Creating a Mind Map
Handout #029
Mind Maps are visual diagrams that allow you to effectively organize information.
To construct a mind map, you begin by putting your topic in the center of the page. Then, using brainstorming techniques, you list ideas associated with the topic branching out from the map. The main branches—which can be color coordinated—then have new branches of association coming off of them.
The template for a mind map on the six questions was created by Charles Cave (2002) and is reprinted with his permission. Templates for the five senses and life planning are available at his web site.
Step-by-step directions for doing a mind map were created by James Cook University. And the Star Diagram exercise for getting ideas for writing a paper is a variation on mind mapping. (Berg, 2004)
Uses of Mind Maps
The information in this section is reprinted from Peter Russell's “Mind Maps" and is used with permission.
Notes.
Whenever information is being taken in, mind maps help organize it into a form that is easily assimilated by the brain and easily remembered. They can be used for noting anything -- books, lectures, meetings, interviews, phone conversations.
Recall.
Whenever information is being retrieved from memory, mind maps allow ideas to be quickly noted as they occur, in an organized manner. There's no need to form sentences and write them out in full. They serve as quick and efficient means of review and so keep recall at a high level.
Creativity.
Whenever you want to encourage creativity, mind maps liberate the mind from linear thinking, allowing new ideas to flow more rapidly. Think of every item in a mind map as the center of another mind map.
Problem solving.
Whenever you are confronted by a problem -- professional or personal -- mind maps help you see all the issues and how they relate to each other. They also help others quickly get an overview of how you see different aspects of the situation, and their relative importance.
Planning.
Whenever you are planning something, mind maps help you get all the relevant information down in one place and organize it easily. They can be used for planning any piece of writing from a letter to a screenplay to a book (I use a master map for the whole book, and a detailed sub-map for each chapter), or for planning a meeting, a day or a vacation.
Presentations.
Whenever I speak I prepare a mind map for myself of the topic and its flow. This not only helps me organize the ideas coherently; the visual nature of the map means that I can read the whole thing in my head as I talk, without ever having to look at a sheet of paper.
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References and Resources
Berg, Steven L. “Learning Activity: Creating a Star Diagram."
Cave, Charles. “Mind Maps." 14 June 2002. Creativity Web.
Freeman, Greg. “Home Page." 3 January 2005. The Graphic Organizer.
“Mind Mapping." nd. James Cook University, Study Skills On-Line.
Russell, Peter. “Mind Maps." nd. The Spirit of Now.
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