does essay have mind map

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How to Create a Mind Map for Essay Writing

Last Updated: December 1, 2023 Fact Checked

Generating Your Map

Organizing your map for writing, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 289,463 times.

If you’re a visual learner or just looking to switch up how you outline your essays, mind maps can be a game-changer. They make coming up with ideas for your essay and organizing them super easy. If you’ve never used a mind map for essay writing before, don’t worry—we break down everything you need to know to get started in the steps below.

Things You Should Know

• Get out a piece of paper and write your topic in the center. This can be a single word or sentence.
• Then, write down any words and ideas that relate to your topic. Circle them and then draw lines or arrows to connect them to the topic.
• Label each bubble idea according to where it fits into your paper. This can be a specific paragraph or a general section, like the introduction.

• Lay out the colored markers or pencils to which you have assigned meaning.
• Orient your paper so that it is in landscape position.
• If you don't have colored pencils or markers, don't worry. You can still make a mind map with just a pen or pencil!

• Circle your topic.

• Each thing you write down may give you another association. Write that down as well. For instance, writing "Impairment vs. disability" might remind you of "wheelchair ramps."
• Try to cluster related thoughts together ("wheelchair ramps"—"access to public life"), but don't worry if it doesn't always happen—you can draw a line between things you wish to connect.
• Look for connections between your unrelated thoughts and jot them into the picture.

• You might also label them "supporting argument," "evidence," "counterargument" etc.

• Include doodles if they occur to you, but again, don't get caught up in making them perfect.
• Depending on your age and essay topic, you might want to focus more on drawing pictures than writing out words.

• While there are plenty of programs available for purpose, you can also use free online mapping tools like Bubble.us, Mind42, or Coggle.

• Add details as you go. For instance, you may write some of the sources you are planning to use to the sections of your essay to which they apply.

• If you do this, you can start by drawing bubbles for the sections and continue by filling in the thoughts and associations.
• You can also organize your revised mind map into bubble for topic sentences that branch into smaller bubbles for supporting arguments and evidence.
• Once you've done this, you practically have a rough draft of your paper.

• Start each paragraph with a sentence that introduces the ideas of that paragraph, and write until you have incorporated all the information for that section.
• If you end up adding things that weren't on your map, look at your map to check that they fit, and consider penciling them in. One of the virtues of the map is that it keeps you on topic.
• Make sure you're not cramming too many points from your mind map into a single paragraph.

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• ↑ https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/sites/default/files/docs/learningguide-mindmapping.pdf
• ↑ https://emedia.rmit.edu.au/learninglab/content/how-create-mind-map
• ↑ https://learningcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/using-concept-maps/
• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 20 May 2020.

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EdrawMind – Quick Mind Map

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Mind Map for Essay: Complete Guide With Useful Tips

Edraw content team, planning to create mind map for essays.

EdrawMind is a powerful tool that lets you create mind maps for essays. Learn from this essay writing tips guide to know everything about different essay writing. Try this mind-mapping tool today!

Essay writing is one of the most crucial parts of any academic curriculum. Most students consider writing an essay a dreadful task, but with the correct essay writing tips, one can easily master the techniques. In this article, we will show you the importance of mind maps for essay writing. Creating a mind map for essay writing helps academic students visualize the idea before they start writing it. Here, we will discuss different essays and illustrate how just by creating a mind map in EdrawMind, one can easily write long essays for their academic purpose.

1. What is mind mapping?

Before we begin understanding the benefits of making a mind map for essay writing, we should first understand mind mapping in detail.

In general, mind mapping is a diagramming technique that helps display information visually. Let us suppose you have to write about yourself, including your hobbies, details about your parents, the video games you love to play, and more. In this case, mind mapping would be the technique you will use to visualize the content going along in your 'about me' essay. Since most students prefer to outline their essays before actually converting them into long paragraphs, it is always considered good practice to make a mind map in and around the essay's primary topic.

There are a couple of ways that mind mapping benefits the students who intend to write a good essay.

• A student can visualize the entire essay even before starting to write it.
• A student can prioritize the segments based on their subtopics.s
• A student can go back to the mind map and understand if they have missed out on any important topic.

Once students have created a mind map, they can seemingly convert it into long paragraphs for an essay. In most cases, if a student can add the mind map to the essay, it will help the reader understand the important topics covered in the submitted long piece.

2. Mind Map Helps with All Types of Essays

In academic writing, there are six different types of essay writing. As a student, you can create a mind map for different essays and later use these steps to write the essay itself. Here, we have covered all the six different types of essays and helped you understand how mind maps benefit someone who intends to write astonishing essays.

1. Argumentative Essay

An argumentative essay is a form of essay writing that requires a student to go analytical by investigating a topic, collecting the data, generating the points, evaluating all the gathered evidence, and establishing a position on the topic. As you see, an argumentative essay requires the student to go in-depth about their research. If the student works on a mind map for an argumentative essay, they will be able to properly create different segments while outlining their investigative and evaluative stages.

When a student creates a mind map, it facilitates a visual sketch of the entire material the student has gathered to write the argumentative essay. In addition, by creating a mind map, the student ensures that they have all the relevant information before proceeding to write the essay.

2. Admissions Essay

Admission essays are essays that one writes to get themselves enrolled at any particular college or university. Admission essays mostly consist of a statement of purpose (SOP), a student's academic record, a student's record of extra-curricular activities, references, and personal details. An admission essay is considered a very important piece of writing because it allows the college or university to know the student better and learn more about any specific situation.

When a student is writing an admission essay, creating a mind map is extremely handy because it allows the students to jot down the details of all of their achievements in a manner that resonates with the admission process. In a mind map, the student can dedicate a specific portion to their SOP, add their academic record in other subtopics, and then work ahead to showcase their achievements. Once the mind map for the admission essay is created, the student can follow the basic steps to writing an essay.

3. Persuasive Essay

A persuasive essay is a type of essay where a researcher or a student supports their content with facts and logical reasons to sway readers to a particular standpoint. In general, while writing a persuasive essay, the primary intention of the writer is to persuade the reader and convince them on a specific issue.

As you see, a persuasive essay requires a detailed logical argument and an emotional appeal. Most students tend to create a mind map before writing their persuasive essay to find the loopholes in the early stages of essay writing. A persuasive essay consists of three important parts: issue, side, and argument. By creating a mind map for an essay, a student can create these subtopics and work on them individually.

4. Compare-and-Contrast Essay

When students need to point out the similarities and differences between two or more subjects, they create a compare-and-contrast essay around it. Writing a compare-and-contrast essay is great for illustrating what separates and unites related topics, particularly those topics or concepts that are often misinterpreted by each other. In a compare-and-contrast essay, a student does not choose two specific topics to provide a contrast. Rather, they compare and contrast two types of similar topics to highlight subtle differences. For instance, when someone has to compare and contrast between watermelon and muskmelon, they will choose two different breeds of dogs and cats to convey the exact difference.

By creating a contrast-and-compare essay mind map, one can easily note the differences and similarities between two subjects. A mind map will help brainstorm the topic, collect the sources, and outline the essay structure.

5. Personal Essay

As the name suggests, a student writes about their experiences without having to prove any particular point in a personal essay. In personal essays, the author only intends to introduce the topic to the reader and make them aware of the subject and the theme. In most cases, a personal essay is based on feelings, emotions, personal experiences, and personal opinions.

While creating a mind map for a personal essay, the author can work on some important elements, like creating a compelling hook, presenting an engaging story, introducing interesting characters, having an immersive setting, and presenting meaningful conversations. With the help of a mind map, one can easily separate all these elements into subtopics and work on them individually. This way, they can present a more compelling story without missing out on important details.

6. Expository Essay

An expository essay is a long-form essay where the author's primary intent is to explain or describe a particular topic by providing factual information. When an author starts preparing for an expository essay, they start by investigating an idea, evaluating the gathered evidence, expounding on the idea, and concisely presenting an argument. Often, students get confused between expository and argumentative essay writing. The core difference between the two genres is that an expository essay will contain the information and explain the topic in brief. At the same time, an argumentative essay will contain the writer's personal ideas, facts, and other statistics.

Since expository essays contain information based on investigation and evaluation, creating a mind map for such essay writing is recommended. Using a mind map, the author can easily visualize all the evidence related to the information and brainstorm the topic before starting the writing process.

3. Mind Map for Essay: Step by Step

Now that you have understood how students can easily visualize their ideas by creating mind maps for essays, let us give you a detailed step-by-step description of how you can use mind maps for essay writing. It should be noted here that these are generic steps and can easily be applied to all the different types of essay writing.

1 Find Essay's Topic:

The first step in essay writing is coming up with a unique idea or a topic less explored. If you work on an essay topic that is already covered several times by different authors, your research might be hard-pressed to develop a unique standpoint. Instead, it is recommended to come up with the essay topic you are personally interested in, or at least something you can talk about without major complications. Choosing your essay's topic that is close to you will make the entire task of essay writing less monotonous.

• Create a mind map in a tool like EdrawMind and name the primary topic, 'Essay Topic.' Now start adding different ideas as its subtopics. These subtopics can be anything that you are closely associated with. For instance, you can add different ideas that your professors might have suggested or some ideas that were previously discussed in the classroom.
• Add your own areas of interest to the mind map and try to connect the dots with the ideas that you must have added in the previous step. Once you have a few good ideas that intersect with your interest and the ideas that were previously discussed, you can start weighing them against one another by noting down their respective pros and cons. Remove the ideas that have several cons and start working on that essay topic with maximum pros.

2 Commence Research Process:

Research is one of the most important processes in essay writing. At the same time, students often get confused between different arguments and counterarguments presented to them from different research papers. Students often waste an enormous amount of time just trying to figure out how to put all the different information into one piece. What all these students need is to make a mind map for essay writing where they can easily collect and structure their data and information.

• Create a mind map for different sources and make additional notes in these mind maps as you go on through the text. EdrawMind provides you with a comment option that helps in taking additional notes as and when they are required.
• Sometimes, students create one single mind map where they list all of their resources and branch them out for every quote and information, they want to use in the essay paper.

3 Outlining Essay Paper in a Mind Map:

Before you start writing your essay, you first create an outline of your paper that will help create a coherent structure of your arguments, counter arguments, examples, and sources. By using a mind map, one can easily review the outline and access the information they require in their essay.

Creating a mind map to outline your essay ensures that one will walk through sources and information more efficiently. It also enables the author to find and review information whenever they are stuck at any point.

4. Useful Tips for Your Essay

Essay writing can be a fun exercise if you follow some of the general steps to writing an essay. A couple of important essay writing tips ensure that your final submission has no plagiarism, no errors, has a proper citation, and does not divert from the primary topic. Some of the most useful essay writing tips are:

• Plan & Schedule: After coming up with the right topic for the essay, a student must allocate proper time and schedule their research hours. Most of the time, students underestimate the amount of work required to conduct proper research to write a professional essay and end up submitting an essay that will fetch them poor grades. It is always advisable to plan and schedule the essay writing in such a way that they get proper time for researching, and a good amount of time in writing, followed by sufficient time to conduct the second round of editing.
• Structure, Flow, & Focus: If you have not decided on the right flow of your essay, chances are your reader might not be able to relate to it. So, whenever you start writing the essay, ensure that you have properly summarized the core introduction and main body and presented your case that leads towards a proper conclusion. By structuring and focusing on the flow, each section of your essay will add a definitive value to the argument that you are presenting. At the same time, you should also perform multiple revisions just to confirm that the different parts of your essay fit together as a logical whole.
• Proper Style and Formatting: A good essay is about the argument and the narrative structure, but at the same time, the style tends to influence your readers, as that is the very first thing the reader will see when they look at your essay submission. Before writing down the essay, understand the formatting and styling criteria from your professor. You can even consult them about the language guide and the style that you have to follow while submitting the essay. It might look like a very simple or a basic step, but when an author submits an essay that has a proper table of content, introduction pages, bibliography, indexes, annexures, and references, the reader will get an idea that the author has done their proper research before writing the essay.
• Visualize the idea: In most cases, authors start writing the essay as soon as they get an idea. However, if the content is large and the project demands multiple rounds of revisions, it is highly recommended to go ahead and create a mind map. A mind map for essays will help the author visualize the content in a concrete manner. At the same time, by creating a mind map, you will be able to follow the timeline and have sufficient time to make revisions.

