Mind-mapping is beneficial for productivity in your daily tasks, but it’s also a technique that is widely used for studying. A mind map isn’t just a diagram that lays out tasks, but a visualization of how ideas connect to one another. Here’s what you need to know when using one for studying and where you can find the best templates online.
What is the benefit of a mind map for studying?
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A mind map helps you generate ideas based on their association to other concepts. You start by writing your central idea in the center of the page, then drawing branches for other ideas. For instance, if you have to write an essay about the Civil War, you’d write that in the center, then add branches like “causes,” “participants,” and “outcomes.”
You can prepare for this by taking your notes carefully in class, writing down the most important keywords; you can even use mapping as a standalone note-taking technique, branching related ideas and words off of one another. When mind-mapping, keep expanding outward. For instance, “causes” would include slavery, of course, but also differing economic policies, cultural values, and opinions on how far the federal government’s reach should go. Use lines to connect all related ideas, too; all three of those were related to slavery in some way, as well, so they can be connected not only to “causes,” but to “slavery,” which helps make it even clearer, visually, that the Civil War was fought primarily over slavery.
The goal of this is to stimulate your creative thinking and help you make connections between ideas, plus visualize main themes, which is useful for grasping subjects or outlining an essay.
The best mind-mapping templates
You can do this on a piece of paper or in Microsoft Word or similar software, using different kinds of lines and shapes to connect and outline your ideas. You know what’s even easier, though? Using pre-made templates. Here are my favorites:
- Lucidchart is an online software that allows you to create three editable charts with its free version, but you can buy an individual subscription for $7.95 if you want unlimited documents. The free version also only allows you to have 60 shapes on a given document, but it does come with 100 templates. The paid version allows unlimited objects and comes with premium shapes and templates, too.
- Miro is free to use and extremely collaborative, so this is a great option if you’re working on a group project. It’s easy to use, comes with a variety of templates, and works well across devices, so you can change your map on your phone if you’re on the go.
- Of course, Canva, the free online graphics software, is always an option for mind-mapping or any other visual tasks. The site has over 1,000 pre-made templates available for you to use and is extremely easy to navigate.