The influence of cluster mind map on ESL university students’ writing skills

In academic writing, harnessing creativity and effectively organizing thoughts are pivotal for producing coherent content. Cluster mind mapping is a useful tool that can aid students’ writing skills from the beginning such as drafting to the final stages of writing. Therefore, this research investigates to what extent planning, brainstorming, and idea matching can influence students’ writing. This research specifically examines the application of the cluster mind map in student’s academic writing. This study involves a total of 60 participants from the institutions of higher education in the state of Perlis. A quantitative research approach was employed to evaluate the effectiveness of Cluster Mind Map using inferential statistics through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The findings of the study highlight that effective planning, brainstorming, and idea generation were the key categories that significantly influenced students' writing performance in a cluster mind map. This study also points out that cluster mind map acts as a valuable resource for educators seeking to improve students’ academic writing and seeking to enhance students’ learning outcomes. It is useful in aiding English language practitioners in equipping students with metacognitive processing skills particularly in the area of academic writing.