Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 4: Preparing your notebook
• Part 2 of 4: Taking notes
• Part 3 of 4: Review and expand your notes
• Part 4 of 4: Using your notes while learning
• Tips

The Cornell Note-Taking Method was designed by Dr. Walter Pauk from Cornell University. It is a widely used system for taking notes for lectures or textbooks, but also for rehearsing and memorizing the subject matter. The Cornell System can help you better organize your notes, actively involve yourself in gaining knowledge, improve your study skills, and achieve academic success.

To step

Part 1 of 4: Preparing your notebook

1. Dedicate your note paper only to Cornell notes. It is important to keep a number of pages free for annotation, whether you are using a notebook or loose sheets in a collection binding.
2. Draw a horizontal line through the bottom part of your paper. This line should be about one-fourth the height of the paper, about two inches from the bottom. You will use this area later to summarize your notes.
3. Draw a vertical line on the left side of your paper. This line should be approximately 6 cm from the edge and will be used to review your notes.
4. Use most of the paper for taking notes during lectures or while reading. This area on the right side of the paper should be large enough to record the most important points.
5. Search the web for Cornell note templates if you want to go the easy way. If you need to take a lot of notes or want to save time, you can find blank templates for Cornell notes. Print it out and follow the same steps for using it.

Part 2 of 4: Taking notes

1. Write the name of the course, the date, the topic of the lecture or the text to be read at the top of the page. Be consistent in this - it will help keep your notes organized and make it easier for you to review the material later.
2. Make notes on the largest box of the paper. Make notes on the right side of the paper while listening to the lecture or reading a text.
   • Add the information that the professor writes on the board or shows in the PowerPoint.
3. Use note-taking as a way to actively listen or read. Make a note right away when you come across an important point.
   • Look for words that announce an important point. For example, if a professor says, "the three most important consequences of X are ..." or "there are two reasons why X happened," then it is most likely a good idea to add this information to your notes.
   • When taking notes from a lecture, listen for points that are emphasized or repeated. These are probably important.
   • These tips also apply when you read a text and come across statements such as in the examples above. Textbooks will often bold important terms, repeating important information in graphs or charts.
4. Keep it simple. Think of your notes as a description of the lecture or text. Just focus on getting the key terms and information so you can keep up with the lecture or reading. You will have time later to review it and fill in the gaps.
   • Do not write sentences in full but instead use bullet points, symbols (eg “&” instead of “and”), abbreviations and any personal symbols for making notes.
   • Instead of writing out a whole sentence like “In 1703 Peter the Great founded St. Petersburg and commissioned the construction of the first building: the Peter and Paul Fortress,” you can also simply write: “1703-Peter founded St. P & builds Peter & Paul Fort. ” The shortened version makes it easier to keep up with the pace and still contains the most important information.
5. Write down general ideas, not supporting examples. Go for the big ideas in the lecture, instead of trying to write down all the examples the professor gives to illustrate these ideas. Paraphrasing not only saves time and space, it also encourages you to see connections between the ideas and to put them into words. This helps you to remember the material better.
   • For example, if your professor says during a lecture (or as it says in a book): "To build St. Petersburg, Peter hired engineers, architects, shipbuilders and other workmen from many European countries. The immigration of these intellectuals and craftsmen allowed St. Petersburg created the atmosphere of a cosmopolitan city, which achieved Peter's goal of making this Russian city a 'window to the West'… ”then it makes little sense if you try to write that word for word!
   • So paraphrase the information. For example: “Peter hired engineers, architects, shipbuilders, etc. from all over Europe. His plan: St. P. = "Window to the West"
6. Use a blank line, draw a line, or start a new page when you get to a new topic. This helps you to mentally organize the material. It also helps to focus on the different parts when you need them.
7. Write down questions that come to mind while listening or reading. If you don't understand something, or if you want to learn more about something, make a note of it. These questions will help you communicate what you are learning, and will be helpful later in the learning process.
   • For example, if you are taking notes on the history of St. Petersburg, you could make a note along the lines of, "Why couldn't Peter the Great hire Russian engineers?"
8. Review your notes as soon as possible. If parts of your notes are difficult to read or don't make sense, fix this while the lesson material is still fresh in your mind.

Part 3 of 4: Review and expand your notes

1. Summarize the main points. As soon as possible after the lecture or reading, identify the main ideas or facts you wrote down on the right side of the paper. Write these down strongly on the right side. Go for keywords or short phrases that convey the most important concepts. If you revise the curriculum within about a day after the lecture or reading, you will remember it much better.
   • Underlining important ideas in the right column can help identify them. You can also highlight or apply color codes if you are visually oriented.
   • Cross out unimportant information. This is what makes the system so beautiful: you learn which information is crucial and which is unnecessary. Practice identifying information you probably won't need.
2. Write potential questions in the right column. Try to think of questions that might appear on your exam as you study the notes on the right, and write these questions down on the left. Later you can question yourself with those questions.
   • For example, if you made the note "1703 - Peter founds St. P & builds Peter & Paul fort" in the right column, then you could ask in the left column the question "Why was Peter & Paul fort 1st building in St. P?"
   • You can write down deeper questions that are not answered in your notes, questions like "why X happened", "predict what would happen if X" or "what were the consequences of X." For example: "What impact did the change of the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg have on the Russian Empire?" Such questions take your learning of the curriculum to a higher level.
3. Summarize the main ideas at the bottom of the page. This will help clarify any information you have written down. Writing it down in your own words is a good way to make sure you understand it. If you summarize the page, you are well on your way to understanding the material. It may help to ask yourself, how would I explain this information to someone else?
   • Teachers often start the lesson by giving an overview of the material to be discussed, eg "today we are going to talk about A, B and C." Similarly, textbooks indicate this in the introduction to a chapter. You can use such summaries as a guide while taking notes and think of them as another version of the executive summary you will write at the bottom of your page. Include information here that you think is important to pay attention to while learning.
   • A few sentences are usually enough for a page summary. Add important formulas, algebraic equations, charts, etc. as needed.
   • If you have trouble summarizing certain parts of the curriculum, look at your notes to see what you need to review or ask your teacher for advice.

Part 4 of 4: Using your notes while learning

1. Read through your notes. Concentrate on the left column and the summary at the bottom of the page. These contain the most important information you need for your assignment or exam.
   • You can underline or highlight the most important parts as you learn, if you like.
2. Use your notes to test your knowledge. Cover the right side of the paper (where your extended notes are) with your hand or a piece of paper. Test yourself by answering the possible questions you wrote down in the left column. Then look on the right side to make sure you got it.
   • You can also ask a friend if he / she wants to test you, and you can do the same for him / her.
3. Review your notes as often as possible. Viewing your notes over a longer period of time is better than stomping for an exam. You hold the material better and deepen your understanding of it. With the effective notes you take with the Cornell system, you will be able to learn efficiently and with minimal stress.

Tips

• The Cornell system works best for courses that cover a clearly defined topic and present it in a logical manner. If the subject or method is frequently changed during a course, a different note-taking system may be more helpful.