Cornell Note Taking
Taking effective notes is an essential part of the academic experience.
Effective notes:
help students organize and process data and information
help students remember what is said in class
can help students complete assignments and prepare for assessments when outside of class
Cornell note taking stimulates critical thinking skills and helps students recall by getting them
to process their notes 3 times ... writing is a great tool for learning.
Cornell notes were developed in 1949 at Cornell University and were designed in response to
frustration over student test scores ... meant to be easily used a test study guide.
Cornell note taking has been adopted by most major law schools as the preferred note taking
method.
How to Take Cornell Notes
1. Read your text.
2. In the large right hand column of your cornell note paper, take notes like you normally
would using any style of note-taking you wish ... outline format, narrative format, symbols,
short hand, etc..
3. In the left hand column, create questions about your notes. These questions should elicit
critical thinking skills and should reflect: 1) main ideas; 2) topics/information you don’t
understand or want to discuss with your teacher; 3) information you think would go good
on an essay; 4) gaps in your notes (see example #1).
4. In addition to questions, key terms, key people and/or events, academic or content
vocabulary can also be included in the left hand column (see example #2).
5. When finished with each page, write a 2-3 sentence summary of your notes at the bottom
of the page.