5. Key Takeaways

Regardless of the course of study and institution, essay writing is one of the most important curriculum activities for all grades. Even the graduates and postgraduate students need to submit their research paper that somehow starts by writing long-form essays. In this elaborate guide, we walked you through different types of essay writing and helped you understand how making a mind map for an essay is not only a logical activity but also saves you time and other important resources. Instead of wasting your time and money on complicated tools, you should start using EdrawMind, which has hundreds of templates for educational, business, and personal use.

Unlike other tools, EdrawMind has an amazing user interface that provides easy drag-and-drop features. From changing the theme of your mind map to adding different comments in subtopics, you can modify your mind map in any way you desire. So, what are you waiting for? Download EdrawMind today and make a mind map for the essay. You can also try using EdrawMind Online, which comes with a personal cloud.

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Free Mind Map for Essay Templates by GitMind

Making an essay is a common piece of advice offered to you along with your writing assignment. In that case, this post will teach you how to make mind maps as well as how to use pre-made mind maps for essay models. Mind mapping organizes information in a way that mirrors how our brains truly operate, as opposed to standard note-taking or linear text that you’ve been taught or have grown accustomed to. It can also help you avoid the stumbling blocks and overload created by overt analytical thinking. It lets you view more than one notion at a time, which helps to clarify your thoughts.

Free Mind Map for Essay by GitMind

Effective essay writing, essay topic template, paragraph essay organizer, mind map for essay benefits, how to create a mind map for an essay.

A mind map for writing an essay is a written piece in which you convey a certain topic and then back it up with facts, claims, analyses, and explanations. The five-paragraph essay is the most common style of an essay, though an essay can have as many parts as necessary. A 5 essay is comprised of five paragraphs. An essay, on the other hand, is divided into 3 sections: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

According to the mind map essay example, an essay is a written piece in which you convey a certain topic and then back it up with facts, claims, analyses, and explanations. The five-paragraph essay is the most common style of an essay, though an essay can have as many parts as necessary. A 5 essay is comprised of five paragraphs. An essay, on the other hand, is divided into 3 sections: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.

Plan essay mind map template with this paragraph organizer. The introduction should begin with a broad statement and end with a thesis statement that zooms in on the themes you will discuss in considerable depth. The proof of your idea should be included in the body paragraphs. Lastly, the conclusions affirm your topic and the key ideas of your work and then zoom out with an assessment or comment on the greater issue.

Mind map for essay may be an excellent method for you to try if you want to attain higher levels of attention and creativity, as well as the improved organization and more succinct communication. The advantages of concept maps are numerous and diverse. In essence, they include: presenting an overview of a vast subject/broad issue and enabling you to portray it in a more compact manner and also creating a more appealing and entertaining structure for your ocular to look at, ruminate over, and remember.

Creating a mind map essay example is always challenging, even if you are a superb writer and are well-versed in the subject. In contrast to other types of writing, you need to cultivate an interesting way of thinking in order to persuade readers of your point of view. In this instance, a program like GitMind might be useful. It will enable you to write essays that need ordered thought. While there are various strategies for arranging the thoughts you want to include in your essay, many people connect using a mind map for essay writing to utilizing a mind map. This program makes it easy to brainstorm, convey your ideas, and clarify your position.

• To get started, go to the GitMind official website. and then press the “Get Started” button.

• Start designing your mind map for writing an essay by clicking the “Create MindMap” button.

• Select your favorite layout and begin entering data into each node.

• When you’re finished, just click the “Save” button to save your changes.

In summary, making a mind map for essay writing is a basic yet very efficient method of brainstorming and outlining your thoughts. A mind map represents your topic by using a primary thought and branches that explain the center notion. Terms and keyphrases, color codes for phrases and branching, and visual materials like doodles or symbols are all used in well-drawn mind maps. On a single page, you may generally summarize all of your essay’s main points.

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Mind Maps for Essay Writing: A Comprehensive Guide with Examples and Tips

5 minutes read

Mastering essay writing is an essential skill for academic success. One valuable tool to enhance this skill is mind mapping, a dynamic and visual approach to organize thoughts. This article will guide you through the benefits, creation process, practical examples, and expert tips for effective mind mapping.

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Understanding Mind Maps: Definition and Benefits

A Mind Map is a powerful graphic technique that provides a universal key to unlock the potential of the brain. It harnesses the full range of cortical skills – word, image, number, logic, rhythm, color, and spatial awareness – in a single, uniquely powerful manner.

Utilizing mind maps in essay writing offers several benefits. Not only does it provide a visually engaging way to organize ideas, but it also enhances understanding and memory recall. The science behind this phenomenon lies in the way our brain works. By representing information spatially and with images and color, mind mapping stimulates the brain in a much richer and more varied way than traditional note-taking.

How to Create a Mind Map for an Essay

Mind mapping is an easy process that can be mastered with practice. Here's a step-by-step guide:

1. Start in the center : Write your main idea or essay prompt in the center of the page and draw a circle around it.

2. Branch out : From your central idea, draw lines out towards the edges of your page representing the main thoughts or ideas related to your topic. At the end of each line, write a single word or phrase that summarizes the point, then draw a circle around that word or phrase.

3. Add details : Draw smaller lines branching off from each main idea line that represent supporting details. At the end of these lines, write a brief detail or example and circle it.

4. Color your thoughts : Add colors to your different ideas to highlight them. Use pictures or symbols wherever applicable.

Essential tools for mind mapping range from simple pen and paper to advanced mind mapping software like Boardmix or EdrawMind.

How to Use Mind Maps for Effective Essay Writing

Mastering the use of mind maps for essay writing entails three primary steps – identifying an apt essay topic, kickstarting the research process, and finally, outlining your essay within a mind map. Here's a detailed exploration of these stages:

Step 1: Using a Mind Map to Find a Good Topic for Your Essay

Selecting an engaging and manageable topic forms the bedrock of an impactful essay. Mind mapping can be instrumental in this process by helping to generate and connect ideas creatively and logically.

Brainstorming Topic Ideas with a Mind Map

To brainstorm topics, start by jotting down a general area of interest at the center of your mind map. Let's say, "Climate Change." Now, let your mind flow freely and create branches from this central node, each representing a different aspect or question related to Climate Change - "Causes," "Effects," "Solutions," "Controversies," etc. From these primary branches, draw secondary branches for further thoughts, arguments, or subtopics. After creating this mind map, assess the feasibility and interest level of each potential essay topic, and choose the one that resonates the most with you.

Step 2: Start the Research Process

Once you've chosen your topic, it's time to delve into research. A well-researched essay strengthens your arguments and adds credibility to your work.

Collecting Research in a Mind Map

Begin by creating a new mind map with your chosen topic at the center. As you start reading relevant resources - books, articles, or websites - extract key points and note them as branches on your mind map. For instance, under the "Causes" branch for Climate Change, you could add sub-branches like "Industrialization," "Deforestation," or "Carbon Emissions." Under each of these, note relevant data or quotations from your sources. This approach helps to visualize how various bits of information relate to each other and makes it easier to structure your essay later.

Step 3: Outlining Essay Paper in a Mind Map

Having gathered adequate research material, it's time to structure it coherently through an essay outline. Creating this outline within a mind map ensures that no crucial point is overlooked and allows you to visualize the logical flow of your essay.

From your research mind map, create another one specifically for your essay outline. The central node should be your essay title or thesis statement. Create major branches for each key argument or point you plan to discuss. Attach supporting evidence, examples, or sub-arguments as sub-branches. Under each major branch, ensure that there is a claim or unique viewpoint that you will defend or explain in your essay.

In essence, this mind map will act as the skeleton of your essay, providing a clear roadmap for your writing process.

5 Examples of Mind Maps for Essay Writing

Analyzing examples of mind maps for essay writing can provide a better understanding of how this powerful brainstorming tool works. Here are five detailed examples that demonstrate different ways to utilize mind mapping in academic writing.

Example 1: Argumentative Essay Mind Map

Let's consider a mind map developed for an argumentative essay about "Climate Change". The central node, in this case, states "Climate Change". From this central idea, branches emerge that represent the main arguments for the essay. One branch could say "Evidence of Climate Change," with sub-branches exploring different scientific studies that support climate change. Another branch might state "Effects of Climate Change," delving into the impact on polar ice caps, rising sea levels, and wildlife extinction. A third branch may argue "Solutions to Climate Change," examining renewable energy sources, deforestation reduction, and government policies. Each branch further divides into smaller branches providing details, examples, or counterarguments.

Example 2: Descriptive Essay Mind Map

Now, imagine a descriptive essay about "A Winter Morning". The central node would depict the essay's main theme. Major branches could represent sensory details, such as sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell. For instance, the sight branch might have sub-branches like "white snow," "gray skies," or "bare trees." Each of these would break down into more detailed descriptions.

Example 3: Compare and Contrast Essay Mind Map

In a compare and contrast essay on "Traditional Classrooms vs. Online Learning," each of these educational modes could form a major branch from the central node. Sub-branches would then depict aspects for comparison, such as learning flexibility, student-teacher interaction, technology usage, assessment methods, etc. Each of these sub-branches would further branch out into specific points for both traditional classrooms and online learning environments.

Example 4: Cause and Effect Essay Mind Map

For a cause and effect essay on "Smoking", one major branch might represent "Causes of Smoking" such as peer pressure, stress, and advertising influence. Another major branch could depict the "Effects of Smoking," branching out into health impacts (lung cancer, heart disease), financial costs, and societal effects. Each point could be further elaborated through additional branches.

Example 5: Narrative Essay Mind Map

A narrative essay on "My First Camping Trip" would involve major branches for each key event in the story's progression - setting up camp, exploring the forest, facing a wildlife encounter, and handling a campfire accident. Sub-branches of these main events would provide specific details and dialogue to enrich the narrative.

Some Tips and Tricks for Effective Mind Mapping

For effective mind mapping, follow these tips:

• Be creative and make your map vibrant.
• Use single words or simple phrases for information brevity.
• Keep your mind map clear by using radial hierarchy or outlines to embrace your branches.
• Review regularly to reinforce memory.

While creating a mind map, avoid cluttering information on one branch. Use balance across your mind map while distributing information.

Reinventing Essay Writing with Mind Maps

Mind mapping , when mastered, can be a game-changer in your academic writing. It helps organize thoughts, enhances memory and understanding, and can make the essay writing process smoother and more efficient.

Through this guide, you've learned the benefits of mind mapping, how to create a mind map, seen some examples, got expert tips, and learned how to incorporate it into your essay writing process. Now it's time to put this knowledge into practice and start revolutionizing your essay writing with mind maps!

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Whether you’re writing an essay, creating a presentation, or brainstorming strategies with your team, it’s a challenge to sort ideas effectively. There’s a simple solution to this, used by students and established writers alike: mind maps! A mind map helps you organize your ideas in a systematic manner and reveals clues for you to arrange your material better.

In this article, we’ll explore what mind mapping is and learn how to make a creative map for your ideas. We’ll also take a look at some mind map examples to show you unique and innovative ways to create a mind map. But before we begin, let’s establish a mind mapping definition.

What is a mind map?

A mind map is a visual tool used for brainstorming, problem-solving, and organizing ideas. It is a diagram that starts with a central idea and branches out to related subtopics and details.

As you lay out different topics and subtopics visually, you can clearly see the connections between them. In this way, mind mapping helps you see the relationships between different ideas and understand complex topics easily. It’s time to throw away those hefty notes and make note-taking a fun activity!

Let’s see how you can use a mind map in different ways.

Why use mind maps?

Is there any advantage to mind mapping beyond the obvious joy of drawing out your thought process? It’s all very well that you avoid working like a grumpy professor, but what beyond this? 

Here are some benefits of using a mind map:

• Learning becomes a stimulating process.
• Difficult topics can be simplified and easy to understand.
• You can visualize complex points to easily remember and recall dense pieces of information.
• The freedom to connect ideas without a specific order leads to creative and innovative solutions.
• You can come up with a hierarchy of points by easily differentiating between primary and secondary topics.
• The engaging act of making a mind map speeds up brainstorming and improves productivity.
• Easy collaboration allows an entire team or group to work together on a presentation or project.

Mind mapping allows you to see connections and relationships between different ideas. The process makes it easier to understand complex topics and make the right decisions. In this way, a mind map enhances your memory, comprehension, and productivity.

How to make a mind map

It’s quite easy to create a mind map. All you need is a pen and paper! If you prefer working on a laptop, there are several tools you can use, our mind map template being one of them. Scroll down and you’ll find our template.

Follow these steps to make a mind map:

1.  Start with a central idea

Write down the central idea or topic in the center of a blank page. This can be your essay title, an area of research, or a problem you need to solve. Make sure you leave enough space on all sides to create a spreading map.

