The Best Mind-Mapping Techniques and Tools for Studying

Mind maps are useful to improve productivity in everyday tasks, but it is also a method that is widely used for studying. A mind map is not just a diagram that outlines tasks, but a visualization of how ideas relate to each other. As soon as you see Key concepts represented as shapes and their connections represented as lines will help you better understand the material as a whole, especially if you are more of a visual learner. Here's what you need to know when using a mind map for learning and how to make one a lot easier.

What is the use of a mind map for studying?

A mind map helps you generate ideas based on how they relate to other concepts and also help you retain information better. You start by placing a central idea in the center of the page, and then draw branches for other ideas. For example, if you have to write an essay about the Civil War, you would write it in the center and then add sections such as “causes,” “participants,” and “results.”

Each of these related concepts can and should have its own branches. From the “participants” two lines can be drawn leading to the “Union” and the “Confederation”. Below them you can list the states that were on each side. Obviously, these maps can get large pretty quickly, so while I generally recommend using pencil and paper for studying, bc. this will help you save more informationA mind map is an example of an exception to the rule. Apps and digital templates are better because you won't need space or waste time erasing and crossing things out to make room.

You can prepare for this endeavor by carefully taking notes in class and writing down the most important keywords; you can even use mapping as a separate note-taking methodseparating related ideas and words from each other as you hear them. Again, this can get confusing quickly, so only try this if you're already relatively familiar with the material or are willing to quickly revise and redo the map in real time.

As you make mental maps, continue to expand outward. For example, in the example above, the “reasons” would of course include slavery, but also differing economic policies, cultural values, and opinions about how far the influence of the federal government should extend. Use different kinds of lines to connect all related ideas; all three of them were also related to slavery in some way, so they can be associated not only with “causes” but also with “slavery”, which helps visually make it even clearer that the Civil War was fought primarily over slavery. In this case, you can use dotted lines to indicate ideas related to more than one major component of the material. How you set it up depends on your preference; just make sure you put the key somewhere so you remember what the dotted, wavy, straight, or any other line means. Don't forget to play with the shapes too. Facts can be squares, date triangles, etc. Record all of these in your key.

The purpose of this is to stimulate your creative thinking and help you make connections between ideas, as well as visualize the main themes, which is useful for understanding the topic or outline of an essay.

Explore use cases

Like I said, you can try doing this while you're taking notes in class. Depending on your ability to write quickly and your overall artistic ability, this may be a good approach to note-taking for you. But there are other ways to incorporate mind maps into your research. Some reading comprehension For example, the methods require you to periodically summarize what you have read. Creating a mind map here instead of writing a summary paragraph can be a good way to reframe your thinking.

Another example is a technique such as 2357which asks you to revise and review your materials on the second, third, fifth, and seventh days after you first study them. Mixing up editing styles will help you look at your content from all angles, so one of these days should include a mind mapping session. You can also make a mind map while double codingor practice using audio and visual cues to remember something twice. You can create a mind map by listening to a lecture or by speaking the contents out loud to get a one-two punch.

Best Mind Map Templates

You can do this on a piece of paper, Microsoft Word or similar software, using different kinds of lines and shapes to connect and outline your ideas. Do you know what's even simpler? Using ready-made templates. Here are my favorites:

• Lucidchart is an online software that allows you to create three editable charts in the free version, but you can buy an individual subscription for $9 per month if you need unlimited documents. The free version also only allows you to use 60 shapes per document, but it comes with 100 templates. The paid version allows you to use an unlimited number of objects and also includes premium forms and templates.

• Miro Free to use and highly collaborative, it's a great option if you're working on a group project. It's easy to use, comes with lots of templates, and works well on all devices, so you can change the map on your phone if you're on the go. The free version has 5,000 templates, and like Lucidchart, you can create three boards, but to unlock unlimited boards, the ability to export in higher resolutions, and the ability to sort boards into folders, it will cost you $8 per month.

• Certainly, Canvasfree online graphics software, can always be used for mind mapping or any other visual tasks. The site has over 1,000 ready-made templates available for you to use and is extremely easy to navigate. In grad school, I had a professor who liked to assign mind maps, and despite my cheapness, I always chose that option. There are just over 4,000 built-in mind map templates that I didn't even know about in school, so if you use them, you'll already be smarter than me because I did these things by hand by dragging shapes all over the canvas.

My favorite: Xmind

There are applications that work without problems not only on your computer, but also on your phone. I'm partial to Xmind, which allows you to use drag-and-drop templates that are color-coded and ready to fill out. It's great for a group project because it allows multiple people to access and edit the same map, and most of its features are completely free.

You can access a three-day version history cache for free to view previous changes and versions of maps, as well as an unlimited number of topics and maps, which is rare in the mind mapping industry. Xmind Premium costs $10 per month and the Pro tier is $15, but annual subscriptions are much cheaper: $59 for Pro and $99 for Premium. Pro gives you more color and slide options, as well as the ability to add equations, topic links, numbering, problems, and attachments to your maps, so if you're studying content based on them, you may want to upgrade. You will also get custom themes and other export formats. Premium adds AI-generated to-do lists to the package, along with a 30-day version history cache, unlimited storage, and unlimited collaboration.