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A pattern diagram is a creative drawing that captures what you judge to be the main aspects of a central thought that you want to consider.

Many people find drawing a pattern diagram (also called a mind map, pattern notes or a spider diagram) helpful to see all the parts of a subject and how they fit together. It can be useful for taking notes, brainstorming a topic or researching a subject. Here’s how to prepare a pattern diagram in seven steps:

1 Take a blank sheet of A4 paper and place it on the table in a landscape format.

2 Write with a pencil your central subject (a word or a few words, not a whole sentence) in the middle of the paper.

case study In order to plan a course on Report Writing, I used a pattern diagram to write down all I knew about the audience: their needs, what they already knew and the level of proficiency I wanted them to achieve. I broke down the major points that I wanted them to learn into manageable chunks. During the seminar, it really helped to have a clear summary that I could refer to on one sheet of paper.

3 Write around that central word other key words that relate to it; let your imagination move you. Think of subdivisions of that subject, or facts that relate to the subject.

4 Keep branching out various other aspects of the subject that come into your mind. These other aspects can cover a variety of points, such as facts relating to the subject, your feelings about a subject, and the advantages or disadvantages of following different courses of action. If you get stuck at any point, stimulate your thinking by answering the question words: ‘who?’, ‘where?’, ‘when?’, ‘what?’, ‘how?’ and ‘why?’

5 At this stage, do not reject any thoughts. (Use an eraser only sparingly to delete what you have written.)

6 You could colour in different key words to show which ones are related. You could also use symbols, images or pictures if you find that helpful.

7 You could also number the different key words to give them a hierarchy of importance.

Let your imagination stimulate you, and you will be able to draw a pattern diagram that captures the different aspects of a subject.