We’ll add a step-by-step mind map example to help you understand the process. Let’s say you had to brainstorm an essay on types of democracy. Your first step will begin at the central point.

2. Add related ideas

Think of the most important subtopics or areas of interest and arrange them around the central idea. Connect these to the main topic with lines or arrows to indicate the relationship between the two.

So for an essay mind map, the first relevant bubble will be the essay introduction, which will further lead to your thesis statement . For now, we’ll show you the second stage of mind mapping in this example:

3. Create a hierarchy of ideas

Keep adding more layers until you get a spreading map that starts with your central idea and ends with specific facts, evidence, and examples. As you break down your information into smaller and smaller points, you’ll also need to denote the connections between them.

If any facts from separate subtopics are connected, draw a dotted line or arrow between them to indicate this. When you open your mind map later, all hierarchies and connections should be instantly clear to you. Come up with a system of arrows and lines to denote various types of connections between points and subpoints.

Our mind map example will outline this for you:

4. Review and refine the map

If you don’t have a rough essay outline in your mind, you can just focus on getting everything out on the page. After seeing the rough layout, you can decide on the final set of points and remove everything else.

So, the last step is to review your mind map and refine it until you are satisfied with the outcome. In this stage, you’ll add all the smallest details to your mind map and establish important connections through lines.

In a mind map for essay writing, the last few points will be the evidence you use to support your arguments. It’s a good idea to mark the page numbers or other citation indicators so you don’t have to go looking for them later.

Your mind map should look something like the example below:

5. Add symbols and images to help you remember

While making mind maps for writing essays, it’s essential to use any techniques that can help you remember information better. A great way to ensure this is to use symbols and images to signify specific things.

You could develop a system of meanings for different signs. A star can represent important data figures, while a vertical arrow can highlight ascending or descending order. While you can utilize mind mapping tools and software to achieve this, it helps to use symbols that are personal to you. This way, it’s much easier to memorize things!

Let’s add some symbols to our mind map example and breathe life into it.

If you’d like us to add more mind mapping examples, let us know in the comments below!

Note: Keep your mind maps clean! Add only the most central points in one or two words rather than writing entire phrases or sentences. Making a cluttered and chaotic mind map serves no purpose. Keep your focus on the bigger picture and what you want to achieve through the mind map.

If you’re using the mind map for essay writing, you should know how to transfer ideas and information from your map to your essay. Knowing how to write a MEAL paragraph can help! 

Done brainstorming and writing your essay? Let’s make it perfect Get started

Free mind map templates

If you need innovative mind map ideas and templates, we have no shortage of them! Mind mapping for writing differs from mind mapping for a presentation or brainstorming session. Accordingly, mind mapping methods also differ from one another.

So, we’ve created four blank mind map templates to help you find the format that works best for you. Based on your requirements, you can choose from the mind map templates available below. 

1. Basic map that radiates outward

2. Template to brainstorm a topic

3. Mind map for writing an essay

4. Mind map that uses arrows for cause-and-effect

If you’ve created a mind map for your assignment and need an editing and proofreading service , we’re here to help.

Keep reading with more resources from your loyal editors and proofreaders:

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is mind mapping software, what are the compulsory elements of a mind map, how do students create a mind map, what are some other names for a mind map, what is the best mind mapping method.

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Mind Maps For Essay Writing (Guide + Examples)

In this article we’ll show you how to use mind maps for essay writing. Mind maps can not only make this often dreadful task a whole lot easier, but also save you a huge amount of time. If you want to learn how this simple yet effective technique works, just follow the steps as outlined below. What Is a Mind Map? A mind map is a diagram that displays information visually. You can create mind maps using pen and paper, or you can use an online mind mapping tool such as MindMeister. Write the subject in the center of your paper / canvas. Draw branches that point away from the center. Each branch symbolizes one thought or idea related to the subject. Use meaningful keywords to write these ideas onto the branches. From each branch more ideas can branch off. Use colors, icons and images whenever possible. These function as mental triggers and can help spark new ideas in you, which is important during brainstorming sessions. Now that you know how to create a basic mind map, let’s go over how you can use mind maps for essay writing.

If you have the opportunity to choose the topic for your paper yourself, try to find one that’s been covered by other researchers before, but still gives you a chance to come up with new findings and conclusions. If you choose a topic that has already been explored in depth by a gazillion other researchers, you might be hard pressed to develop a unique perspective. Ideally, the topic should be something you are also personally interested in, or at least something you can relate to in some way. This will make the whole task of writing your essay a little less dreadful. The best way to find such a topic is a brainstorming session. Create a new mind map and simply write “My Essay” or “My Paper” in the center of the map. Now, start adding ideas around the center. These can be things your professor suggested, related subjects you discussed in class, or anything else relevant to get you started.

Next, note down your own areas of interest and see where they intersect with the former. Once you have a few good ideas for the subject of your paper, you can start weighing them against each other, noting down pros and cons. Eliminate topics until you’re left with only one. This will be the topic of your paper. In the example below, the only requirement that had been given was to write a paper about literature from the English Renaissance. You’ll see various famous writers of this time mentioned in the map, as well as various aspects of their work that could be examined in a paper, such as the symbolism, dramatic conflicts or themes. While working through both primary and secondary sources, it’s quite easy to get confused about the numerous arguments and counterarguments. Many students get frustrated and waste a lot of time just trying to figure out how to make all the different pieces of information fit together into a coherent text. What you need, therefore, is a system to collect and structure all this information in one central place, so you can easily review the materials while you write.

Create a new mind map for each source (book, article, essay) you read and take notes in this mind map while you work through the text. Alternatively, you can use one single map where you list all your sources and create child topics for every page/paragraph/quote you want to use in your paper. In the map below, you’ll see that – based on our initial brainstorming session – we chose ‘Love in Romeo and Juliet’ as the topic of our paper. For our research map, we wrote this topic in the center and created individual branches for each source we read. Next to the book title, we noted down the topics covered in the source, its central question as well as important passages that we thought we might want to quote in our essay. Use colors, arrows and icons to indicate connections between the arguments and quotes. Be sure to add the page numbers to the topics in your map so you can quickly go back to do some more fact checking if necessary. If you’re working with online sources you can also attach their links directly to the topics in your map.

As you go along, you can restructure the sources according to topics, which usually provides a better overview of the material you have available for each section of your paper. Here’s another example of a research map. This is the map we used to take notes while reading Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the subject of our paper. As you can see, we created branches for each of the text passages we wanted to analyze in the essay. Before you start with the actual writing, it’s very important that you first create an outline of your paper. This will help you create a coherent structure of your arguments, counterarguments, examples, quotes, and the sources you want to reference in each argument. You can quickly review this outline whenever you get sidetracked in your writing process, or when you’re unsure about how to continue. A mind map is a great format for such an outline because it provides you with a visual overview of your thesis statement and the entire text structure. Link the individual topics in your map with the respective research maps you’ve created. Add notes and deadlines to each step to make sure your writing stays on schedule. Export your finished outline as a Word document and use it as the basis for your paper. Using mind maps to plan and outline your essay will not only make the writing process a lot easier, it will also enable you to work through sources more efficiently and help you find information more quickly. Of course, you can use mind mapping for all types of writing assignments – from essays to short stories and from book reports to blog posts.

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How to Use Mind Maps for an Effective Essay Writing

Edraw content team, do you want to learn more about using mind maps for an effective essay writing.

EdrawMind specializes in diagramming and visualizing. Learn from this article to know everything about How to Use Mind Maps for an Effective Essay Writing !

Being a student, writing an effective essay is a difficult task for you. But you can make it easy if you know how to use mind maps. Creating a mind map for essay writing helps you visualize the idea before writing it.

So, do you want to create mind maps? If yes, read this article explaining how to use mind maps for essays .

1. What Are Mind Maps for Essays

A mind map is a technique for centrally organizing thoughts on a particular concept. This visual thinking tool makes it easier to analyze, remember, understand, summarize, and develop new ideas by managing the data. Let us know by taking a mind map essay example . You want to write about your best friend, including his hobbies, details about his parents, and his likes and dislikes. Mind mapping would be the technique you will use to visualize the content going along in your 'best friend' essay.

Here are some benefits of using a mind map for writing an essay:

• The student can order the segments according to their subtopics.
• The student can refer to the mind map to see if they missed any important topics.
• If a student includes a mind map in an essay, it will help a reader to understand the issues quickly.
• The student makes sure they have all the necessary information before writing the essay by creating a mind map.
• Before an exam, a student can quickly review his mind maps for revision.

2. How to Prepare the Essay Using a Mind Map

Now that you know what a mind map is and how beneficial it is for essay writing. So, let's learn how to prepare an English essay mind map for essay writing .

2.1 Research the essay's topic

Finding a unique concept or a less popular subject is the first step in essay writing. If you choose to write about a topic for your essay that has already been discussed, it may be difficult for your research to take a real stand.

Instead, choosing an essay topic that interests you personally, or at least isn't too difficult for you to discuss, is advised. The process of writing an essay will be less tedious if you select a topic that is personal to you. To research the case of an article, do brainstorming.

To brainstorm, take a piece of paper and write down everything you know about a particular topic. Then, write your ideas by using keywords.

2.2 Planning the essay

One of the critical steps in writing an essay is research. Unfortunately, students often waste a lot of time simply attempting to put all the various pieces of information together. So, creating an essay planning mind map is essential so students can easily organize and collect their data.

Moreover, making notes in a mind map as you read each source (book, article, or essay) helps you retain the information. You could also use a single map where you list all your references and make branches for each page, paragraph, and quote you plan to use in your essay.

To organize the information from the brainstorming, decide on the main categories. Then, tie the additional information to those in the manner described below:

2.3 Outline and write the essay

The third step is to create an outline of your essay before you start writing it. It will help you to organize your arguments, counterarguments, examples, and sources in a logical order. A mind map makes it simple to review the outline and find the data one needs for their essay.

Whenever you find yourself getting off track while writing or when you are unsure of where to go next, you can quickly review this outline. Then, once outlining is done, start writing.

3. Mind Map Templates for Different Essays

There are different kinds of essays in academic writing. You can make a mind map as a student for various essays and then use these procedures to write the essay. Let's see 5 different types of essay outlines explained with mind maps. These essay mind map templates help you to write outstanding essays.

3.1 Argumentative Essay Mind Map

To write an argumentative essay, a student must be analytical. He must research a subject, gather information, come up with points, analyze the evidence gathered, and take a position.

So, use an argumentative essay mind map. By doing so, you will have different segments while outlining the essay's investigative and evaluative stages.

3.2 Comparative Essay Mind Map

Students write this type of essay when they need to highlight the similarities and differences between two or more subjects. Writing this type of essay is a fantastic way to show those topics or concepts frequently misunderstood by one another. It is easy to see the differences and similarities between the two subjects in this essay by using a comparison essay mind map.

3.3 Research Essay Mind Map

A research essay is an essay that offers information on a specific subject that you have looked into and is unrelated to you. By doing research, you can find out more about the subject. The research outline mind map gives students a plan of action, especially at the beginning of the research. It can be applied as a critical thinking technique for problem-solving. Looking at this essay mind map template, you can easily concentrate on and comprehend the target ideas.

3.4 Thesis Statement Essay mind map

A thesis statement is a statement that summarizes the key idea of your essay. Usually, it follows your introduction. Your thesis will be slightly different depending on the type of essay you are writing. But the main point you want to make is always stated in the thesis statement. For this, follow the thesis statement essay mind maps. This essay mind map template is beneficial in deciding the best thesis statement for your essay.

3.5 Interpretive essay mind map

An interpretive essay is a form of writing that recognizes, assesses, and analyzes the author's methods in a specific work. This essay offers an interpretation of a previously published form of writing.

4. Tips for Essay Mind Maps

If you adhere to some tips for  mind maps for essays , writing essays can be enjoyable. So, here are some tips for essay mind maps that you must follow:

• Always place the topic you want to talk about in the middle of the mind map. 

You should save money to cover any unexpected financial needs.

• Use images, icons, and colors whenever you can. These serve as mental triggers and can help in your ability to generate fresh ideas.

Investing is essential for growing money so that you can achieve your goals.

• To write the ideas on to the branches, always use relevant keywords.

Financial security through insurance ensures that you and your family can get through difficult times.

• Draw lines to indicate cross-links between the information in different parts of a mind map.

5. Conclusion

In this article, we have discussed everything that you must know. So, if you want to save time and other resources, use mind map templates for different essays.

