English-Major Students' Perception of the Use of Mind Map in Developing Essay Writing

Abstract

"Academic essay writing poses significant cognitive challenges for EFL students, often leading to writer’s block and structural incoherence. While mind mapping has been advocated as an effective visual strategy to mitigate these issues, few studies have investigated how high-proficiency Vietnamese learners utilize this tool across different writing stages. This study, therefore, aimed to investigate the perceptions of English-major students regarding the purposes and effects of using mind maps in essay writing. The research employed a mixed-methods design, involving 94 English-major students from the High-Quality program at Can Tho University. Data were collected via a questionnaire with 94 participants and semi-structured interviews with 5 participants. The findings revealed a distinct ""inverted-V’usage pattern: mind maps are used most intensively in the Pre-writing stage (to brainstorm and filter ideas) and the While-writing stage (as a navigational compass), but usage drops significantly in the Post-writing stage. Regarding effects, students perceived mind mapping as highly beneficial for improving essay structure, enhancing coherence, and fostering creativity. However, the study also identified critical challenges, including time constraints, the linguistic difficulty of converting keywords into full sentences, and a lack of explicit training. Based on these findings, the study proposes pedagogical implications for lecturers to teach ""speed-mapping’techniques and scaffold the transition from visual to linear text, ultimately helping students utilize this strategy more effectively."