Brainstorming: Start a new page (or use a piece of scrap paper) and list all of the things you know about a topic. You can put them in any order you like, including a subheading planning model or mind mapping (see below). You can just write them down anywhere on paper or computer if you want.
Mind-mapping: Start a new page (or use a piece of scrap paper) and write your topic right in the middle of the page. (You can write it in a bubble/circle if you want).
Then you think of your main ideas related to the topic and plan outwards. You write your main ideas about the topic around the outside of the word, and draw a line connecting your main ideas and your topic. From there, you continue to think about your main ideas, and come up with sub ideas (new things that go into even more detail) for your main ideas. You write sub ideas around the outside of the main idea, and connect them with a line.
Every time you add new information, you move outwards from the centre of the page. You can always rewrite your mind map if you realise some ideas are in the wrong place. You can also use websites like https://bubbl.us/ to mind map.
Lotus Diagram: Similar to mind-mapping, we start in the middle with your topic, add some detail, and move outwards. To start with, your topic goes in the very centre. In the coloured boxes around this idea, you add your main ideas about the topic. Each coloured box has two squares - your main ideas are copied into both coloured boxes. Then for main idea (in the coloured boxes), you add your sub-ideas (or new ideas and detail) around your main ideas. This helps you to go into more detail, and have deeper, more complex (difficult) thinking.
Why a lotus? This shows your deep thought and planning. It helps you work out what you are interested in, or the main points, and shows you what you already know. If you find it difficult to fill the squares, that might show a lack of knowledge or interest - so you might need to do a bit more research at first to understand the topic more.
Subheading planning: A heading is your main title or topic (often at the top of the page) and subheadings go under (“sub” means “under”). These headings help you go into more detail about the topic (just like the sub ideas in mind mapping). The subheadings on this page are in bold (Brainstorming, Mind-mapping, Lotus Diagram, Sub-heading planning etc.)
You need to know a bit about your topic before you can plan it under subheadings. If you don’t, you have two choices- first, brainstorm or mind-map and then start your research; while you’re writing notes you can add them under headings. Second, see your teacher so that they can talk through the basic topic with you and give you some subheadings to work with. You may change your subheadings as you work- check with the teacher to see if it’s okay and check you’re still answering the correct topic!
You can easily do your subheading planning on paper or on computer. To start off, check that you know the text structure, or the parts that you need. For example, is it an essay? Is it short answers? Is it a multimodal oral presentation? When you know the structure, or the parts, you can then add your information under the correct heading in keywords, phrases and sentences. Information about the same topic should be grouped together. After that, it's easy to turn your key words into a proper paragraph.
Add your introduction at the top and your conclusion at the bottom (or whatever subheadings fit the genre (type of writing) that you are doing.. Then, leaving space (about 5 lines worth at least), list off your main points as subheadings, leaving space between each one. Then under your subheadings, list off your information or ideas (what you plan to write). You can add to this as you research. From there, it’s easy to turn your ideas and notes into proper sentences! Warning! In some pieces of work, like a discussion, you write your paragraphs and then you delete the subheadings. But in a report, you do use subheadings- if you’re not sure ask your teacher.