You can find these templates on EdrawMind . Unlike other software, this has an excellent user interface with straight forward drag-and-drop features. So what are you waiting for, then? Create a mind map for the essay right away by downloading EdrawMind.

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How to Create a Mind Map for an Essay

It’s always challenging to write an essay even if you know the subject well and are an excellent writer. Unlike other types of writing, you must come up with an interesting line of reasoning to convince readers of your point of view.

Essay writing requires structured thinking. A good essay writer not only reads and makes notes but also uses critical thinking and analysis before penning the essay.

While there are many ways to structure the ideas you want to include in your essay, few, if any, can compare with using a mind map for essay writing. This tool makes it easy to brainstorm, organize your ideas, and argue your case.

Table of Contents

Benefits of Mind Mapping

Mind-mapping is a useful way to make notes, revise all your ideas, and organize your information. A mind map for essay writing helps you visually represent and connect ideas on a topic.

A mind map is effective for the following reasons:

• It will help you get clear on your key concepts around a central topic.
• It will help you define your concepts and show the relationships between them.
• It will make it simple to see all your ideas at a glance because you’ll spread them out on a single page.
• It will trigger your memory to associate previous ideas with the new ideas you’re developing.
• It will make it easier to write an essay because you’ll have identified what to say and how to say it.

3 Simple Steps to Create a Mind-Map for Your Essay

Step #1: brainstorm what ideas to include in your mind-map.

Brainstorming is a thinking process that you can do alone or with a group.

Brainstorm your essay by writing everything you can think about the topic. It’s unnecessary to write out sentences. If you use keywords and keyword phrases rather than write out a sentence, you’ll be able to come up with more ideas at a faster rate.

So, for example, if you are writing an essay about King Lear, you would not have to write out a sentence like, “William Shakespeare wrote a tragedy about King Lear, a man who bequeathed his power and land to his two daughters after they fawningly declared their love for him. ”

Instead, you only need to write: “William Shakespeare,” “King Lear,” “Tragedy,” “Power” “Land,” “Two out of three daughters,” “Obsequious declaration of love.” These keywords and phrases are enough to recall your ideas.

During the brainstorming phase, you need not organize information. Just get them out on paper.

Step #2: Organize Your Ideas Into Groups

Circle your key ideas and draw arrows to connect them to supporting ideas. Use colors to differentiate between various classes of ideas. You could, for example, write keywords about King Lear’s wealth and power in red and keywords about his daughters in blue. You could also choose different colors for arrows to designate different types of connections.

Step #3: Create Your Mind Map

The central circle of your mind map should be the title keyword.

From the central circle, draw arrows to other circles that represent smaller categories. For instance, you might have a circle for the introduction, a circle for the body, and a circle for the conclusion. Of course, you don’t have to use circles. You can choose another shape, like rectangles, if you like. You can also group similar categories into clusters by using wavy lines to show a group.

Finally, connect the supporting ideas you had brainstormed to their main ideas. For instance, under the keyword “daughters,” you could use supporting ideas adjectives like “fawning,” “manipulative,” “obsequious” to describe them.

When you’ve finished mind mapping, your diagram should resemble a spider’s web.

Although this may all sound rather complicated, it’s only because they are verbal descriptions of a mind map. Once you look at an example of your mind map, the idea of circles or rectangles, categories and subcategories, main ideas and supporting ideas, and the use of colors and lines to show connections between ideas will become instantly clear.

Tools for Mind Mapping

You can use a large piece of paper horizontally and several colored pens.

You can also use mind-mapping software. The primary difference between free mind-mapping software and paid mind-mapping versions is the number of times you can use the software and the number of templates you can use. Still, the main thing is that a free version of mind-mapping software is just as robust as a paid version. It will give you all the functionality you need to draw out a comprehensive mind map for your essay. You can also try out a trial version for 30 days to try out all the features of a mind-mapping app if you can’t decide whether you should use a free or paid version.

Enhancing Your Mind Maps

Technically, all you need is a blank sheet of paper and a pen to start mind mapping. But you might find it useful to use a variety of colored pens to make it easier to identify different categories of ideas. It’s also a good idea to keep your keywords short rather than use long phrases because this saves you space. Additionally, try adding doodles alongside keywords.

If you use mind-mapping software, you’ll find it easier to visually represent your information because you’ll have many more options, such as icons, colors, shapes, and other such features.

Mind Mapping Is Better Than Notes or Outlines for an Essay

Mind mapping is actually just another way of taking notes or outlining. But a graphic representation of your ideas is much more meaningful because your brain processes images better than interpreting the meaning of words. If, for example, someone had never seen an apple, it would take a lot of words to describe one, but if you just showed him or her a picture, they would instantly understand the features of the fruit.

Traditional notes use linear notes that start in the upper left corner of a page and go from left to right. With mind mapping, your subject starts from the center of a page and radiates outwards. Consequently, all your ideas are clearly visible at once. Similarly, it’s easier to understand a mind-map than a formal written outline .

How to Practice Mind Mapping

The best way to learn mind mapping is to look at examples. You will instantly understand how they work.

When creating a mind-map here are some ideas to keep in mind:

• Always begin with a central idea for your mind map.
• Use the first tier of your thoughts to describe your main ideas, the second tier to describe your supporting ideas, and the third tier to describe ideas that expand on your supporting ideas.
• Continue to reorganize your mind map until it outlines your argument in a logical sequence.

The more you practice and learn about mind mapping, the better you’ll get at it.

In summary, creating a mind map for essay writing is a simple yet highly effective way to brainstorm and outline your ideas. A mind map uses a central idea to represent your topic and branches that describe the central idea. Well-drawn mind maps use keywords and keyword phrases, color codes for words and branches, and visual cues, such as doodles or icons. You can usually outline all the primary ideas of your entire essay on a single page.

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How to Use Mind Map In Writing – A Thorough Guide

This guide is brought to you by Zen Mind Map, the simplest mind map maker.

Before we can delve into using a mind map for writing, we must first understand what a mind map is. Apparently, there are many self-published authors who launch successful book releases by a creative writing exercise called mind mapping.

Mind mapping is one of many idea-generating strategies that rely on the association, which then comes out as a diagram with figures, facts, concept maps, phrases, keywords, etc. Overall, it is a powerful writing habit inspiration, especially for first-time authors.

There can never be two similar mind maps, even if you use the same mapping software . However, there are some arbitrary steps that you must follow for this approach:

• Choosing a central idea
• Creating ideas connecting to this subject
• Adding in colors / images to associate with these ideas
• Rearranging the map so that it doesn’t look confusing
• Reviewing and storing the map for a subsequent writing process

How To Use Mind Map For Writing Process?

Using a mind map to find your topic, choose the central idea .

Indeed, the very first thing to do is to decide on the backbone of your essay, which is the subject. The best approach is to pick a topic that allows you to provide new findings/conclusions. 

The ideal topic should interest you, as it makes the process much less unbearable. At this stage, put something like “My Essay” in the center of your piece of paper.

Write Down Areas Of Interest (Potential Topics) 

The next thing to do is surround the center with ideas, which is very easy if you have some mind mapping tools. They can range from suggestions from your professor, subjects discussed in class to anything relevant.

Subsequently, quickly start noting down some areas in which you find interesting - They can be anything, as it does not need to be related to the main topic at this step strictly. Remember to use mind map templates with a clear color scheme.

All you need to do is write down anything that pops up in your mind, preferably instinctively. 

Review Their Relationships/Intersection 

Now you have two sets of branches, one being the relevant ideas and the other being your personal interest. Find areas where these two sets intersect with each other.

This process results in a set of ideas that are both relevant to your goal and your interest. 

Weigh Them Against Each Other With Pros And Cons 

The next step is to weigh every idea in the set, analyzing each idea’s pros and cons. 

Start The Elimination Process

Start the elimination process once you get the pros and cons of every single concept. Compare the list of advantages and disadvantages carefully, but mostly on the disadvantages. 

Yet, remember that challenges are inevitable, but they should never hinder you from turning in your work.

Eliminate the choices until there is only one.

Using A Mind Map Standard To Compile Research Materials

Make a new branch for each source .

With this approach, the topic will be listed in the center of your map, and the child branches will be the secondary sources. From these branches, create smaller ones consisting of the secondary source’s topic, central idea, and quotes.

This method most benefits projects that do not require you to focus entirely on primary source material. Instead, find other similar types of writing and present the link between them to enforce your point.

Make A Branch For Each Area Of Your Topic

There are some involvements from the secondary sources, but they are not prominent.

Note everything you need onto the map while working through the source’s text. You need to work a lot more, but the payback will absolutely be worth it. 

Using A Mind Map To Layout Your Outline

You will get a well-structured thesis outline out from the mind map. It allows you to generate a coherent structure consisting of examples, quotes, arguments, counter-arguments, etc., without losing grasp.

The visual representations of mind maps mean that you can quickly review your outline whenever you need to. All it takes is one look, and you can track your entire text structure from the thesis statement.

However, there certainly are some specific things that you need to pay attention to for a better creative process:

• Put a link between each topic with a corresponding research map created independently. 
• Next, put in some notes or deadlines at each level, ensuring that the writing project is never behind schedule. 
• Going over the deadline is always the clearest sign of bad writing.
• The last thing to do is export your finished mind map for easier access.

The Rules Of Mind Map For Writing Process

• The subject you want to discuss should always be at the center of the map. 
• Branches should be going out, each representing one single idea relating to the subject.
• The last rule to keep in mind is the use of visuals such as images, icons, and color themes. They will serve as mental triggers, sparking more ideas within your brain to create a positive loop within your brain.

What Are The Benefits Of Mind Map For Writing?

• Newbie authors will have a complete overview of the entire topic and a clear flow of ideas. 
• The second benefit of mind maps is that they let you see how the main topic connects with its supporting pieces. This results in an easier time planning resource materials and when to use them.
• Finally, this approach provides a much more enjoyable and attractive format to supply information to your brain. You will, in turn, remember the information more clearly, improving your writing potential.

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How to Plan an Essay: Mind Mapping

Mind maps are very useful because they allow you to use both sides of your brain to organize your ideas or to plan your writing. Mind maps are also great tools for analysis of the content of your future essay. To create a mind map, you only need to understand the general idea of your essay and brainstorm on your topic. Here is a quick guide from College-Writers.com .

Generating a Mind Map

1. First, grab a sheet of paper, pen, and markers or colored pencils. Every color can have its meaning. For example, you can use red for the topics that need further research, green for supporting evidence, blue for your key points, and orange for counterarguments. However, you can also create a mind map without colored pencils or markers, using the same color for all of your elements.

2. Write the topic of your essay in the center of the page. You may start with a single keyword or write the entire thesis statement. For example, when writing about global warming, you can simply write “Global Warming,” or you can write “Global warming is caused by the emission of greenhouse gases.”

3. Write down your relevant associations. Just write any ideas that relate to your topic and draw a bubble around each one of them. Connect these bubbles to the main idea and to each other using lines or arrows and jot down brief explanations that illustrate the way these ideas are related.

4. If you’re stuck and you have no ideas, just draw empty bubbles. In each bubble, you can write relevant questions that you need to answer in the essay, such as “What,” “Why,” “Who,” etc. You can also keep these bubbles for counterarguments or supporting evidence.

5. Don’t forget that the main purpose of your mind map is to help you plan the essay. Therefore, there’s no point in wasting your time trying to draw perfect bubbles and connect them with perfectly straight lines. You should sketch quickly so that you won’t stop your flow of associations. Of course, you may include doodles that will help you remember some important points, but don’t try to make them perfect. Your mind map is just for you and nobody else.

6. You may also use online templates instead of creating a mind map from scratch. There are many programs that enable you to create mind maps from templates that already have a certain structure. For example, we recommend that you try such tools as Coggle, Mind42, or Bubble.us.

Organizing Your Mind Map

1. Think of how you will organize your ideas in the essay. Label the bubbles and assign them to different sections of your paper. If you need to write a certain number of paragraphs, you can assign a number that corresponds to a certain paragraph to each bubble. While organizing the elements of the essay, add some details. For instance, you can write down useful sources that will fit the context of each section.

2. If your mind map gets messy, redraw it to group different ideas into logical sections. You may want to draw more bubbles and fill them with more associations, thoughts, and supporting evidence. Once all your ideas are properly organized, the draft of your paper is ready.

3. Keep your mind map in front of you while writing. This way, you won’t forget any important details. You can also pre-write your essay by writing down the ideas from your mind map and grouping them into several lines. This way, you will create a paragraph structure.

