The 15 Minute Book
April 2013-June 2013
Working Smarter: Learning More
Name: ________________________
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Dear Student
We all know how easy it is to let time slip through our fingers, to let minutes go to waste. And yet your brain
works best in short bursts; you learn most in the first 5 and the last 5 minutes of any learning experience. It
makes sense, then, to break down your learning into 15 minute chunks.
The 15 Minute Book gives you the structure to use small chunks of time, especially 15 minute chunks, the time
you may sit in registration four days a week and let 60 minutes slide away. There are five different types of
pages: Revision Diamonds; Mind Maps; 30:5:1 Reduce the Key Words; 40 minute essay plans; blank pages.
Explanations of how to use each type of page are given in the opening pages of the 15 Minute Book. You have
postcards, post-it notes and highlighter pens for you to use along with your 15 Minute Book.
You can use the 15 Minute Book any time to revise topics; to review what you’ve learnt in lessons earlier in the
day or to prepare for a forthcoming lesson; this book is for you to use to review what you have learnt and to
plan for your examinations.
We hope this 15 Minute Book helps you reinforce your learning and that you find it useful; any feedback on how
we could improve it would be much appreciated.
And remember, all we want is for you to do your best. That’s all. No-one can ask more than that of you.
Good luck!
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Mind Mapping - Step by Step
STAGE ONE
The first stage involves putting a title in bold, capital letters in the centre of your page. Although this example
does not use pictures, it is best to use some kind of picture to help with recall of information.
This example is not perfect. To increase effectiveness, mind maps should preferably include:
 Pictures
 Colour
 Memorable words / cues to memory
STAGE TWO
The next stage involves adding main branches to your diagram that represent each of
the areas of the topic being studied, or its related topics.
The branches should extend far enough from your central image to avoid overcrowding the page and confusing information.
Ideally, pictures should be used to represent themes and concepts.
It helps if the branches are different colours and/or shapes.
The branches should be:
 Bold
 Bright
 Colourful
 Labelled memorably and clearly, preferably in colour (not shown in this example).
You should include as many aids to recall, such as pictures and key words, as you can.
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STAGE THREE
The next stage involves adding sub-branches to your hierarchical
diagram.
These branches are also coloured. You may find it helpful to use
different shades of the colour used for the main branches.
Continue to label in bold, colourful lettering.
Continue using simple images to represent concepts and to make sense
of your mind map.
Your completed mind - map or diagram should be:
 Bright
 Colourful
 Visually bold
 Aesthetically pleasing
 Ordered
 Meaningful to you
 Inclusive of Inter-relationships between headings / topics

As you can probably tell from this crudely drawn example, mind-maps are best drawn by hand.

You do not have to follow this example. This is just a framework to build your mind maps around.
Mind maps are made to your specifications. They can be as simple or as complex as you want them to be.
Different subjects or topics will require different layouts.
Mind maps should look individual to aid your recall of information.
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Mind Map of Shakespeare’s Life
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Mind Map of Dave’s Golf Improvement
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Mind Map
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The Forty Sentence Essay Plan
In most examinations you are given 45 minutes to plan and write your essay. In the Forty Sentence Essay Plan
you write the essay title in the centre box and then you identify 8 sections or paragraphs of the essay and
write those along the thick branches connected to the title box. You then identify in note form 5 sentences
for each section/paragraph. The whole plan takes you five minutes, after which you write a sentence per
minute for 40 minutes, sticking to your plan, to complete your essay without wasting a second!
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Blank for your notes
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Revision Diamonds and 30:5:1 Reduce the Key Words
In the Revision Diamond, you should identify a topic and put the most
important aspect of that topic in the top diamond and then the next 8
aspects in order down the page to the least important in the bottom
diamond. This will help you review a lesson earlier in the day, prepare for
a forthcoming lesson, or revise a topic for an exam.
In the 30:5:1 Reduce the Key Words exercise you should identify a
topic and then write down the 30 Key Words for the chosen topic. Then
you decide which are the top 5 Key Words from the original 30, and then,
finally, from the 5 Key Words, the one Key Word for the topic.
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Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
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Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
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Mind Map
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Blank for your notes
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Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
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Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
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Mind Map
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Blank for your notes
21
Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
22
Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
23
Mind Map
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25
Blank for your notes
26
Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
27
Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
28
Mind Map
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30
Blank for your notes
31
Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
32
Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
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Mind Map
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35
Blank for your notes
36
Topic: ___________________________________
Most
Important
37
Reduce the Key Words
Topic: ___________________________________
30 words only
5 words only
1 word only
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