Whether you’re completing assignments or brainstorming for a project, you need to plan your studies. Without a proper plan of action, you could leave the success of your course up to chance. Get back to the drawing board with these tips on how to plan your work with mind maps.
What are Mind Maps?
A mind map is a visual study method used to write out topics and their main ideas. It generally has the main concept in the centre, then branches out to the ideas that link to it. This helps you plan your structure or process to complete your assignments and projects. Ideas should only have main points, preferably written as notes.
Types of Mind Maps
When thinking of mind maps, many people have spider maps in mind. But there are actually many different types of mind maps available. Unless your tutor wants a specific plan, choose one that works for you. Some of the many types of mind maps include:
- Flow map
- Tree map
- Circle map
- Bubble map
Benefits of Using Mind Maps
If you think adding a mind map to your work is just an extra step, you’re in for a treat. There are plenty of benefits of adding mind maps to your work. They are versatile, meaning you can use them in a variety of courses. Listed below are more great benefits:
Plan your work – When you plan your work, you will know which ideas to include. You also won’t stray from the main topic, ensuring that you only include relevant information.
Develop your ideas – After adding the main topic, you will then need to branch out. This allows you to develop your ideas, adding information that supports your work.
Add structure – Your work needs to have a clear introduction, body and conclusion. Mind mapping adds structure and flows to your work.
Simplifies difficult concepts – Mind maps only include main topics and ideas. When you simplify difficult concepts, they become easier to understand.
Can be included in your marks – When you hand in your paper, you might have to include the planning too. This means you can score additional marks that will bump up your results.
Tips on How to Plan Your Work With Mind Maps
Excited to use mind maps in your studies? That’s great! But if you’re still not sure how to create one, we are here to help. With our tips on how to plan your work with mind maps, you can bring your ideas to life.
Main Topic
First you need to choose your topic. This can be given to you by your tutor or an idea created by you. This can be an assignment topic, concept you want to understand or problem you need to solve. Write this out in the middle of your page.
Example: Let’s say your main topic is ‘How I spent my Saturday’.
Add Main Ideas
Now that you have your main topic, it’s time to branch out. Think of, or research main ideas linked to the topic. You should only have main points added, so there shouldn’t be too many branches. It could be between three to eight branches. Link them to your main topic.
Example: Here you can divide your Saturday into four parts. This can include morning, afternoon, evening and bedtime.
Develop Your Main Ideas
After adding the main ideas, you need to branch out each idea with subpoints. This allows you to develop the ideas while staying relevant to the main topic. The majority of your mind map could be made up of these subpoints, since you are able to go into detail.
Example: Morning is your first main idea. Here you can briefly list all the activities you have completed in the morning like have breakfast, get dressed and clean your room.
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