Begin every paragraph with an introductory sentence that introduces the key idea of the paragraph. If you want to add some ideas that weren’t on the mind map, make sure that they fit. Besides, prepare to get rid of the unnecessary details. When designing the mind map, don’t try to include too many points in one paragraph.

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The Benefits of Mind Mapping for Writing (And How You Can Get Started Right Away)

Crafting a bestselling novel isn’t for the faint of heart. And not just because of all the writing, editing, and marketing. Trying to keep all those plot points, characters, settings, and other details straight can be a major challenge. And the further in you get, the more difficult it becomes. 

Fortunately, there is a way to streamline your writing process and reign in the complexity of your story’s world. Mind mapping for writing can help you get organized, stay focused, and write faster. And that means you’ll reach the finish line of your story sooner. 

But mind maps aren’t just for writing fiction. They can be used for all types of writing. And you don’t even need a stash of pen and paper. With mind mapping software at your side, you’ll be able to write better blog posts, research papers, and more .

Keep reading to discover how a mind mapping tool could be just the jumpstart your writing process has been needing.

What is mind mapping anyway?

Mind mapping is a technique that can be used to brainstorm ideas, organize your thoughts , or remember something more easily. The basic idea is to create a map of your thoughts by connecting related ideas with lines and arrows. This can help you to see the connections between different ideas and to remember information more effectively. 

Mind maps come in a variety of styles, from timeline mind maps to Venn diagrams . And each kind of graphic organizer offers unique benefits.

How can mapping be useful in writing fiction?

As any novelist knows, writing a book is no easy feat. You don’t just have to come up with a compelling story. You’ve also got to keep track of all the different characters and plot threads. 

Mind mapping can be a helpful tool for keeping everything organized. By creating a mind map, you can visualize the different elements of your story. 

For example, you might brainstorm story ideas for a single book or an entire series. Then, you could create a timeline mind map to give yourself a clear picture of when events take place. You could even include significant events that happened before or after your story. Mind maps can also help you flesh out your characters. They offer a place to describe them physically, psychologically, and in other ways. 

And with mind mapping software , you can even add images and links to show relationships to other characters or places.

How do you create a mind map for a story?

Want to know specifically how to mind map for fiction?

First, you’ll need to think through the kinds of mind maps you’ll need. Will character maps be beneficial? Could you use mind maps describing particular scenes or settings? Would a timeline be helpful? How about a mind map that divides your story into its various beats?

Once you’ve decided which mind maps will be best for your story, choose mind map templates that fit your need. Mindomo has a host of templates specifically for literature and writing. There, you’ll find everything from characterization study maps to story maps and more.

Once you’ve finished your mind maps, they can be used as a guide when writing the actual story. They’ll make it easy to ensure all of the important elements are included.

But a mind mapping tool won’t just help you keep each individual story straight. You can also use them to track your progress, setting yourself milestones for each section of the book. And if you ever get stuck, mind maps can provide a handy way to jump-start your creative juices. After all, they’re the perfect tool for brainstorming.

How can mind mapping be useful in other types of writing?

Maybe you’re not a fiction writer.  That doesn’t mean mind mapping isn’t for you. Mind mapping benefits extend to any type of writing.

Start by brainstorming your ideas and then organize them into categories. Once you have the structure of your post, use your mind map to identify your central topic. You can also use the mind map to come up with good ideas for supporting points. Then, you can add them as child branches on your map.

With a clear outline of your post or article, it will be much easier to write the actual content. And if there’s something you’d like to add or change while writing, simply update your mind map accordingly.

For maximum efficiency, you can also use a digital mind map for outlining and organizing the flow of the post. And you may even be able to create a mind map to illustrate your central topic or a supporting idea. Having all these elements at your fingertips will ensure that your blog posts are well thought out and organized. You can use mind mapping to structure an essay with ease.

With a mind map, you’ll save yourself from wasting valuable time and energy on unnecessary rewrites. Having a clear plan in place before starting your writing makes it much easier to stay organized. That way, you can produce better content faster. 

Use mind maps to structure your paragraphs:

Use mind mapping software like Mindomo to create mind maps

While mind mapping may sound like a complicated process, it can actually be quite simple. All you need is a piece of paper and a pen, and you can get started. However, pen and paper will only take you so far. If you really want to take full advantage of creating a mind map, you’ll need mind mapping software.

Mind mapping software like Mindomo makes it easy to create mind maps. You can start with a blank canvas or use one of the many mind map templates available. The software provides a variety of tools for adding text, images, links, and other information to your mind map. You can also customize the appearance of your mind map, including the color scheme, shape, font, size, and lines. Best of all, mind mapping is a fun and effective way to learn and remember information.

No matter what you’re looking to write, Mindomo has mind map examples and templates you can use to get started. Simply choose a template that fits your needs, add your own central topic, and edit it to your heart’s content.

That’s everything you need to know about creating a mind map for your next project.  From brainstorming ideas to tracking progress and getting organized, mind mapping can be a valuable tool for any type of writer. With the help of mind mapping software like Mindomo, you’ll be able to take your writing to the next level. 

So, what are you waiting for? Start mind mapping today and see how it can help you produce better stories, articles, and papers than ever before.

Keep it smart, simple, and creative! The Mindomo Team

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Extended Essay: Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps

• Extended Essay- The Basics
• Step 1. Choose a Subject
• Step 2. Educate yourself!
• Using Brainstorming and Mind Maps
• Identify Keywords
• Do Background Reading
• Define Your Topic
• Conduct Research in a Specific Discipline
• Step 5. Draft a Research Question
• Step 6. Create a Timeline
• Find Articles
• Find Primary Sources
• Get Help from Experts
• Search Engines, Repositories, & Directories
• Databases and Websites by Subject Area
• Create an Annotated Bibliography
• Advice (and Warnings) from the IB
• Chicago Citation Syle
• MLA Works Cited & In-Text Citations
• Step 9. Set Deadlines for Yourself
• Step 10. Plan a structure for your essay
• Evaluate & Select: the CRAAP Test
• Conducting Secondary Research
• Conducting Primary Research
• Formal vs. Informal Writing
• Presentation Requirements
• Evaluating Your Work

Brainstorming

Coggle.it is a free, easy-to-use web application for creating beautiful informative diagrams and mindmaps.

 For a tutorial video introduction, click the Coggle:  

Mind Map Inspiration

If you find it easier you can, of course, brainstorm and mind map on a big piece of paper with some colored pens or a big board with some post-it notes!

Choose whichever method works best for you.

At  Mind Map Inspiration  artist  Paul Foreman offers example Mind Maps ® for inspiration and motivation, plus mindmapping tips, drawing tips, techniques for enhancing your creativity, and improving idea generation.

See the process of mind mapping from start :

Mind Maps ® were invented by Tony Buzan

Mindmapping helps us progress from linear (one-dimensional) through lateral (two-dimensional) to radiant (multi-dimensional) thinking.

• << Previous: Step 3. Researcher's Reflection Space (RRS)
• Next: Step 4. Choose a Topic >>
• Last Updated: Sep 3, 2024 10:01 AM
• URL: https://libguides.westsoundacademy.org/ee

Mind mapping - 9 min read

15 Creative Mind Map Examples for Students

What Is a Mind Map for Students?

A mind map is a diagram that displays information visually, providing a structured way to capture and organize ideas. Mind maps are radial, meaning they start at the center and grow outward. To create a mind map, add a single topic to the center of your map. With the main idea at the center, it’s easy to see and understand the purpose of the map. From the main idea, add related ideas and keywords as new topic bubbles.

Why Is Mind Mapping Helpful for Students?

Mind maps are perfect for students because they are easy and fun to create. If you feel uninspired by traditional note-taking, mind mapping may be perfect for you. Adding colorful elements and doodling is highly encouraged — the more you individualize your map, the better. The idea is to simply make it as memorable as possible. And, compared to traditional linear notes, studying using flashcards or brainstorming with bullet points and outlines, mind maps have several advantages. Here are just a few:

A mind map’s radial structure directly corresponds to the way our brains store and retrieve information.

A mind map conveys hierarchy and relationships between individual ideas, enabling you to see the big picture.

A mind map makes use of mental triggers (such as pictures, colors and connections) to help your brain memorize things more easily.

The best part — mind mapping doesn’t feel like work!

Anyone can create mind maps. Whether you’re a postgraduate student or just starting your academic career, mind maps can help you structure, manage and memorize the knowledge you’re trying to acquire.

Mind Mapping Techniques for Students

If you’re not sure how to start creating mind maps, check out our Mind Mapping 101 course . It will walk you through the exact process you need to follow to create mind maps for homework assignments, note-taking, group work, studying and more.

Once you have the basic process down, you can create your first mind map. To get started, you’ll need a writing utensil and a piece of paper. If you want something more flexible and fun, try an online mind mapping tool. With a web-based tool, you have the ability to customize your mind map to meet your specific needs and access it from anywhere at any time.

A tool like MindMeister lets you create flexible mind maps that grow to fit your ideas. And, they can be accessed online or on the go with a mobile app, ready when inspiration strikes. Online maps can include text, links and more. With a paid educational plan , you can attach documents and images to your maps. You can create as many maps as you want — all paid plans include unlimited mind maps. When you’re finished, export your map as a PDF, an image or a Word or PowerPoint file. Don’t want to make the plunge just yet? Try MindMeister’s free version and upgrade at any time.

15 Mind Map Examples for Students

Now that you know the basics of creating a mind map, let’s take a look at some of the ways you can use them in school. Use these 15 examples to find inspiration for the different ways you can use mind mapping to study and write more effectively. Who knows, you may even get better grades, too!

1. Brainstorming mind map

Mind mapping is one of the best brainstorming techniques out there . Draw a mind map when you’re trying to come up with ideas for an essay, project or any other creative task — it can really help get your creative juices flowing.

If you run out of ideas in one session, try drawing blank branches into your mind map. Our brains don’t like unfinished business — this tricks your brain into looking for creative ways to expand our mind maps.

2. Note-taking mind map

Most students take notes in a traditional, linear format to capture the information presented to them in class. Mind maps, however, are a much more effective note-taking tool .

Instead of transcribing what your teacher says, mind maps compel you to actively think about what you hear. Don’t write full sentences — stick to jotting down essential keywords and meaningful images. This way, you save time both during the lesson and afterward when you review your notes.

3. Memorization mind map

Mind maps can help you memorize all kinds of information , from vocabulary to important names and dates you need to know for your history exam. Build your memorization skills by hiding branches and trying to recall the hidden information — check how you did by revealing the collapsed branch. After some time, you’ll easily remember the contents of your mind maps.

Mind maps utilize all our cortical skills and activate the brain on all levels, making it more alert and skillful at remembering. The attractiveness of mind maps makes the brain want to return to them and encourages the probability of spontaneous recall.

Tony Buzan, The Mind Map Book

4. Reading comprehension mind map

Old novels, highly scientific articles and scholarly essays can be full of unfamiliar words, and their complex structures can make them difficult to understand right away. Creating a reading comprehension mind map will help you group ideas together, identify troublesome words to add to your vocabulary and eventually cut through the confusion.

To do this, break the information down into smaller, more manageable chunks. Make a list of unfamiliar words and other questions that turn up while you read. Later, research the troublesome words and bring up these further questions in class. You can go back to your map to review the text before an exam.

5. Group project mind map

Dreading group projects? Mind maps can help change that. An online group project mind map makes it much easier to visualize what needs to be done and work together with your teammates to accomplish everything.

With MindMeister, you can easily share your mind map with all team members so that everybody can access and edit it at the same time. In a paid plan, you can assign tasks to your team members right inside the mind map to ensure everybody knows what they need to do, and everyone can link their files directly into the map.

6. Class presentation mind map

Mind maps are a great way to present information . For example, you could use a mind map instead of a slideshow to present a class report. Take a look at the video below to learn how to create a slideshow for a book report in less than three minutes.

7. Homework mind map

Never forget another assignment again — a homework mind map can keep you on track throughout your course. Stay organized by creating a to-do list, adding deadlines to each assignment and any necessary reading materials directly in your map. As you complete tasks, check them off of your to-do list.

8. Essay mind map

Mind maps can not only help you brainstorm what your essay will focus on, but they’re also great for collecting arguments and quotes from the various sources you want to cite. Outline the structure of your essay using mind maps to capture all of your ideas and research in one place. You can even show relationships between arguments by drawing connections between topics.

