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Humanities LibreTexts

2.1.3: Clustering

  • Page ID
    360596

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    Clustering/Mapping represents the process of mapping any ideas that come to mind on a specific topic. This activity involves writing a key word or phrase at the center of a page and drawing a circle around it, then writing and circling any related ideas that come to mind and drawing lines to the ideas that prompted the new words. As you branch out to different topics related to your main idea, you will be creating a visual representation of your essay with the thesis in the middle and the topic sentences and supporting evidence branching out in different circles. Clustering helps you generate new ideas and group similar ideas together. Like outlining, clustering serves the two purposes of generating ideas and organizing them in a cohesive essay format.

    The following video, Mapping Your Research Ideas created by the UCLA library walks you through the process of clustering ideas for an essay.