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Concept Mapping

Concept maps are visual representations of knowledge. A good concept map represents how its creator thinks about a subject, process, concept, etc. It illustrates how knowledge is organized for the individual or the group. This is a painless way of brainstorming a topic to help you focus on the elements you will eventually research and about which you will write.

Among the uses of a concept map:

1. Note taking and brainstorming

   • You can place each new idea in the right place, regardless of the order of presentation.

   • It encourages the reduction of each concept to a single word.

   • The map can be memorized by your visual memory which has been shown to be almost perfect.

   • It makes it easy to identify important gaps in knowledge -- the spaces upon which you will concentrate your research.
     
     

2. Writing

   With a concept map, you can quickly produce a large number of ideas, and at the same time organize them by placing each idea next to related concepts. This is a good strategy for writing. Use the map to get down all your ideas and background knowledge, then read the map and write a sentence or paragraph on each 'key word'.

   Click on each map below to see a detailed enlargement and clues about the usefulness of each type.

   hierarchy map	spider map
   matrix type map

   If you already have an idea you would like to map in your own way, do so on paper, then proceed to the next UWill toolkit.