Mind maps are useful to build the ideas from your research and notes into a ‘picture’ of your developing argument. Begin with your thesis in the center your page. Select what you think is the best evidence from your research and arrange it visually so it links with the main ideas of your developing argument. For example, in the sample essay (Step 13), the writer only wants to use two or three direct quotations in the essay, and rely upon paraphrases and summaries of the ideas of other authors for most of their evidence. So only one quotation from the Einarsdottir article is selected from the notes (Step 4 and Step 7). The writer considers the specific requirements of the essay, their thesis and argument and chooses the quotation that fits these requirements best. Here is the mind map for the sample essay.

Thesis

The significant contrasts found between these two approaches indicate that they are referring to two quite different things that historically have both been named happiness

 

Moment-to-moment Experiences’
‘having a lot to do with our moment-to-moment experiences’ (Killingsworth)

Present In Now
Killingsworth: more present
in now – more happy

Nurses in intensive care
Happy because of meaningfulness
and purpose of job

Different actions would be taken
ie: Different holiday choices (Kahneman), activity or job choices

Colonoscopy Patients
Story with happy ending is
more meaningful – happier (Kahneman)

Experiencing Self /
Remembering Self
Kahneman: experiencing self / remembering self are different

Different Experience
Experience is different in
each position: ‘now’ or constructed as a story

Giving Gifts
Norton: giving gifts makes people happy

Children at School
Relationships and good results associated with feeling happy