How to do Brainstorming?

Brainstorming is a technique used when you want to recall all you know about a topic. Brainstorm brings out a number of concepts directly or indirectly related to a topic. It can be done individually or in a group. Group brain storming will help in generating a list of ideas to find solutions for problems. Brainstorming at individual level can be used as an advanced learning technique. It can be done after you learn in depth about a topic or while you revise your lessons after a class. This article focuses on how to do individual brainstorm mind map to revise your lessons.

Decide on the topic

Take a plain piece of paper

Write down the ideas which come to your mind on the paper.

Don’t bother about the sequence

Write as points

Use pencil instead of pen

Go on till you get exhausted of the ideas

Do it speedily and think freely

Pay attention to what you have put on the paper

Mark the important points

Strike out the unimportant or unrelated ideas

Think about the relationships, linkages and inter linkages between concepts.

Now you are ready to make a mind map of your topic based on these points

Mind map is a network of concepts or important points. Mind map helps in understanding the relationships between ideas. Cross linkages in a mind map help in identifying the complex relationships between different ideas. Mind map is useful in revising lessons for examinations, while planning for an assignment or an essay.

Write the title of the topic in the centre of the paper.

Write the related ideas or concepts around the main concept

Link the main idea to the related ideas using lines with arrows.

If it is a unidirectional relationship use, unidirectional arrows and if it is bidirectional relationship, use bidirectional arrows in the brainstorm mind map.

You can put label to identify the relationship between concepts along with the arrow marks.

Link each of the concepts and ideas in such a way to reveal the complexity of the subject.

1. Drawing a brainstem mind map gathers all your ideas around a particular topic

2. Mind map allows the understanding of relation between concepts

3. Using examples in a brainstorm mind map clarifies the ideas

4. Mind map allows the identification of differences and similarities

5. Allows sequencing of events or the order in which certain events happen along the time periods

6. Brainstorm mind map reveals the complexity of relationships

1. To organise and plan assignments

2. To take notes in a lecture class

3. To reinforce your last class

4. Collection of such mind maps will be permanent records for you to revise before the examination