Want to see more essay mind map examples? Check out our comprehensive guide to mind maps for essay writing .

9. Exam preparation mind map

Exam stress, be gone! Create an exam prep mind map to collect all the materials that will be covered in an exam, such as:

Your notes from class

Relevant chapters from textbooks (and their comprehension maps)

A reading list

Links to online sources

Additionally, you can note down instructions from your teacher and other information about the exam, such as date and time, format (essay, multiple-choice, etc.), what you need to bring (calculator, pens, ruler) and so on.

10. Semester plan mind map

Keeping track of all your classes can be difficult using a paper planner. By creating a semester plan mind map, your semester overview is right at your fingertips — all of your classes, assignments, reading materials, exam dates and more in one central location.

Link any worksheets, Google Docs or electronic syllabi you receive from your instructors into your semester plan mind map to refer back to it throughout the semester. Similar to the homework mind map, you can also set deadlines and check off any assignments as you complete them.

11. Creative writing mind map

Have a short story assignment and don’t know where to start? A mind map is a great way to brainstorm and outline the story you want to tell. Define the setting, the characters, and the story arc. Add images or drawings to visualize the characters or story’s setting.

You can reference your mind map while writing so that your mind is free to be creative, not bogged down trying to remember all of those details. Feeling stuck? This public mind map is a great example of defining everything you need for your story.

12. Lab report mind map

If you’re more interested in art than science, you can ignite your creativity by showcasing your findings in a mind map. This free template is an excellent example of a lab report mind map. Copy it to your MindMeister account to start creating lab reports that are functional and fun to create.

13. Grammar mind map

If you’re trying to learn a new language or just memorize the basic grammar and mechanical rules of your mother tongue, a grammar mind map can help. Define the grammar rule and its various uses as branches. Add examples to help you recall those rules when speaking or writing. You’ll more easily identify them while reading and listening as well — mind maps will only help you on the road to learning a new language .

14. Business ideas mind map

Are you destined for the boardroom? Whether it be a class assignment or a side hustle, a mind map is a great way to brainstorm business ideas — either alone or as a group. You can develop ideas for products you could sell, figure out who would buy them and decide how you would market those products. Once you’ve defined your business idea, develop it further using a business plan mind map like the one below and bring your vision to life.

15. School club mind map

Organizing a student club or organization can be a daunting task. If you’ve earned a leadership position in an existing one, it can be challenging to understand all of the moving parts. On the flip side, if you’re starting a brand new club, where do you even begin?

You can start by organizing your club’s activities in your mind map. Mind maps present the perfect platform to prepare everything you need. Planning a club event? Create a map with branches for the event’s schedule, budget and volunteers needed. Going on a club trip? Map it out — brainstorm where you could go, outline fundraising opportunities and detail transportation and other logistical aspects in one place. You can share the map with your whole team so everyone can help make it happen!

Bring teamwork online for good with MeisterTask.

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How Can Mind Maps Help in Effective Essay Writing?

Identifying different essay goals with a mind map

An essay is defined as a comprehensive piece of writing, composed on a particular topic that can have different purposes. Essays are usually written in prose and can be both formal and informal. Formal essays are pieces of paper that treat more delicate subjects and can have different goals, including:

• To persuade;
• To explain;
• To entertain.

Moreover, formal essays are characterized by well-researched content and data supported by facts and arguments. On the other hand, informal essays tend to be more personal and express an author’s subjective thoughts and points of view.

Here is a mind map as an example that you can use to better emphasize the goals of essay writing. Having them clearly defined will help you in determining what is your goal in writing a particular piece of paper.

In the past decade, essays have become a major part of formal education in many countries. Essay writing is a simple way for students to develop the way they think and to assess their learning. Teachers give a different kind of writing assignments for students to develop and train important skills including:

• Critical thinking;
• Deepening of knowledge;
• Analytical skills;
• Organizing ideas;
• Note-taking;
• Arguing a case;
• Communicating effectively with a reader.

Differentiating the types of essays with a mind map

The purpose and type of an essay are usually differentiated based on the writer’s goal. In fact, essays could be written in different styles depending on what the author wants to achieve.  Create a mind map where you will branch out every type of essay with all its characteristics. This mind map could result to be very practical and useful for every writer as it allows you to have practical information in the palm of your hand at any time.

The general classification of types of essays is widely practiced in the following. Make a different branch for every type of essay you could write:

Comparison essay

The comparison essay is a piece of writing with which the author makes a contrast between two or more aspects. The purpose of the essay is to analyze and display how these certain aspects are similar and/or different from one another.

Classification essay

In a classification essay, we organize things into categories and give examples of things that fit into each category. For example, if you choose to write about types of computers (PCs and servers), each of your developmental paragraphs will define the characteristics of a different computer type.

The classification essay is mostly used for examining and organizing a number of things into categories. For this type of essay, the most important aspect for the writer is to decide on the classification criteria. The essay could be developed in different ways, i.e. the writer can choose to range objects, people, or ideas into categories and list their characteristics.

Cause/effect essay

At the core of the cause/effect essay stands an approach that explains a cause and effect relationships between events or items. This type of essay could be written in two ways – it can focus on the effects of a cause or on the causes of one effect.

Process essay

The process essay, or also called the ‘how to’ essay is usually used to present to the reader how something occurs or how to do something that is useful. With this piece of paper, the author describes a process, tells why it is useful and with a step-by-step guide explains how it is done.

Argument/persuasive essay

When the author wants to convince or persuade others to accept, agree and share his specific point of view, he writes a persuasive essay. It is a piece of writing in which the writer displays arguments based on trustworthy facts that should ultimately influence the reader.

Problem/solution essay

The foundation of the problem/solution essay is attracting the reader’s interest in a certain problem present him one or more different solutions and convincing him that his offered solution is the best. This type of essay has a persuasive tone that guides the reader through the problem and the provided solution to the point where the author explains the implementation plan.

Following the steps of writing an essay with a mind map

There is a simple formula for writing essays that students and academics use. More specifically, a piece of writing is defined as an essay just by looking at the structure. Essays are written with three standard elements, i.e. introduction, body, and conclusion. This is the main essay structure which may be modified according to the specific assignment or subject. However, there are several steps that are important to cover when writing an essay in order to create a powerful and impressive piece of paper.

Deciding on the type of the essay

Many believe that choosing the topic of the essay is the first and most important step in the process. But this is not the case. The first step that the author should make is deciding on the type of essay he is going to write. Deciding between the above-mentioned types of essays can help the author to deliver the message in the most suitable manner. Create a mind map where you will present all types of essays and their purpose in order to determine which one can best serve your purpose.

Choosing a topic

Choosing the topic is the second step. In case you are not assigned a subject and want to write an essay by choice, you need to decide on the topic your essay would revolve around. Deciding on the right topic has to be backed up by extensive and valuable research. Don’t decide on your topic before doing research and make sure that you have relevant and credible materials and sources to work with. While on this step, create a mind where you will create branches with every potential topic and relevant research and materials you could use. This way, you will easily notice if you have valuable sources for the topic you like. In case, you realize that it is little or no material at all for your potential topic, move on to another one.

Brainstorming and presenting your ideas

After completing the research and choosing the topic of your essay, it is important to brainstorm different ideas and approaches for writing the story. The point of this step is to practically present your ideas and thoughts in a more organized way and to make a structure that will ease your writing substantially. You can create a separate mind map for this step to help you in the brainstorming process and organize your thoughts better.

Once you have decided on the type and topic of your essay, and you have made a mind map with relevant ideas and sources to draw information from, you can start writing. When writing an essay, the best approach is to start with the body and leave the introduction and conclusion for the end. In accordance with the type you have chosen, you will need to follow the appropriate way of describing, arguing, and/or explaining the subject. Use your mind maps as guides through the process of writing and let the thoughts flow freely.

About The Author

Kristina Gjorgievska, a content writer and translator. Eternal inspiration: the magical Italy, Jim Morrison’s poetry, Bernardo Bertolucci’s timeless “Stealing Beauty”, and the dynamic and meditative Ashtanga Yoga. You can connect with Kristina on  LinkedIn .

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Mind Map for Writing: How a Mind Map Help You in Writing an Essay

A mind map helps in writing an essay, which is the fact that others still don't know about. You are probably reading this article because you want to know how a mind map helps a learner in writing, or perhaps you already know that it does, and just want to find out how to make a mind map effectively for you to create a persuasive essay. Whichever your reason is, we assure you that after reading this post, you will understand how a mind map could improve your writing skill, especially in making an essay.

In addition, you will not only have a profound understanding, but we will also show and help you how to plan an essay using a mind map. And so get ready to create essays wisely using a mind map anytime and anywhere, and let’s start it today.

Part 1. How Does a Mind Map Help in Writing?

Part 2. how to outline an essay in a mind map, part 3. bonus: how to create a mind map for essay writing, part 4. questions frequently ask about mind mapping.

To begin with, let us learn what does a mind map means. A mind map is a graphical illustration that depicts the gathered information regarding the subject matter. Furthermore, studies have discovered that the mind mapping in writing an essay , solving a problem, decision making, brainstorming, and organizing research is the most effective method for the students and other learners to increase their analytical and thinking skills.

After all, it is easier for the human brain to retain a piece of information presented photographically than via write-ups. In line with this, as mentioned previously, a mind map is the best aid in writing an essay, for it is the tool that shows the expanded and collaborated information of your topic. Believe it or not, a learner can come up with much more ideas and information by organizing his thoughts first through a mind map before writing them in paragraphs.

Suppose that you are about to write an essay about the iconic Harry Potter. Without using a mind map, how will you organize and develop a better and more precise piece of writing? Imagine your ideas are floating and couldn't decide where to allocate them. We hope you are getting it by now.

Moving forward, let us now learn the proper ways to outline an essay. Well, you know pretty well that the outline will be your guide or your roadmap in writing your essay, so it should be structured wisely. Therefore, let’s see the standard and the tips to consider in creating a mind map for writing an essay .

Essay Standard Outline

1. Introduction - An essay should have an introduction, and we are not just talking about a typical opening, but an attention-grabber one. This means that it should catch your reader's attention as soon as they read it. It is the most crucial part of the essay, aside from the title, for it will be the deciding factor of the readers if they will continue reading or just leave it behind.

2. Body - Of course, your essay needs to have the body. This part should have everything, especially the most important message you want your readers to acquire. Like creating a mind map for letter writing, the body includes your point of view, opinion, justification, and evidence about the subject.

3. Conclusion - This is the end part of your essay. Remember to always close your essay with a remarkable conclusion. It should be as brief as possible but contain the summarized points you tackled in the introduction and the body.

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April 7, 2022

What makes a good essay plan a student guide.

by Nia Griffiths posted in Education , Tips & Facts .

Whatever stage of education you’re at, creating a good essay plan can be a difficult task. But the best essay plans are surprisingly easy . Why? Because they work with your brain to optimise your creativity, boost your productivity, and improve confidence in your writing. This article will help you break down your essay into manageable chunks and build your study skills from the ground up .

What is essay planning?

An essay plan helps you organise abstract thoughts about a specific topic into concrete ideas. These ideas form the basis of essays for school, college, university, and beyond. Essay planning is a skill that you develop over time . Which sounds scary, but if you’re reading this, you’re already on the right track. One of the most efficient ways to do this is through a mind map. In the early stages of planning, the non-linear structure of a mind map helps get your creative juices flowing. It also helps you link thoughts and ideas , perfect for creating meaningful arguments .

More than this, an essay plan is a tool for you to use in lots of different ways. It is a chance for you to play around with your subject matter and essay writing skills, or even talk through your ideas with others before you write the essay. And your plan can be used after you’ve actually written the essay: a knowledge base around a topic for you to use when you need a refresher on what you actually know. In fact, it’s more effective to recreate or re-read a mind map of your essay than it is to reread the essay itself when it comes to consolidating your knowledge.

With all this in mind, let’s think about what makes a good essay plan:

1. A Good Essay Plan Divides and Conquers

This isn’t a new trick, but it’s more effective than you might think . Breaking down your main idea into 3 or 4 main points, sub-ideas, or themes, works wonders when creating a formidable argument . How you do this will depend on the length of the essay. This is important because you don’t want to be left with too much, or too little, to say.

For shorter essays:

If your essay is going to be shorter, maybe 500 – 1,500 words, you can break down the essay into 3 or 4 key points that you will be making. Then, put in whatever works for you . Maybe you need to include the example(s) you’ll be using to illustrate that point, or maybe you want to add the opening line of that paragraph to get yourself started. If you struggle with creating a cohesive essay, you might want to add in your linking statements to get the tricky bit out of the way.

