This paper identifies five difficulties in teaching the analysis of social problems, and proffers "mind maps," a concept that refers to the ways in which students create a visual representation of their thinking patterns, as a possible solution. In constructing mind maps, especially for a Social Problems course, the following four steps are recommended: (1) preparation--students must do background reading and research on a social problem of interest to them; (2) brainstorming-students write down all the causes and consequences related to the social problem they've chosen to investigate, then identify the ones central to their topic; (3) revision-students revise their initial drafts and continue to gather data; and (4) presentation-students present their mind maps to others for understanding and evaluation. Some of the benefits of mind maps are that they require active learning, improve memory and learning skills, encourage creative thinking and problem-solving, and honor different learning styles. This paper presents the results of using mind maps at Columbus State Community College, as well as several mind map projects. (Contains 15 references.) (EMH)