Customer Reviews

A Writer's Guide to Transitional Words and Expressions

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A Writer's Guide To Transitional Words And Expressions by Victor Pellegrino is a very specific and highly useful reference for writers of all ages and skill levels, ranging from novelists to journalists. It is quite simply a collection of lists of English words and phrases. Each list is offered as an effective verbal transition mechanism for authors seeking the best phrase "To Indicate Time Order," "To Indicate a Sequence," "To Emphasize or Intensify," "To Substitute for 'Said'" and a dozen other lists. Perhaps most useful is A Writer's Guide To Transitional Words' unusual format layout, which makes an index tab for each list instantly visible upon opening to any page - which in turn makes finding the list one wants to consult a supremely quick and easy process. A Writer's Guide To Transitional Words is an enthusiastically recommended reference for professional writers of all walks, since the type of phrases it presents are not ones that are quite so easily gleaned from a common thesaurus. Also highly recommended is Victor Pellegrino's companion book A Writer's Guide To Using Eight Methods Of Transition.

Transition words and phrases are one of the areas where writers often get into ruts -- but not after you add this handy little reference to your desk! The book contains word lists based on the content of the transition, which, along with a thumb-tab page design, makes it easy to find an alternative phrasing. And if you often write articles or other materials that present quotes from sources, the book is worth the price just for its list of substitutes for the word "said." I know this is a reference I will use daily.

This guide is easy to use and makes writing effortless. It can also be a tool for middle and high school students. The book is filled with basic words that can be used in everyday writing. I have been using this guide for over eight years. I receive a lot of oohs and aahs from co workers on this handy resource. It is a must have for any school student and an addition to any library.

I had expected the book to have more pages and content. Instead, what it gave was basically some lists of words and expressions which might be found in other general grammar and language books. If I had known that this book was going to be merely a list of all those expressions given in it, and contained merely just a few pages, I would definitely not have ordered it. Hence I was very disappointed in it. It did not provide me with any new knowledge, or anything unusual and memorable for language application.

I was really impressed with the format of this little book. It is so easy to go down through the tabs and find a transitional word or expression that just fits your needs. My High School children really enjoy sprucing up there papers with it also. I think it is a wonderful writing tool. It is a little book packed with big helpers.

I wish I had come across this little gem years ago. It is a brilliantly designed listing of more than 1,000 transitional words and expressions and, in addition, 500 substitutes for the word "said". What makes this unique and exceptionally useful is its physical design. Instead of traditional page, there are 16 tabs or partial pages, each dedicated to a specific class of transitional words and phrases.

Thus, "to indicate time order", there is a tab with a list of appropriate transitions and expressions: i.e., present, at the same time, not long ago, following, after a while and so on. Sounds pretty elementary - and it is. When you are stumped in the midst of writing - you know, that point where you are desperately searching for a better word to use - this little gem is by your side with surprisingly apt suggestions.

For example, in my writing, I have to literally build my argument point by point. Sometimes I just get stuck. This book has a handy tab for "to add a point". The 70 or so terms listed are a welcome door to alternatives to the tried, trusted and overused words I normally resort to.

A particularly cool feature are the 500 substitutes for "said". While it is probably more useful to people writing dialog, I welcome it as a way to alleviate the pain of searching for substitutes.

This is a fun book, a handy book and brilliantly conceived. Every writer should have it on their desk or nearby.

Jerry

A writer's guide is a great guide to transition words. This book was very helpful for my 4th grader as well as a highschool student. It will definitely help them use less repetitive transition in their writing work. Of course this is just a list of words, but it really does take the work out of searching for a list. It is divided into different sections, time order words, list words ect..
Great reference, only wish they had one with adverbs andjectiives.

I've used this guide since 1990, when I came across a copy in a Honolulu bookstore. How nice to see it's available through Amazon. I recommend it highly to other professional writers. Students will find it useful, too.

This book is excellent for any writer, young or old. I am a speech pathologist, and I use it when I am helping my students write...I am so happy I bought it!

It's a fairly basic list to expressions and transitional words. For the experienced writer, it's extremely useful list. There's no explanation of how to use the words for the unexperienced writer, but it's still worth the buy.