The Learning Hub
Thought Mapping/Webbing
Writing Handout Series
Prewriting Strategies
Prewriting is an important step in the writing process. Fully exploring your ideas and planning out how they will take shape in
your paper will ensure you are able to achieve your purpose. Depending on your learning style, some prewriting strategies
may work better for you than others.
One common prewriting method is thought mapping/webbing, which can complement kinesthetic and visual learning styles.
How do you thought map/web?
Mapping and Webbing
To create a map or a web, you can start at the core topic and work your way out
by adding branches to determine your subtopics (which could also produce more
subtopic branches). You could also begin with a narrower topic (branch) and
connect it to a broader topic which, when explored, can lead to other sub
points/topics.
Color coding, using shapes, and manipulating the size of your various elements
can keep you organized and your thought map/web from getting too confusing.
Different points will relate to each other or need to show a hierarchal order, so
these tools can come in very handy.
Flow Charts
Flow charts are another visual way to
organize your ideas. Flow Charts almost
always are used to denote chronological
or demonstrational processes or events.
Flow charts usually move from the top to
bottom of a page and show movement in
a particular direction, either by steps in a
process, or chronological order.
Here are some things about thought mapping/webbing and flow charts to keep in mind:
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Thought mapping/webbing and flow charts often have to be done on paper since it’s time consuming to do them on
the computer (but you can use the “Smart Art” tools in Word or use drawing apps with a stylus if you feel that works
better for you than by hand).
Organizing your ideas in a map or web is a visual form of outlining.
Thought mapping or webbing is almost always used when your topic is more general or broad or not constrained by
time or space.
Mapping/webbing coaches the writer into thinking about how the first draft will be organized. It is not meant to
help you determine organization quite yet (flow chart can start assigning structure [especially if chronological]) but
can help you develop ideas in context with one another to start to see the structure/organization you might use.
Why should you map/web/chart?
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Thought mapping/webbing helps you to identify gaps in your knowledge to research later.
Thought mapping/webbing has the most visual appeal of any of the prewriting strategies.
With thought mapping/webbing, you are able to work on a blank open space canvas, and are not restricted to the
lines on a piece of paper (you are also not limited to single sheet of paper, especially if you work on the computer).
Thought mapping/webbing can help generate subtopics. It can also help you figure out if your topic is too narrow or
too broad (can see broader topics, narrower topics, and associated topics). You can either step forward (if too broad)
or step backward (if too narrow).
Thought mapping/webbing can help to determine relationships between points or processes, and to see the start to
an order in their chaos of ideas.
Did you know?!
While we have talked about listing as part of the prewriting process, it can be used in other ways. These prewriting strategies
build on one another and aren’t mutually exclusive – you can use one and then use another to further hone your ideas.
You could start with something like freewriting or listing, and then your second step is to take the information you gathered
and then map it out – it might be a second step instead of the first step in your writing process. Experiment with them and
see what works best for you and your learning style!
Last Edited: 7/15/2016
By: PA, AA, MB, CB, SC
[email protected] | (217) 206-6503
BRK 460 | www.uis.edu/thelearninghub
#thehub
This thought map is
organized into groups –
“important events,” “baseball
teams,” “soccer clubs,” and
“others” – to help the author
begin to think about
organization.
This student was very
visual with this thought
map – they drew out
elements of their topic to
make it more interesting,
recognizable, and inspiring.
Last Edited: 7/15/2016
By: PA, AA, MB, CB, SC
[email protected] | (217) 206-6503
BRK 460 | www.uis.edu/thelearninghub
#thehub