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Note Taking: The Cornell System

The Cornell system for taking notes is designed to save time but yet be highly efficient. There is no rewriting or retyping of your notes. It is a “DO IT RIGHT THE FIRST TIME” system.

Step One: Preparation
Use a large, loose-leaf notebook. Use only one side of the paper—you then can lay your notes out on a desk to see the direction of the lecture. Draw a vertical line 2 ½ inches from the left side of the paper. This is the recall side column. Note will be taken to the right of the margin. Afterwards, key words or phrases can be written in the recall column.

Step Two: During the Lecture
Record notes in paragraph form. Capture general ideas, not illustrative ideas. Skip lines to show the end of ideas or thoughts. Using abbreviations will save time. Write legibly.

Step Three: After the Lecture
Read through your notes and make them more legible if necessary. Now use the column. Jot down ideas or key words that give you the idea of the lecture. You will have to reread the lecturer’s ideas and reflect in your own words. Cover up the righthand portion of your notes and recite the general ideas and concepts of the lecture. Overlap the notes showing only recall columns and you have your review!

Editing Lecture Notes

There are several good reasons for organizing and reviewing your notes as soon as possible after the lecture.

While the lecture is still fresh in your mind, you can fill in from memory any points or examples you didn’t have time to write down during the lecture.
Immediately reviewing your notes results in better retention than review after a longer period of time. (Unless you review within 24 hours after a lecture, or at least before the next lecture, your retention will drop; you will be relearning rather than reviewing.)

Annotate notes rather than recopying them. The following suggestions may be helpful.

Underline key statements or important concepts.
Use asterisks or other signal marks to indicate importance.
Tie-in notes with your textbook. Indicate relevant pages of the text beside the relevantinformation in your notes.
Adapted from Virginia Tech Study Skills Self-Help Information. For more information about study skills, go to: http://www.ucc.vt.edu/stdyhlp.html