Use concept mapping before starting your essays

For writers to work faster and more efficiently, concept maps have proven to be very useful. Concept mapping essentially refers to a process of organizing your thoughts in such a way that these thoughts are able to flow logically and clearly. The concept map will comprise of a central theme and the related branches surrounding it will display how ideas are interlinked. When you must sit down to write an essay on any topic of your choice or one that has been assigned to you by your instructor at college, you can turn to concept mapping to ensure that your ideas are classified in a hierarchical and logical structure. The concept map will enable you to explore the relationships amongst multiple diverse ideas.

How can concept mapping help you write a better essay?

In a concept map which is designed to help a writer organize his thoughts and ideas in a hierarchy, the general concepts are typically placed higher in this map. Concepts which belong to an identical level of generalization belong to the same group. In a concept map, the ideas are basically represented within boxes which are interlinked through labeled relationships. The arrangement of concepts will follow a hierarchical structure with general concepts located at the top and specific ones at the bottom. While an isolated concept cannot offer any meaning, you can derive a meaningful proposition when you have two concepts connected to each other using link phrases and words.

To create a concept map, you must first draw a circle; you need to add spokes to this circle which radiate on all sides from it. The central theme of concept is to be placed in the center and subtopics or related concepts to be placed around the circle in any order. Similarly, you can also create a concept map using a box in the center holding the main subject written inside it. You can then add boxes surrounding the middle box with arrows for interlinking them to show how your idea develops.

Inclusion of cross-links is a very important feature of concept mapping. These refer to links or relationships among the concepts in various segments within the map. These will allow you to see how a particular concept in a specific knowledge domain on the concept map is linked to a certain concept belonging to a separate domain on the same map. This helps to facilitate creative thinking.

Concept mapping will work well especially when you are trying to write a lucid and meaningful essay on a rather complex topic. You can start by writing the topic inside a big circle and then write the sub-topics in smaller secondary circles which are all connected to the main circle via lines. From these smaller circles, you can draw tiny bubbles wherein you brainstorm the possible solutions. Every such possible solution will be linked to the corresponding bubble through lines.

When you are working on a concept map or web, you should be prepared to revise and rework on it multiple times. What is most useful about the concept map is that since all your ideas are displayed clearly on paper, you can prioritize these ideas and organize them into separate arguments. In other words, you can keep shifting the information till you are able to put it in the perfect place.

So, the concept map is basically a kind of graphic organizer. It allows students to structure their ideas and represent their knowhow regarding any subject. The concept map will always begin with any central idea and then show how this idea branches out to reveal how a certain topic may be broken down to produce multiple specific topics.

Summary:  Concept mapping is being actively encouraged for students keen to write essays and dissertations because it helps them learn better; researchers can create new knowledge faster and administrators can manage organizations better. The map should work like a “living document” that is periodically revised as and when students gain new knowledge or experiences in the course of using this tool.