For longer essays:

When things get a little bit more complicated, you simply repeat this process. The fundamentals of good essay writing don’t change (phew!), only the word count and number of points you make do. Break down the essay into 3-4 larger points, and then break down each point into 3 smaller points that will each make up their own paragraph when you come to writing your essay. For example, if you were writing about power in the Frank Hubert’s book, Dune , you could break the concept of power down as follows:

So, each of these final ‘sub points’ would be their own paragraphs, each with key examples from the book. You can use this technique for any subject , and it’s a great way to get your point across clearly.

Does your essay need to be balanced? Colour coding sub-ideas by whether they support your thesis statement or argue against it can help you see where your essay may need some more attention.

2. a good essay plan works for you.

An essay plan is done whenever you feel ready to write the essay . What ‘ready’ means will change from person to person. It’s important to create a plan that actually helps you and works with your style of thinking, not against it. Sometimes, you can be so caught up in what an essay play ‘should’ be that you forget that it’s a plan for you.

So, take a second to think about what a ‘ready’ essay plan would actually look like for you. Do you work better with limited distractions and short, strong keywords to bounce off from? Or do you prefer to delve deeper into planning before you start?

Because this is a plan that works for you , make it as fun and visual as you need to. Add photos that you associate with a particular point, character, or idea. Change the colour of your mind map, the paper you use, the digital background colour. If your essay plan is digital, add links, videos, or even music to help you get into the zone. Turning your planning into a creative exercise can really help when it comes to motivating yourself.

Ask yourself: How flexible is my plan?

Importantly, an essay plan should be flexible enough to meet your needs. When you are planning your essay, you will probably come across additional knowledge or content that spark new arguments . These could be invaluable for your essay, so your plan should be able to make space for these. With digital mind maps you have an infinite canvas to work on. This lets you stay flexible as you capture all of your possible arguments into one mind map. Because in a mind map you can view all of your arguments at the same time, you can also easily decide which arguments will be your best bets when writing your actual essay . Be careful not to leave these in indefinitely though, or it might confuse you when it comes to writing your first draft. Instead, make a ‘further ideas’ branch to come back to at a later date, or use an ideas bank to store arguments you don’t want to make just yet.

Knowing what works best for your brain helps you stay efficient and focused in your planning. This lets you get everything done by your deadline . Need to be task-oriented to get stuff done? Ensure your planning is integrated into your weekly plan . You can assign each branch of the essay a specific day, where you’ll work only on that argument, or you can assign a time to each stage of the planning process. If you use digital mind maps or planning tools, use the task functions they might have to get the most out of your software. Giving yourself miniature deadlines can help you hold yourself accountable which will pay off in the long run.

3. A Good Essay Plan Makes Revision Easier

Finishing an essay can give you a HUGE sense of accomplishment. But after it’s finished, the work you put in shouldn’t have to go to waste . By creating an engaging, visually appealing essay plan in the form of a mind map, you can reuse this content for future essays and plans. A really good essay plan helps you consolidate what you learnt and worked on. This means that every essay you write becomes easier; you’re building a knowledge base for yourself to make the most of what you already know.

Revising is a bit different to writing an essay. So, you might want to redraw your mind map or try out ideas in a different format. Stretch your brain and improvise : this will pay off massively when it comes to exam time, or when you have an opportunity to use this knowledge in the future. When using a digital mind map software, like Ayoa , you can copy your mind map and see how you can reshape it to suit other questions you might be asked in your exam. Easy digital duplication means no excessive time is spent manually redrawing another mind map from hand. Questions you get in an exam might differ from essays you write, so this is great practice for improvising quickly .

Integrating Feedback

One great way to make sure your essay plan will benefit you in the long term is to go back over your plan once you’ve had feedback on your essay. Integrate your feedback into the plan, asking yourself:

• Which of these points is most important, in retrospect ?
• What additional points came up in my feedback?
• When discussing this topic with friends, did they say anything differently to me that I could add to my own work?

You can incorporate this into the design of your mind map in a way that builds upon your original content. Add the branches in a new colour, add them as comments to existing branches. You could even invite friends or supervisors via Mind Map Sharing so that they can comment directly on your map .

You’ve Got This!

Sometimes the best techniques are the simplest – your approach to planning your essays is no different. In working with your brain via mind maps on your essay plan, you will ensure that you get the most out of your studies . Most importantly, having read this guide, you’re already on the way to creating good essay plans. We hope some of these tips will serve you well in the coming months and years as you grow your study skills and essay planning technique.

Like this guide, and want to see more? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below or by using the #mind-map hashtag on social media! If you really want to level up your studying , read our other blogs on improving your study skills!

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How to Make a Mind Map to Unleash Your Imagination

Did you know that mind map ideas for students, a technique that has revolutionized the way students approach their studies, were inspired by the intricate structure of the human brain? Just as our brains interconnect ideas through billions of neurons and synapses, mind maps offer a powerful visual tool to mimic this organic process of idea generation and organization.

The concept was first popularized by British author and psychologist Tony Buzan in the 1960s. Buzan was inspired by the brain's natural inclination to think in a nonlinear and associative manner. He realized that traditional note-taking methods often failed to capture the true essence of how our minds work. In response, he developed mind maps as a way to replicate the web of thoughts and connections that occur within the human brain.

How to Make a Mind Map: Short Description

In this complete guide, we'll explore how to use the mind mapping method to assist you in organizing your thoughts more effectively and generating fresh ideas. Whether you're tackling a challenging research project, preparing for exams, or simply aiming to enhance your brainstorming skills, this guide will revolutionize your approach to schoolwork. By following these steps, you'll harness the power of mind mapping to excel in your studies:

Step 1 : Choose a Focus Topic

Step 2 : Start with a Central Node

Step 3 : Branch Out Key Ideas

Step 4 : Add Sub-branches

Step 5 : Use Visual Elements

Step 6 : Color and Highlight

Step 7 : Organize and Align

Step 8 : Review and Refine

Keep reading for a deeper dive into each of these steps and discover valuable insights!

What Is a Mind Map for Students

Within the mind mapping definition, it is a dynamic and creative tool for students designed to transform the way they organize and interact with information. Unlike traditional note-taking or linear text, a mind map offers a visually captivating approach to capturing and connecting ideas and concepts. At its heart, it's a visual thinking technique that mirrors the intricate way your brain processes information. The true magic of a mind map lies in its simplicity, allowing you to engage your cognitive functions in a more profound and enjoyable way.

Picture this: As you engage in the process of drawing mind maps, you're not just compiling information; you're actively participating in a process that's both analytical and artistic. This unique blend of creativity and logic enriches your thinking and problem-solving skills. It's an enjoyable way to study, brainstorm, plan, and even remember information.

Now, let's take a closer look at what a mind map actually looks like. Imagine a visual representation of interconnected ideas and concepts branching out from a central theme. Each branch represents a key idea or topic, while sub-branches delve into supporting details and related concepts. While it might appear a tad chaotic at first glance, mind maps are designed to emulate the nonlinear nature of thought. Once you embrace this unconventional approach to note-taking, you'll discover its transformative power in enhancing your learning process. So, let our essay writing service team dive deeper into the world of mind maps and explore how they can revolutionize your academic journey.

Exploring the Benefits of Mind Maps

Now that we've established what mind maps are let's delve into the benefits of mind mapping in education, including how they can aid in learning how to write a reflection paper .

• Enhanced Creativity : Mind maps encourage free thinking and association, fostering creativity in problem-solving and idea generation.
• Improved Understanding : The visual nature of mind maps makes complex topics more understandable by breaking them down into digestible components.
• Efficient Note-Taking : Mind maps streamline note-taking during lectures, helping you capture key points while maintaining a clear structure.
• Enhanced Memory Retention : Creating and reviewing mind maps enhances memory recall, making it easier to remember important information for exams.
• Effective Organization : Mind maps provide a structured overview of a subject, making it easier to see connections and relationships between ideas.
• Boosted Productivity : By helping you prioritize tasks and set goals, brainstorming mind map ideas increases productivity in both academic and personal pursuits.
• Enhanced Problem Solving : Mind maps facilitate the breakdown of complex problems into manageable components, aiding in effective decision-making.
• Visual Appeal : Their colorful and engaging format makes mind maps visually appealing, making studying a more enjoyable experience.

How To Create A Mind Map to Boost Your Creativity

In this section, let's unlock the steps on how to make a mind map—a vibrant and dynamic tool that will revolutionize the way you approach learning and idea generation.

Step 1: Choose a Focus Topic

• Begin your mind map adventure by selecting a central topic. This is the big idea, the core concept around which your mind map will revolve. It's like choosing the star of the show!

Step 2: Start with a Central Node

• Imagine this central topic as the heart of your mind map. Write it down in the center of your canvas or paper and draw a circle or box around it. This is your mind map's anchor point.

Step 3: Branch Out Key Ideas

• Now, let's breathe life into your mind map, drawing inspiration from mind map examples. Imagine branches sprouting from the central node, like the limbs of a tree. These branches represent your key ideas or main categories related to your central topic.

Step 4: Add Sub-branches

• Each key idea deserves its own set of branches. These are like mini-branches growing from the main ones. They contain supporting details, examples, or subtopics. It's like building a family tree for your ideas.

Step 5: Use Visual Elements

• Make your mind map a masterclass in visual analysis by incorporating images, symbols, or icons. These visual elements add depth and personality to your map, making it more captivating and enhancing your ability to analyze and understand complex ideas.

Step 6: Color and Highlight

• Let your artistic side shine! Color-code your branches and sub-branches. Highlight essential points to draw attention. It's like giving your mind map a vibrant coat of creativity.

Step 7: Organize and Align

• Arrange your branches in an orderly manner. This organization ensures your mind map is easy to follow. It's akin to tidying up your room – everything has its place.

Step 8: Review and Refine

• Your mind map is a living creation. As you use it, periodically revisit and refine it. Update information, add new branches, or make it more visually appealing. It's like nurturing a garden, tending to it so it flourishes.

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7 Mind Map Ideas for Students

In this section, we'll introduce you to 7 practical mind map ideas that can supercharge your study skills and help you succeed in your academic pursuits. Whether you're looking for better ways to take notes, brainstorm ideas, or tackle complex subjects, these strategies have got you covered. Let's dive right in and explore how mind maps can be your secret weapon for student success.

Brainstorming

Imagine your mind map as a launchpad for creativity. Mind map brainstorming encourages free thinking and idea generation. Start with a central idea and let your thoughts branch out like fireworks, sparking new connections and innovative solutions. It's the ultimate tool for turning your wildest ideas into actionable plans.

Note-taking

Mind maps transform the way you capture information. They replace linear note-taking with a dynamic, visual format. Use them during lectures to organize key points and concepts effectively. With mind maps, your notes become engaging visual snapshots, making revision a breeze and improving information retention.

Creative Writing

They're also perfect for crafting compelling stories, characters, and plotlines, as demonstrated by mind map examples. Starting with a central theme, branch out to explore character backgrounds, plot twists, and thematic elements. Whether you're penning a novel, screenplay, or poetry, real-life mind map examples can inspire your storytelling journey.

Language Learning

Mastering a new language becomes more engaging with mind maps. Use them to visualize vocabulary, grammar rules, and language concepts. Connect words and phrases to form a web of associations, making language acquisition a dynamic and enjoyable process.

Book Summaries

Mind maps condense complex books into manageable summaries. Begin with the central book title and branch out to capture key plot points, character developments, and important quotes. These visual summaries provide a quick overview, helping you grasp the essence of a book in a fraction of the time.

Whether you're a student tackling a challenging novel or an avid reader pressed for time, mind maps offer an efficient way to comprehend and retain key information from literary works, offering benefits akin to the convenience of ' pay for essay ' services in the academic world.

Project Management

Streamlining project planning with cute creative mind map ideas adds a delightful and engaging dimension to the otherwise conventional project management process. Rather than relying solely on text and tables, you infuse your project with a burst of visual appeal and playfulness.

Consider using adorable icons, colorful illustrations, or charming doodles to represent tasks and milestones. These whimsical elements not only make your mind map visually appealing but also serve as memorable markers, ensuring that everyone involved in the project stays engaged and informed.

