Study Skills for Busy Students: Part 1 - Mind Mapping

What is Mind Mapping?

Mind Mapping is a visual tool that is excellent for making notes for study purposes that are fun, quick and easy to remember.   This article outlines the key principles of a Mind Map for study purposes, describes the benefits and gives links to further resources.

Mind Maps were created by Tony Buzan, who is an international speaker and best-selling author.  Tony Buzan invented Mind Maps while he was a university professor, lecturing in the subject of memory.  Buzan found that the usual way of note-taking was that students would write down, in full sentences and in one colour (usually blue or black) everything that the lecturer was saying.  Through a series of experiments, Buzan discovered that this way of note-taking was not helpful.  He defined a number of characteristics of note-taking that led to good exam results.

Here are the four characteristics that Buzan discovered that helped to make memorable notes:

• Key Words
• Connections (for example, arrows or lines linking words together)
• Pictures
• Colour

Tony Buzan created Mind Maps as a way of bringing all of these useful characteristics together.

How to Mind Map

Select the subject of your Mind Map, for example it may be a chapter of a text book that you are studying, a historical figure or a particular theory.

Draw a picture in the centre of the piece of paper to represent your main topic.  You may like to use some words as well.  Using a picture for each new Mind Map is a great way to distinguish one Mind Map from another.

Creating Branches

The set of branches that connect directly to the central image show the main concepts relating to your topic.

Draw main branches that connect to the central image and write key words on those branches that help to organize the main points or concepts relating to your topic. The first few times that you make a Mind Map it can be a little difficult to identify these key words.  It gets much easier after your first few maps so be patient with yourself.

The first set of branches showing the main concepts are drawn with thicker lines to show their importance to the topic.  Further branches are drawn with progressively thinner lines to show that they represent the detail of the map.   Select key words to help you to remember the main points regarding your study topic.  As you practise, you will find that your ability to select key words that help you to recall entire  passages or areas of study.

Branches are drawn with a curve that, as well as looking visually pleasing, helps to make the most efficient use of space on the paper.

The branches are connected to each other, which help the brain make associations between the concepts and make the map look tidy.  The length of each branch should be the same as the word or image sitting on the branch.

Using Colours and Pictures

Use different colours for the Mind Map branches.  This creates visual interest and order, stimulates the right side of the brain and aids memory.  You can use colour as a code, for example by allocating a special colour to items on your map that require review.

“A picture paints a thousand words” as the saying goes.  Pictures make your Mind Map easy to remember, stimulate your creativity and instantly remind you of the topic or point that the picture represents.   Many people feel they can’t draw – this doesn’t matter as you’re not being judged on your artistic abilities!   As long as YOU know what the picture is, it will help you to remember your notes.

Benefits

Memory – Mind Mapping is created to work with the natural memory principals of your brain, as the brain works by linking and associating things together.

Time – Creating a Mind Map is a very time-efficient way to study, make plans or solve problems, instead of writing long sentences.

Clarity – Mind Mapping helps you to cut through the clutter of your current to do list or study resources and see what’s important

Fun - because using colour and making Mind Maps is fun, it's easier to get engaged with your studying and therefore accomplish more.