Subtopic: definition and example
A subtopic is a topic placed under another topic in a mind map, holding one detail, example or part of the idea above it.
What it means
Any topic that is not the central topic or a main branch is a subtopic of the topic it hangs from. Subtopics can have subtopics of their own, so a map can go as deep as the subject needs.
How deep to go
Three or four levels is usually enough to read at a glance. If a branch keeps growing, folding it hides its subtopics until you need them, or you can move it into a map of its own.
How it differs from nearby terms
A subtopic is attached to a parent topic. A floating topic is not. In an outline, the same thing is an indented line under its parent.
Try it
The lecture notes template shows branches with subtopics for key points, examples and questions.
Example
Under the main branch "Inputs" in a photosynthesis map, three subtopics read light, water and carbon dioxide. Under "Water", one more subtopic says "taken up by the roots".
Related terms
- Main branch: A main branch is a topic attached directly to the central topic of a mind map, and it heads one major part of the subject with its own subtopics below it.
- Central topic: The central topic is the single topic at the middle of a mind map, the subject that every branch and subtopic in the map belongs to.
- Mind map: A mind map is a diagram that puts one idea in the centre and arranges related ideas around it as branches, with the details of each branch nested under it.
- Outline: An outline is a list of items arranged in levels, with each indented item belonging to the item above it, so the whole reads from top to bottom.
See it in a template
Lecture notes mind map template