Choosing Your Topic: Difference between revisions

The [http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm    Mind Mapping] Method encourages you to “get out of the realm of words alone and see how different spatial representations might help you see the relationships among your ideas" <ref group=>The Writing Center, "Brainstorming"</ref>. This [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_concept_mapping_and_mind_mapping_software    method] begins with a central idea and builds outward, incorporating all possible related topic ideas.  

Another great tool used in brainstorming is [http://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newISS_01.htm    Thinking Outside the Box], or a technique where you try to understand a concept from a different perspective and then relate it back to your initial idea. For example, imagine for a moment that you are writing about your own culture. Think of all the different possible meanings for culture, such as a bacterial culture or referring to a refined group of people, and try to relate those concepts back to your original topic. Often, this method gives you a different perspective than you may have originally identified.