"So - maybe time for a rethink."

How would you propose beginning to rethink all this stuff?
I reckon it's time for box of coloured crayons and a giant sheet of paper, and an afternoon kneeling on the floor like a kid..

That's the way I used to approach essays.

Tom Bliss used concentric circles in his analogy. Diagrams can be very helpful to organise material, theories, data etc.