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PRE-SEARCHING FOR INFORMATION:
There are times when we are searching for information that we know hardly anything about a topic. When we start a search about a topic that we know very little about, one strategy is to start with a general resource like Wikipedia. This is called a PRE-SEARCH and helps you gather enough information to be able to ask good questions about your topic.
As you PRE-SEARCH you will most likely come across words or groups of words that are unique to your topic. You should write these words down. You will use those words or combinations of words to perform your next search. These KEYWORDS or SEARCH TERMS will help you to find even more and better information about your topic.
A MIND MAP is a tool we use to help us begin to organize our thoughts about a topic. We create it and then adjust it as we find out more information about our topic. It is common to cross out information and then add more information as you search.
MIND MAPS can help us focus on the exact type of information we need to complete our project so we don't do unnecessary work. We can also use our MIND MAP to help create our formal outline for our paper.