Visual thinking produces whole, patterned expressions such as maps, symbols, and pictures.
Verbal activity leads to sequences such as narratives and explanations.
The next section will explore how visual thinkers show certain characteristic writing problems that appear to derive from thinking in wholes rather than in sequences. Difficulty with Transitions Visual writers display difficulty in handling transitions and connectives. Because their primary mode of thought is spatial, visual thinkers lack the habit of relating one element precisely to the element that follows it. They have a sophisticated vocabulary of transitional words and phrases that specify the relationship between thoughts in the sequence and provide readers with signals that activate appropriate interpretations. Verbal thinkers work hard to place their sentences so that relationships among thoughts are either made explicit or strongly implicit.