The page
What do Cornell notes look like?
Cornell notes look like the first page below: a narrow column on the left, a wide column on the right, and a strip across the bottom. The second page is the same one, filled in.
Left column
Questions
Written soon after class.
2.5 inches wide
Right column
Notes
Written in class, in short phrases.
6 inches wide
Bottom
Summary
Two or three sentences, written after class.
2 inches tall
- What is photosynthesis?
- How a plant makes its own food
- What does a plant need?
- Sunlight
- Water, from the roots
- Carbon dioxide, from the air
- Where does it happen?
- In the leaves
- Chlorophyll, the green in a leaf, takes in the light
- What comes out?
- Sugar, which feeds the plant
- Oxygen, which goes into the air
Summary
Plants use sunlight, water and carbon dioxide to make sugar in their leaves. They give off oxygen.
On the filled page, each question sits beside the notes that answer it. That is the point of the left column. Later you cover the right side, read a question, and try to answer it from memory.
The sizes are for a sheet of letter paper, and come from a University of Manitoba handout. You do not need a ruler. A left column of about a third of the page is close enough.
How to do it
How do you use the Cornell note taking method?
The Cornell note taking method has 5 steps: record, question, recite, reflect and review (the University of Manitoba’s handout). You do the first one in class and the rest afterward.
- Record. In class, take notes in the wide column. Write short phrases, and leave a gap when you miss something.
- Question. Soon after class, read your notes and write a question in the left column for each main point. Then write two or three sentences at the bottom that sum up the page. If you cannot sum it up, you have found the part you did not understand.
- Recite. Cover the wide column with a sheet of paper. Answer each question out loud, in your own words. Then uncover the notes and check.
- Reflect. Ask yourself how the page fits with what you already know, and why it matters. Add those thoughts to your notes.
- Review. Go over your pages once a week, the same way: cover, answer, check. Then you have gone over each page several times before the exam.
Cornell notes are one of several note taking methods. If this layout does not suit one of your classes, that page shows four others.
Try it
A Cornell notes sheet to print or fill in
The Cornell notes sheet below works in two ways. Print it blank and write on it by hand. Or type your notes into it, and press Cover the notes when you want to test yourself.
Questions
Notes
Summary
What studies found
Why do Cornell notes work?
Cornell notes have a test built into the page. Each question in the left column is a small test that you can take again every week. And testing yourself is a well-studied way to remember.
In one experiment, students read a short text. Some read it again several times. Others read it and then wrote down what they could remember, with the text out of sight. A week later, the students who had tested themselves remembered more of it (Roediger and Karpicke, 2006). The page on active recall has more on why this works.
Where it comes from
Who invented Cornell notes?
Cornell notes come from Cornell University. Walter Pauk, a professor of education there, came up with the method and explained it in his book How to Study in College (Cornell’s own study center says so).
The test
How do you know your Cornell notes are working?
The test
You covered your notes and answered the questions in the left column
once a week, for four weeks in a row.
The weekly review is the step that is easy to skip. The page is written, so the work feels done.
A good way to check is to count your review time from what you write or say about your day, with no timer to start. Most journaling apps save how the day felt. They do not show whether the review happened this week, or how long it took.
One app built for this is Think in Numbers, a smart journaling app with time tracking built in.
You write or say your day in your own words, as it happens or all at once. The app reads what you wrote and counts the hours that went to each part of it: your classes, your review, sleep, your phone, and the time you never mentioned (shown as unaccounted). Then it shows those hours over days and weeks. So you can see in which weeks you reviewed your notes, and for how long. Make the weekly review a habit, with a reminder. When what you write about your day shows you reviewed, the app ticks it off and your streak goes on.
1. You write your day
2. It counts the hours
- Review0m
- Classes0m
- Sleep0m
- Unaccounted24h
3. It shows your week
Review this week: 0m
On 6 of 7 days. The gap is the day without it.
An example day and week.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.
Sources
Where the layout, the steps and the finding come from.
Every size, step and finding on this page links to a source below. We read each one for this page.
- Academic Learning Centre, University of Manitoba (read ). The Cornell Note-Taking System.
- Learning Strategies Center, Cornell University (read ). The Cornell Note Taking System.
- Roediger, H. L. and Karpicke, J. D. (2006). Test-Enhanced Learning: Taking Memory Tests Improves Long-Term Retention. Psychological Science, 17(3), 249 to 255.
Keep reading.
- LearnAnswers about sleep, habits, study, people and work, in hours.
- Note taking methodsFive ways to lay out a page of notes, each drawn with the same class, and a picker that names one for yours.
- Active recallRecalling instead of rereading: the evidence, and a schedule.
- How to annotate a bookFive simple marks, short notes beside the text, and a one-page summary.
- Where did my week go? calculatorEnter a typical day and see your week accounted and unaccounted.
- Time journalingThe method: write or say your day in your own words, then see it as hours.
Questions
Questions people ask.
What are Cornell notes?
Cornell notes are a way to take notes on a page split into three areas: a wide column for notes, a narrow column on the left for questions, and a strip at the bottom for a summary.
What are the five steps of the Cornell note taking method?
The five steps are record, question, recite, reflect and review. You take notes in class and write questions and a summary soon after. Then you answer the questions with the notes covered, think about how it all fits, and go over the page once a week.
How do you set up a page for Cornell notes?
Draw a line down the page about 2.5 inches from the left edge, and a line across about 2 inches from the bottom. Questions go on the left, notes on the right, and the summary at the bottom.
Can you take Cornell notes on a laptop or tablet?
Yes. Make a table with two columns and one wide row under them, or type into the sheet on this page. The steps stay the same on a screen.
Is there an app to keep track of when I review my Cornell notes?
A tick in the corner of each page on the day you review it is enough. If you want an app, look for one that counts your study time from what you write about your day. One app built for this is Think in Numbers, a smart journaling app with time tracking built in. Think in Numbers counts the hours you spent on review from what you type or say about your day, and shows them week by week. In the app, your weekly review can be a habit, ticked off from what you write about your day.
Try it on my day.
Write today down in your own words, and see where the hours went.
For iPhone and Android. Try it on your own day before you pay.