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Can we feed the world's growing population and protect our natural resource base?

Here is a mind map which breaks down that topic.

In this example, the author has broken down the central issue (placed in the middle of the page) into relevant sub-issues and then asked what needs to be found out about the sub-issues in order to address the central issue.

The advantage of using a mind map in this case is that you can tackle the sub-issues in whatever order they occur (ie. they don't have to be done in the order they'll appear in your final essay). Different parts of the map can also be added to as new ideas are generated. However, you may also discover that your research is too broad or you may eventually feel that you are losing focus. In this case, you may need to forego some of the original sub-issues.

Mind maps therefore allow your thoughts to be kept organised on the page, even if they were "all over the place" in your head to start with.