Mapping

Mapping taps your visual and spatial creativity as you position ideas on the page, in a file, or with cloud software to show their relationships or relative importance. Ideas might radiate outward from a key term in the center, drop down from a key word at the top, sprout upward from a root idea, branch out from a trunk, flow across page or screen in a chronological or causal sequence, or follow a circular, spiral, or other form.

Andrew Choi used mapping to gather ideas for his proposal for revitalizing the campus radio station (Figure 19.2). He noted ideas on colored sticky notes — blue for problems, yellow for solutions, and pink for implementation details. Then he moved the sticky notes around on a blank page, arranging them as he connected ideas.

Here are some suggestions for mapping:

  1. Allow space for your map to develop. Open a new file, try posterboard for arranging sticky notes or cards, or use a large page for notes.
  2. Begin with a topic or key idea. Using your imagination, memory, class notes, or reading, place a key word at the center or top of a page.
  3. Add related ideas, examples, issues, or questions. Quickly and spontaneously place these points above, below, or beside your key word.
  4. Refine the connections. As your map evolves, use lines, arrows, or loops to connect ideas; box or circle them to focus attention; add colors to relate points or to distinguish source materials from your own ideas.

After a break, continue mapping to probe one part more deeply, refine the structure, add detail, or build an alternate map from a different viewpoint. Also try mapping to develop graphics that present ideas in visual form.

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FIGURE 19.2 Mapping to generate ideas