The Best Mind-Mapping Techniques and Tools for Studying

Mind-mapping is beneficial for productivity in your daily tasks, but it is also a widely used technique for studying. A mind map is not just a diagram that lays out tasks, but a visualization of how ideas connect to each other. Once you see with basic concepts represented by shapes and their connections represented by lines, you can better understand your 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 to study and how to make creating one much easier.

What is the use of a mind map for studying?

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

Each of these related concepts can and should have their own branches. From “participants” you could draw two lines that branch out to “Union” and “Confederation”. Below these you can list the states that were on each side. Obviously these maps can get quite large, so while I normally recommend using pencil and paper for your studies because it helps you retain more information, a mind map is an example of an exception to the rule. Digital apps and templates are better because you won’t run out of space or waste time erasing and crossing out items to make room.

You can prepare for this effort by carefully taking your notes in class and writing down the most important keywords; You can even use mapping as a stand-alone note-taking technique, connecting ideas and associated words to each other as you hear them. Again, this could get complicated quickly, so only try it if you’re already relatively familiar with the material or are willing to revise and redo a map quickly in real time.

When mind mapping, continue to expand outward. For example, in the example above, the “causes” would of course include slavery, but also different economic policies, cultural values, and opinions about the extent of the reach of the federal government. Also use different types of lines to connect all related ideas; all three were also linked to slavery in some way, so they can be linked not only to “causes” but also to “slavery”, which helps to make it even clearer, visually, that the Civil War was fought primarily over slavery. In this case, you may want to use dotted lines to represent ideas related to several major components of the material. How you configure it depends on your preferences; just be sure to put a key somewhere to remember what a dotted, wavy, straight, or any other type of line means. Don’t forget to play with shapes either. Facts can be squares, date triangles, etc. Paste everything into your key.

The aim is to stimulate your creative thinking and help you make connections between ideas, as well as visualize main themes, which is useful for understanding topics or writing an essay.

Study use cases

Like I said, you can try doing this while you take notes in class. Depending on your speed and overall artistic ability, this may be a solid note-taking approach for you. But there are other ways to incorporate mind maps into your studies. Some reading comprehension techniques require you to periodically summarize your reading, for example. Creating a mind map here, instead of writing a paragraph of a summary, can be a good way to reframe your thinking.

Another example is a technique like 2357, which asks you to review and revise your materials on the second, third, fifth, and seventh days after you first study them. Mixing up your revision styles helps you approach content from all angles, so one of these days should include a mind-mapping session. You can also create a mind map when double coding or practice using audio and visual cues to commit something to your memory twice. You can create a mind map while listening to a lecture or speaking your content out loud for that one-two punch.

The best mind mapping models

You can do this on a sheet of paper or in Microsoft Word or similar software, using different types of lines and shapes to connect and describe your ideas. But you know what’s even simpler? Using predefined templates. Here are my favorites:

• Lucidchart is online software that lets you create three editable charts with its free version, but you can purchase an individual subscription for $9 per month if you want unlimited documents. The free version also only allows you to have 60 shapes on a given document, but it comes with 100 templates. The paid version allows unlimited objects and also comes with premium shapes and templates.

• Miro is free and extremely collaborative, so it’s a great option if you’re working on a group project. It’s easy to use, comes with a variety of templates, and works well on all devices, so you can edit your map on your phone if you’re on the go. There are 5,000 templates in the free version and, like Lucidchart, you can create three boards, but to unlock unlimited boards, the ability to export in high definition, and the ability to sort boards into folders, it will cost you $8 per month.

• Of course, Canva, the free online graphics software, is always an option for mind mapping or any other visual task. The site offers over 1,000 pre-made templates and is extremely easy to navigate. I had a professor in grad school who loved assigning mind maps and, as cheap as I was, that was the option I always chose. There are just over 4,000 mind map templates built in here, which I didn’t really know about in school, so if you use them you’ll already be smarter than me because I was doing these things by hand, dragging and dropping shapes all over my canvas.

My favorite: Xmind

There are apps available that work seamlessly not only on your computer but also on your phone. I have a soft spot for Xmind, which lets you use color-coded, ready-to-fill drag-and-drop templates. It’s great for group projects because it allows multiple people to access and edit the same map, and most of its features are completely free.

At no cost, you can access a three-day version history cache to see previous edits and map versions, as well as an unlimited number of topics and maps, which is rare in the mind-mapping space. Xmind Premium costs $10 per month and a Pro level costs $15, but annual subscriptions are much cheaper: $59 for Pro and $99 for Premium. Pro gives you more color and slide options, plus the ability to add equations, topic links, numbering, tasks, and card attachments. Therefore, if you are studying documents that depend on it, you may need to upgrade. You will also get custom themes and more 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.