A concept map can help you organize your thoughts, and find and explore great ideas for any creative project. Concept maps are also great as a learning aid for visual learners, as they give you the opportunity to see how a series of topics and processes are linked. Concept maps are usually created, by placing a word in a box or oval and using arrows or lines to connect it to other words, showing the relationships between these subjects. The most common concept maps are hierarchy concept maps, spider concept maps, and flow chart concept maps.
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Method 1 of 3: Hierarchical Concept Map
Step 1. Dig in and find a list of important topics
Before you select a subject at the top of your hierarchy map, you should write down a list of important subjects that relate to your project or task. If you know that your project must be about trees, for example, then that word should be at the top of your concept map. However, if you simply know that you have to write or think about objects found in nature, or materials made from nature, then your task is a bit more difficult. First write down all the concepts that relate to your general subject:
- Tree
- Oxygen
- Wood
- Man
- Plant
- Animal
- Home
- Paper
Step 2. Choose the most important concept
After you have finished searching and digging through the list of concepts related to your project, you can select the concept that is most important to all the other concepts-a concept that is the origin or beginning of all other concepts. This one concept may be obvious, or it may require a little thought. Remember, if this is a hierarchical map, then the central word or center must be the word that connects all the other words. In this case, the word is “Tree.”
- This word will appear in a box or oval at the top of your map.
- Note that in some cases, you can skip the first step. If you already know that you have to write a report or give a presentation on “Trees” for example, you can write that word directly at the top of your hierarchical map.
Step 3. Connect the keyword to the second most important word from your list
Once you've found your keyword, draw arrows extending down left and right connecting it to the next second or third most important word. These next words should be able to connect the other words you have dug up, which will appear below them. In this case, the hierarchical term would be “Tree,” and it would be linked to the next two most important terms, “Oxygen,” and “Wood.”
Step 4. Connect the second keyword with less important words
Now that you have found your keyword and the next most important words, you can write linking words with the second keyword below these words. These terms are becoming more specific, and must be linked back to the words above, “Oxygen” and “wood” as well as the most important word, “Trees.” The following are the terms you will list under the terms. -These more important terms:
- Man
- Plant
- Animal
- Home
- Paper
- furniture
Step 5. Explain the relationship between the terms
Add lines to connect the terms, and explain the relationship between the terms in a word or two. These relationships can vary; one concept can be part of another, one concept can be important to another concept, it can also be used to produce other concepts, or there can be various kinds of other relationships. Here are the relationships between the concepts on this map:
- Trees provide oxygen and wood
- Oxygen is essential for humans, plants and animals
- Wood is used to make housing, paper, furniture
Method 2 of 3: Spider Concept Map
Step 1. Write down the main topic in the middle
The spider concept map is organized with a main topic in the middle, subtopics being branches of the main topic, and supporting details being branches of subtopics. This format will actually make the map resemble a spider. This type of map is also ideal for writing an essay, as it can help you generate supporting evidence and understand the primary and secondary details of the subject.
- Spider concept maps are also very useful to help you see which topics are richer than others, as you will see that you can create more concept branches from larger topics.
- For example, the main topic is “Health.” Write this topic in the center of a piece of paper and circle it. This circle should be bigger and more prominent than the others to emphasize that this is the most important topic.
Step 2. Write the subtopics around the main topic
Now that you've written down your main topic, you can write subtopics around it. You could write them in smaller circles, and link the small circles to the main topic, “Health.” First of all, you can search and dig through the list of subtopics before you select some of them-say three subtopics. These subtopics should be broad enough for you to write at least three supporting details for each.
- For example, you have searched and explored the following concepts related to health: lifestyle, relaxation, no stress, sleep, healthy relationships, happiness, diet, fruits and vegetables, exercise, avocado, massage, walking, running, stretching, cycling, three balanced meals, and protein.
- Pick the three most important subtopics, which can cover many of these terms, and which are broad enough to include a number of concepts. From this list, the most productive terms are: exercise, lifestyle, and diet. Write these three terms in circles around the main topic and connect them with lines. These terms should be spaced fairly evenly (equally) around the main topic in the middle, which is “Health.”
Step 3. Write supporting topics around the subtopics
Now that you have selected the three supporting topics, you can write those supporting topics around the subtopics. Just do the same thing you did in the last step: find and dig up a list of supporting topics around the subtopic. Once you have selected your supporting topics, you can immediately link them to subtopics using a line or even create a circle around them to connect them. The circle should appear smaller than the subtopic circle.
- Around the subtopic “exercise,” you could write the following terms: walking, yoga, variety, how often, how much, and cycling instead of driving.
- Around the subtopic “lifestyle,” you could write the following terms: sleep, healthy relationships, relaxation, massage, routine, variety, and love.
- Around the subtopic “diet,” you could write the following terms: fruits, vegetables, protein, balanced, carbohydrates, and hydration.
Step 4. Continue (optional)
If you want to make your spider concept map very specific, then you can even take it one step further and write some supporting topics around the supporting topics. This is useful if you're dissecting a particularly difficult topic that has many layers (tiers). It also depends on how long your reports, assignments, and projects should be-if the report or assignment requires a lot of words or time, then You can expand your concept map a bit.
- Around the support topic “sleep,” you might write, “8 hours a night,” “don't drink caffeine before bed,” and “the same amount every night.”
- Around the support topic “yoga,” you might write “yoga for meditation,” “power yoga,” or “vinyasa yoga.”
- Around the support topic “balanced,” you might write “three meals a day,” “protein in every meal,” and “healthy snacks.”
Method 3 of 3: Flowchart Concept Map
Step 1. Choose a problem or starting point
A flowchart concept map gives you the opportunity to review a process and see several options for completing it. This flow chart can be linear or just flow from one concept to the next, but it can also have several elements to examine a series of results. The starting point can be a process or a problem that requires a solution. Let's use a starting point, "The light is not on."
Step 2. Write down the easiest solution to the problem
For the problem, “The light does not turn on,” the most common solution is that the light is not turned on. Just write, “Lights on?” and connect with an arrow to “The light is not on.”
Step 3. Write down the two results of this solution
Write the line from “Lights on?” one said “no” and another said “yes.” If you follow a sentence that says “no,” then the response will be “Turn on the light.” Connect this response with a line that says “no.” You've completed one flow of the concept, starting with “The lights don't turn on” to “Turn the lights on.” If you follow this "flow", then it should solve the problem.
But if the light is on, you will follow “Yes” to the next option: “Did the light bulb burn out?” This is the next logical solution
Step 4. Write the result for the next solution
From the question, “Did the light bulb burn out?” You will need to branch out into two terms: “yes” and “no”. If the answer to “The light bulb burned out” is “yes,” then you will need to link this word to the solution, which is “Replace the bulb.” You've completed another flow of the concept, because replacing a light bulb is supposed to fix a broken bulb. But if it turns out that the bulb didn't burn, you should follow “no,” to the final option: “Fix the lamp.”
