How to make a concept map, starting from a focus question

To make a concept map, start with a focus question and list the 15 to 25 concepts that help answer it. Rank them from most general to most specific and place them with the general ones at the top. Join them with lines, and label every line so that each pair reads as a statement. Then add cross-links between branches and revise.

That recipe comes from Joseph Novak and Alberto Cañas's report, The Theory Underlying Concept Maps and How to Construct and Use Them. It says concept maps "were developed in 1972 in the course of Novak's research program at Cornell", where the team was following changes in children's knowledge of science.

The part that makes it a concept map

The words on the lines are what matter. Novak and Cañas call them linking words or phrases. Two concepts plus a linking phrase make a proposition, which they describe as a meaningful statement. A line with no words can't be checked. "Buddy" and "daily check-in" joined by a bare line tell you they're related. "Buddy runs daily check-in" tells you how, and someone can disagree.

A mind map differs on this point. It's a tree around one central topic, as our mind map guide explains. That's a good way to get ideas out quickly, and it can be the first draft of a concept map.

Turning a sketch into a map

The example is invented, and no real company or programme is behind it. It starts from our concept map template, which opens with a topic in the centre and four branches, for a talk on remote onboarding. To be plain about it, that sample is a draft. It has the concepts and no linking words yet, and the steps below supply them.

1. Write the focus question

The report says "Every concept map responds to a focus question", and warns that learners tend to drift into a map that's related to the subject without answering it. The sample's title, "Talk: remote onboarding", is a topic. Here's a question for it:

What does a new remote starter need to be useful by the end of the first month?

2. List the concepts

The report says "Usually 15 to 25 concepts will suffice". The sample has 15 below the title, which just gets there.

The report calls this list a parking lot, because you move concepts onto the map as you work out where they fit. Some can stay in the parking lot. That's allowed, and it's useful, since a concept with no connection might not belong in the answer. Here "Welcome video" is a candidate, because nothing else depends on it yet.

3. Rank and place them

Move the most general concept to the top and the specific ones lower down. The report describes concept maps as hierarchical, with "the most inclusive, most general concepts at the top". So you drag the board's central topic to the top, with the three time periods below it in order. "Tools" sits apart, and you can place it alongside them for now.

4. Label each line

Read each pair aloud as a sentence. If it sounds odd, change the phrase or the concept. Three of the sample's notes fail this test, because they read as events. So "Laptop shipped" becomes "Laptop", "Meet the team" becomes "Team introductions" and "Buddy assigned" becomes "Buddy".

Connectors on our board take a text label, so the phrase goes on the line itself. The report says the label for most concepts is a word, and sometimes more than one, as with several of these. It warns against "sentences in the boxes", because a full sentence in a box usually hides a part of the map you could draw.

5. Add cross-links

Cross-links join concepts in different parts of the map. The report says to be selective and as precise as possible, because everything is related to everything in some way.

These three are the most useful statements on the map. The second one says the handbook has to cover the first small task, and that gives somebody a job. If nobody can say which task that is, the map has found a gap in the plan.

6. Revise

The report says "a concept map is never finished" and that good maps take "three to many revisions". Now ask whether the map answers the focus question. "Useful by the end of the first month" points at "Own a feature". In this draft, nothing says how someone gets there from the first small task, so that's the next concept to add.

Common faults, and how to spot them

Every link says "includes". Then you've drawn an outline. Try to write a verb that could be false.

The map answers a different question. Cover the title and read the map. If you can't guess the focus question from it, one of them needs to change.

You've added cross-links everywhere. Keep the ones you could defend in a sentence and delete the others.

A long list of concepts with no order. Rank them first, even roughly. The report says the ranking "may be only approximate", and it still helps you begin.

Frequently asked questions

Do concept maps have to run from top to bottom?

Novak and Cañas describe them as hierarchical, with the general concepts at the top. Our template opens in the centre because that's a quick way to start, and you can rearrange it. We'd keep their order if the map is for assessing or teaching a subject.

How is a concept map different from a flowchart?

A flowchart shows steps in order, so an arrow means "then". In a concept map the words on each line say what the relationship is, and those could be "causes" or "records".

Can students use one to revise?

Yes. Novak's work grew out of studying how children's knowledge changes, and the report spends a lot of time on classroom use. A map made from memory shows which links a student can't yet state. Pair it with a KWL chart if you also want to track their questions.

Start your own map

Write the question first. Then open the concept map template, replace the sample branches with your list, and label each connector as you draw it. Stop when you can read the whole map aloud and it answers the question.