Use guide words

Key Notes :

What are Guide Words?

Guide words are pairs of words printed at the top of each page in reference materials like dictionaries. They act as a guide, showing you the first and last words defined on that specific page.

Think of them as signposts helping you quickly locate the word you are looking for!

Where to Find Them

You’ll find guide words in dictionaries, thesauruses, and sometimes even in encyclopedias. They are usually located at the top left and top right corners of each page, often in a different font or in bold to make them stand out.

Example: Imagine a dictionary page with these guide words: apple arrive

This means that the word apple is the first word defined on that page, and the word arrive is the last word defined on that page. All the words defined on that page fall alphabetically between apple and arrive.

How to Use Guide Words

Here’s how to effectively use guide words:

Identify the word you are trying to find.

Look at the guide words at the top of the page.

Determine if your word falls alphabetically between the two guide words.

• If it does, your word is likely on that page!
• If it comes before the first guide word, look earlier in the dictionary.
• If it comes after the second guide word, look later in the dictionary.

Flip to the correct section and scan for your word.

Examples

• You’re looking for the word “banana“. The guide words are “apple” and “arrive“. Since “banana” comes alphabetically after “apple” and before “arrive“, the word banana should be on this page.
• You’re looking for the word “zebra“. The guide words are “apple” and “arrive“. Since “zebra” comes alphabetically after both “apple” and “arrive“, the word zebra will be in a later section of the dictionary.
• Alphabetize! Make sure you have a good understanding of alphabetical order.
• Practice! The more you use guide words, the faster you’ll become at finding words.
• Don’t give up! If you don’t find your word on the first try, double-check the guide words and try again.

Summary

Guide words are useful to help you locate a word within a dictionary or other text. They allow you to quickly skip to the section of the book that you need, instead of browsing through each individual page. By knowing how to use guide words effectively you save time and become more proficient with research tasks.

let’s practice!