowledge of familiar images (like gardening).