TL;DR:
A concept map has nodes (ideas) joined by arrows with linking phrases, so each link reads as a sentence.
Cross links, which connect different branches, show whether you understand the whole topic.
Draw it from memory first, then fix it from your notes.
You can list the parts of the water cycle: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, runoff. You know the words. But when a test question asks how a pine forest affects the amount of water in a river, the list does not help, because the answer lives in the connections between the words, and the list does not show those.
A concept map puts the connections on the page. This guide shows how to build one, using the water cycle as a worked case.
Why connections need to be drawn
A list gives you the nouns and leaves out the verbs. Understanding a topic mostly means knowing how its ideas affect each other: what causes what, what is part of what, what depends on what. A map makes you state each relationship.
It also makes gaps visible. If you cannot find a way to connect two ideas, or you can only write a vague word like "relates to", you have found something you do not yet understand.
The three parts of a concept map
Nodes: the key ideas, usually one or two words in a box or circle. Use nouns.
Linking phrases: words written on each arrow, so that node, phrase and node read as a short sentence. Use verbs, such as "drives", "forms", "flows into".
Cross links: arrows between different branches of the map. They show you have joined ideas that a tree would have kept apart.
What you need
A large sheet of paper or a whiteboard, so you can rearrange.
Sticky notes or a pencil, because the first layout will change.
Your notes, closed, until the first draft is done.
Building a map, step by step
Pick a focus question: A map answers a question, such as "How does water move around the Earth?" It stops you drawing everything.
List the nodes from memory: Write eight to fifteen key ideas on sticky notes without looking.
Arrange from general to specific: Put the biggest idea at the top and the details below it.
Draw arrows with linking phrases: Each arrow gets a phrase. Read it aloud as a sentence. If it is wrong or empty, fix the phrase.
Add cross links: Look for relationships between branches and draw them.
Open your notes and correct: Add missing nodes in a second colour.
Worked example: a concept map of the water cycle
The focus question is "How does water move between the ocean, the air and the land?" The ten nodes are: Sun, ocean, water vapour, clouds, precipitation, surface runoff, groundwater, soil, plants and rivers.
From | Linking phrase | To |
|---|---|---|
Sun | heats and drives evaporation from | Ocean |
Ocean | evaporates to form | Water vapour |
Water vapour | cools and condenses into | Clouds |
Clouds | release | Precipitation |
Precipitation | falls on land and becomes | Surface runoff |
Precipitation | soaks into | Soil |
Soil | drains down to | Groundwater |
Surface runoff | flows into | Rivers |
Rivers | carry water back to | Ocean |
Groundwater | seeps slowly into | Rivers |
Soil | supplies water to | Plants |
Plants | release water as vapour to the air, called transpiration, forming | Water vapour |
Count the structure. Ten nodes joined as a tree would need 10 − 1 = 9 links. This map has 12 links, so it has 12 − 9 = 3 extra ones. Those are the cross links, and they matter most: rivers carrying water back to the ocean closes the loop, groundwater seeping into rivers connects the underground branch to the surface one, and plants releasing vapour connects the soil to the air.
Using the map to answer the pine forest question
Start at precipitation and follow the arrows: rain falls, part soaks into soil, plants draw it up and return part of it to the air as vapour, which leaves less to reach the groundwater and the river. You have just reasoned from the map, which a list could not do.
Notice also what the map does not claim. It does not say how much water takes each path, because that depends on the place. If your course gives numbers for how much water sits in the ocean, ice or groundwater, add them as labels on the nodes, and use the figures your textbook gives, not ones from memory.
Building it from memory first
If you draw the map with your notes open, you copy structure. If you draw it from memory, the structure is yours, the gaps are real and the second-colour corrections are exactly what you should study. The first draft being messy is a good sign.
Mistakes to avoid
Empty linking phrases. "Relates to" is a placeholder. Use a verb that says how.
All nodes in one line. If there are no branches, you have written a list with arrows.
No cross links. A tree can be built without understanding the topic.
Tidying too soon. Redraw only when the structure has settled.
Your plan for this week
Choose a topic with eight to fifteen key terms and write a focus question.
Draw the map from memory, then correct with a second colour.
Two days later, redraw it on scrap paper from memory and compare.
Frequently asked questions
Is a concept map the same as a mind map?
Not quite. A mind map radiates from one centre with keywords on branches. A concept map has labelled links, so each connection is a statement, and it allows cross links.
How big should it be?
Eight to fifteen nodes is a good size for a unit. More than that, split it into two maps.
Get started
