Mind Mapping and Note Taking Strategies For Exam Revision

Definition of Mind Mapping
Mind mapping involves the use of a Mind Map to represent ideas and concepts in a visual form where the central theme or topic is located at the centre of the mind map and subtopics are arranged around a central keyword or idea.

Mind Maps are considered one of the most effective note taking strategies and a number of different mind mapping software tools exist to facilitate the creation of mind maps.

Why create Mind Maps
Mind mapping is the most effective way of learning, generating new ideas, summarizing and organising information you want to recall. Mind maps can also facilitate creativity, problem solving, decision making and the generation of new ideas.

They are a great tool when revising for exams as they enable you to see how the different topics and concepts are associated and provide visual cues which are great for quickly reviewing a subject before an exam and recalling information that would normally be lost from your long term memory.

How to create a Mind Map for revision
Lets say you want to use Mind Mapping to revise for an exam. It is a good idea to first determine how much knowledge of the subject you already have. This will help when you want to build upon that knowledge later by developing associations and connections from the knowledge you have already gained.

Obtain a large sheet of paper and write down the subject or topic you are revising for at the centre of the sheet. Then write down the main subtopics related to that central topic by creating branches moving out from the central keyword. Add sub- branches to these subtopics containing keywords or short phrases summarizing key ideas that you can recall from memory and try to see how the different sub-topics and elements are associated.

You should avoid the temptation to write in sentences. Linear note taking uses this method and it is very ineffective for recalling important information. Try to include no more then 4 words when summarizing an idea or concept. If you can sum up an idea with one word then that is even better. Use plenty of colour and images to make key topics stand out with larger writing and images for the main topics that are nearer the centre of the Mind Map and smaller writing and images for those on the outside of the Mindmap. This will help your mind to visually organize the key topics from the sub-topics.

When you believe you have recalled as much of the topic as possible then speed read books related to your subject so that you can quickly determine the different categories that the topic is composed of. Don't forget to look at the content pages of the books to get a broad summary of the different sub-topics and elements of the subject you are studying. This will help you to focus on the most important information when reading the subject in greater detail.

Prioritise those books that provide the most valuable information you require for passing the exam and read those books in depth.

Now add more detail to your Mind Map by adding branches and keywords and phrases after reading each category or section. These keywords or phrases should encapsulate the main ideas and sub-topics.

This will aid in recalling the information you have just read, will help to maintain important knowledge in your long term memory and will greatly assist when reviewing the subject before the exam.

Don't forget to keep adding to your Mind Map after gaining knowledge that you consider important for the exam. Your Mind Map should become larger over time and more branches should be created moving even further from the central topic. Your Mind Map should become more detailed so make sure you use a large sheet of paper. Keep reviewing your Mind Map every few days to reinforce the information you have learned.

When you get closer to the exam you should be able to recall in detail the knowledge gained by glancing at your Master Mind Map which should now contain a detailed summary of an entire subject or topic.

The images will greatly assist in recalling information at a glance and the Mind Map itself will help you to see how all the elements and sub-topics are associated and ordered. The mind works best via association and images.

When the mind can get a broad perspective of a subject and can understand how the different topics are associated and ordered this is the most effective method for learning and recalling information. Also the images give more mental 'hooks' for the mind to latch onto and so aid in recall.

Good luck with your exams. However if you have taken my advice you wont need it.

Ashley is a Mind Mapping researcher who has just started a blog to educate people on the benefits of Mind Mapping and is a keen user and promoter of Mind Mapping software