Making a start

Mind mapping allows you to explore a collection of thoughts you might have about your essay subject. It can also help you identify links and connections between those thoughts. At the planning stage of your assignment, you may want to consider writing the main topic of your essay in the middle of a page and begin to jot down small and large ideas about this topic in a visual manner.

So what are the benefits of mind mapping:

• The mind map you produce will be unique to you, with your individual thoughts and ideas
• Mind mapping helps you to synthesise, organise and connect ideas you have about your topic
• You can use the mind map to target your reading
• Mind maps can also help you group those ideas together and begin to plan where they will go in your assignment

You can either mind map manually or use software to help you to do it. Check out the productivity software you can access as Canterbury Christ Church University student.