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The purpose of this paper is to study the effectiveness of using mind mapping as a methodology to help students to plan effectively for a writing task under an assessment situation.

The methodology included a variety of qualitative data collection techniques such as interviews, mind map analysis, observation checklist and reflective journal.

Evidence and research outcomes suggested that mind mapping did help students to plan and organize their ideas for writing tasks under exam conditions.

A major limitation of the research was that the duration of the research was very short. The turnaround time between the introduction of mind mapping, the implementation of the author's teaching strategies and the final mock examination was just a matter of weeks. The results may be more significant if the same students were retested in six months and again in one year, and this would help the author's research to be more reliable.

This research has shown the effectiveness of using mind mapping as a planning tool and offers practical help for teachers who teach writing skills in upper English as a foreign language classrooms.