Travel Planning

Now, prepare for unforgettable adventures by creating mind maps for traveling. Begin by centering your map on your destination, which is one of the main branches of your travel mind map. Branch out to cover essential details like accommodation, activities, and budget, nurturing the growth of new ideas for your trip. Use sub-branches to explore local cuisine, must-see attractions, and transportation options, creating a comprehensive travel plan. With a well-structured map, you'll map out the perfect itinerary and ensure nothing is left to chance, making your journey even more exciting.

5 Useful Mind Mapping Tools

Let's explore the world of mind mapping with these top-notch tools, each offering unique features and capabilities. Whether you're brainstorming ideas, planning projects, or even using an essay writing app , these tools can revolutionize your productivity and organization.

MindMeister

• MindMeister is a popular online mind mapping tool that allows you to create, edit, and collaborate on mind maps in real time. It offers a user-friendly interface, various templates, and integrations with other productivity apps like Google Drive and Dropbox.
• XMind is a versatile and feature-rich mind mapping software that offers both a free and paid version. It provides a wide range of customization options, including themes, styles, and layouts, making it suitable for various mind mapping needs.
• Coggle is a straightforward online mind mapping tool known for its simplicity and ease of use. It's great for brainstorming sessions and collaborative mind mapping. Coggle also allows real-time collaboration, making it perfect for group projects.
• Developed by Tony Buzan, the pioneer of mind mapping software programs, iMindMap offers a comprehensive platform for creating visually appealing mind maps. It provides various features like 3D mind mapping, brainstorming mode, and integration with other applications.
• FreeMind is an open-source mind mapping software that's simple and lightweight. It's an excellent choice if you prefer a desktop application and want to create mind maps without any distractions. FreeMind is especially useful for creating straightforward mind maps quickly.

To Wrap Things Up

To wrap things up, employing mind map ideas can transform the way students approach their studies. By harnessing their versatility, students can conquer complex subjects, improve memory retention, and elevate their creative thinking. So, don't hesitate to dive into the world of mind mapping—it's a game-changer for your education and beyond.

Feeling Like Your Assignments Need a Creative Spark?

Our expert writers are here to craft your next mind map-infused assignment with precision and creativity!

Annie Lambert

specializes in creating authoritative content on marketing, business, and finance, with a versatile ability to handle any essay type and dissertations. With a Master’s degree in Business Administration and a passion for social issues, her writing not only educates but also inspires action. On EssayPro blog, Annie delivers detailed guides and thought-provoking discussions on pressing economic and social topics. When not writing, she’s a guest speaker at various business seminars.

is an expert in nursing and healthcare, with a strong background in history, law, and literature. Holding advanced degrees in nursing and public health, his analytical approach and comprehensive knowledge help students navigate complex topics. On EssayPro blog, Adam provides insightful articles on everything from historical analysis to the intricacies of healthcare policies. In his downtime, he enjoys historical documentaries and volunteering at local clinics.

Learn How to Make a Mind Map to Enhance Productivity

The process of creating a mind map is simple, intuitive, and powerful. Use pen and paper or software to learn how to make a mind map quickly and easily. Once you learn, you’ll be able to brainstorm ideas, plan projects , and develop your creativity.

How to make a mind map

A mind map starts with a single central topic . It then b ranches outward with topics and subtopics that reflect your ideas. Branches often contain images and icons to enhance the information.  

If you’re using a pen and paper, turn the paper sideways before you begin ; this provides a larger space to map. If you’re using mind mapping software , you won’t have to worry about running out of space. These tools give you a nearly infinite canvas.

Step 1. Define your central topic 

Consider the focus of your mind map and put that in the center of your page. For example, if you’re planning out your future business , you’d put “My Business” as the central topic. If you were writing a book summary, you might use the book title as the primary topic of your mind map.

For our example, we’ll use a mind map to plan out a simple to-do list, so we’ll put “My To-Do List” as our central topic.  

Step 2. Create your first-level topics

Next, think about the ideas that come to mind or the big ‘categories’ that relate to your central topic . Draw these branches out from the center. For our to-do list mind map, we’ve identified four main branches as Work, Study, Health, and Home.

Imagine these are based on the four key areas where we have tasks to complete. Your mind map might have more than four main branches or fewer, it’s up to you. 

Step 3. Expand your branches

Once you have your first-level topics, imagine these expanding like tree branches . Think about how to expand on a single idea, or break it down into smaller parts. In this example, we’ve broken our first-level topics into subtopics. So, our “Home” topic is expanded to include Children, Finance, and Vacation.

From this point, we can continue to expand branches as far as we want. For example, you’ll see below that we start to add tasks and other ideas onto our branches. There is no limit to how far out your branches might expand if you’re using mind mapping software. You can continue to build as far as you need. 

When building your mind map, try to use just keywords in your topics and subtopics, rather than writing long sentences. This will help to keep it manageable, and avoid key information being lost in too many words. 

Step 4. Add images (if it helps)

Many people find it helpful to add small illustrations, doodles, images, or icons to their mind maps to help certain information stand out. Pictures also help to personalize the content and make it more memorable.

In our example, we’ve customized the map by adding some images to our first-level topics. You could also add a small icon to some tasks that are more urgent so that these items stand out in the mind map.  

Remember, there is no requirement to add images to your mind maps, and adding too many images can make it feel cluttered and detract from the key information. Try to be selective and purposeful in adding images to your mind map. Any images added should help you better understand the information. 

Mind mapping is an extremely simple process that can be applied to almost anything. Some maps may be finished after five minutes, and others may continue to develop for five years, depending on the focus and purpose of the mind map. There are no fixed rules to obey, or specific techniques to stick to, so experiment and see what works for you.

Hopefully, the guidance above provides you with some practical help as you take your first steps in mind mapping . The best way to learn is to go give it a try! 

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• Hersh Goldberg-Polin

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At the Jerusalem synagogue where Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced in life, grief and anger reign after his death

JERUSALEM — Three hundred and thirty-two days after Hersh Goldberg-Polin danced in the courtyard next to his Jerusalem synagogue on the holiday of Simchat Torah, more than a thousand people gathered there in grief and prayer to mourn his murder by Hamas terrorists in Gaza.

During the Sunday night vigil, the courtyard railings were lined with oversized yellow ribbons to symbolize advocacy for the hostages, Hapoel Jerusalem soccer flags — the 23-year-old’s favorite team — and posters that read, “We love you, stay strong, survive,” a mantra coined by his mother, Rachel Goldberg-Polin.

Just hours earlier, one of the posters had been hanging over the balcony of the home of Shira Ben-Sasson, a leader of Hakhel, the Goldberg-Polins’ egalitarian congregation in the Baka neighborhood of Jerusalem.

“We were sure we would take it down when he came home,” Ben-Sasson said.

The community wanted to unite while respecting the Goldberg-Polins’ desire for privacy, she said, prompting them to organize the prayer gathering.

“But it’s like a Band-Aid or giving first aid, it’s what you do in an emergency. I don’t know how we go on after this,” she said.

A covered courtyard at the Hakhel congregation was filled with mourners the day after Hersh Goldberg-Polin, whose family are prominent members, was found to have been killed in Gaza. Hundreds of other people crowded outside the gates, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

She added that the community, which has a large contingent of English-speaking immigrants, was not prepared for the High Holidays, which begin in about a month. She said, “Seeing his empty seat is hard.”

For Ben-Sasson, who wore a T-shirt bearing the Talmudic dictum “There is no greater mitzvah than the redeeming of captives,” the tragedy is especially painful because, she said, it could have been avoided with a ceasefire agreement that freed hostages.

“Hersh was alive 48 hours ago. We think a deal could have saved him. There is no military solution to this,” she said.

That feeling of bereavement, often mixed with betrayal, pervaded gatherings across Israel on Sunday, as the country struggled with the news that six hostages who may have been freed in an agreement were now dead as negotiations continue to stall. Speakers at protests in Tel Aviv blamed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who himself apologized for not getting the hostages out alive but blamed Hamas for obstructing a deal. The country’s labor union, the Histadrut, has called a national strike on Monday to demand a deal.

A rare early September rain lashed parts of Israel on Sunday, leading to a widespread interpretation: God, too, was weeping.

Some at the Jerusalem gathering, including the relative of another former hostage, said Netanyahu had chosen defeating Hamas over freeing the captives.

Josef Avi Yair Engel’s grandson Ofir was released from Hamas captivity in November. He paid tribute to Hersh Goldberg-Polin, murdered in captivity, in Jerusalem, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Josef Avi Yair Engel, whose grandson Ofir, 18, was released from Hamas captivity in November during that month’s ceasefire deal, expressed shock over Hersh’s murder but said he was not surprised, given the wartime policies of Netanyahu’s government.

“We knew months ago this was going to happen. Bibi’s formula, to dismantle Hamas and return the hostages, wasn’t logical. It’s an either/or situation,” Engel said, referring to Netanyahu by his nickname. “He’s tearing the country apart. I’m afraid that in the coming months there won’t be a state at all.”

Engel said he felt a close bond with Hersh’s father Jon Polin, not only because of their joint activism in the hostage families’ tent outside the Prime Minister’s Residence, but also because of their shared identity as Jerusalemites.

“There aren’t many of us in the hostage circle,” he said. “We’re like family.”

Sarah Mann, who did not know the family personally, said the weekend’s tragedy reminded her of Oct. 7.

“This day has sparks of the seventh, which created numbness and an inability to talk. Just complete shock,” she said.

Mourners left notes at a gathering at Hersh Goldberg-Polin’s family synagogue in Jerusalem. Many of the messages used the Hebrew word for “sorry.” (Deborah Danan)

Part of the reason for that, Mann said, was Rachel, who she described as a “force of faith.” Goldberg-Polin’s mother emerged as the most prominent advocate for the hostages globally and became a symbol in her own right as she crisscrossed the world calling for her son’s freedom.

“Millions of people around the world held onto her. Once that was cut, people’s ability to hold onto faith was knocked out today. But even though this has shattered us, we need to keep holding onto God,” Mann said.

For Susi Döring Preston, the day called to mind was not Oct. 7 but Yom Kippur, and its communal solemnity.

She said she usually steers clear of similar war-related events because they are too overwhelming for her.

“Before I avoided stuff like this because I guess I still had hope. But now is the time to just give in to needing to be around people because you can’t hold your own self up any more,” she said, tears rolling down her face. “You need to feel the humanity and hang onto that.”

Like so many others, Döring Preston paid tribute to the Goldberg-Polins’ tireless activism. “They needed everyone else’s strength but we drew so much strength from them and their efforts, “she said. “You felt it could change the outcome. But war is more evil than good. I think that’s the crushing thing. You can do everything right, but the outcome is still devastating.”

Guy Gordon, with his daughter Maya, added a broken heart to the piece of tape he has worn daily to mark the number of days since the hostage crisis began, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Guy Gordon, a member of Hakhel who moved to Israel from Dublin, Ireland, in the mid-1990s, said the efforts towards ensuring Hersh’s safe return have been an anchor for the community during the war. The community knew him as the family described him in its announcement of his funeral on Tuesday, as “a child of light, love and peace” who enjoyed exploring the world and coming home to his family, including his parents and younger sisters, Leebie and Orly.

“It gave us something to hope for, and pray for and to demonstrate for,” he said. “We had no choice but to be unreasonably optimistic. Tragically it transpired that he survived until the very end.”

Gordon, like many others in the crowd, wore a piece of duct tape marked with the number of days since Oct. 7 — a gesture initiated by Goldberg-Polin’s mother. Unlike on previous days, though, his tape also featured a broken red heart beside the number.

Nadia Levene, a family friend, also reflected on the improbability of Hersh’s survival.

“He did exactly what his parents begged him to do. He was strong. He did survive. And look what happened,” Levene said.

She hailed Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s “unwavering strength and belief in God,” adding, “There were times I lost faith. I suppose I was angry with God. But she just kept inspiring us all to pray, pray, pray.”

Leah Silver of Jerusalem examined stickers showing Rachel Goldberg-Polin’s mantra for her son Hersh, who was murdered in captivity in Gaza, at a gathering after Hersh’s death, Sept. 1, 2024. (Deborah Danan)

Jerusalem resident Leah Silver rejected politicizing the hostages’ deaths.

“Everything turns political so quickly. I came here because I felt that before all the protests, we need to just mourn for a moment and to pray. And show respect for each other,” she said. “We’ve become confused about who the enemy is. It’s very sad.”

But not everyone at the gathering joined in to sing Israel’s national anthem at the closing of the prayer gathering.

“I’m sorry, I can’t sing ‘Hatikvah,'” Reza Green, a Baka resident who did not know the Goldberg-Polins personally, said. “I’m too angry. We shouldn’t be here.”

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