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Using Graphic Organizers

Graphic Organizers are visual or graphic tools for note taking. They help you with your learning by letting you see, in graphic format, the relationship between selected facts and pieces of information. They are also known as Concept Maps.

venn diagram

Some of the more common graphic organizers offer ways to compare and contrast information. A Venn diagram, for example, provides space for you to write down similarities and differences between two or more things.

t-chart diagram

A t-chart is another graphic organizer used to compare and contrast. The two headings at the top are the things being compared and the text boxes down the middle are the criteria used for comparison.

A modified version of a t-chart could be used for making a list of pros and cons or advantages and disadvantages.

flowchart diagram

Flow charts or sequence charts help you to keep track of events over time or to document steps taken. Flow charts can be used to develop story boards, track a timeline or create a comic strip.

web diagrams

One of the most versatile graphic organizers is a web. A brainstorming web, to the left, helps you to gather ideas for a topic and break a topic into subtopics. An extension web, to the right, helps you to further subdivide a topic and create questions for research based on the subtopics.


A number of graphic organizers will be used throughout the Student Activities section to help you collect facts and answer your task’s questions.



RESEARCH TIPSNEXT Copyright, Plagiarism and Academic Honesty

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