Name ____________________________________________________

Teacher___________________________________________________

Class & period _____________________________________________

Date _____________________________________________________

Topic: Cornell Notes

What are Cornell Notes?

What’s the layout? What goes at the bottom of the page?

How should I head my notes?

What goes in the wide column

on the right?

What goes in the skinny

column on the left?

Cornell Notes is a style of o words, ideas, or facts that might be on a test

notetaking developed by a o quotes, ideas, or examples you might be able to use later (like in a presentation or a

professor at Cornell University. paper)

 Tips for writing as much as possible:

Each page is divided into three o Use abbreviations or symbols (2nd, ex., =, +, )

sections: on the left is a skinny o Use bulleted lists or indentations for new ideas

column, on the right is a wide o Leave out unnecessary words

column, and at the bottom is a  Write as neatly as possible.

wide space across the page.

The skinny column on the left is called the “connections column.” It corresponds to what is already in

Head each set of notes with the your Notes Column and helps to organize the information. In it you should include:

topic and your normal MLA  Questions (think of it as quizzing yourself)

heading (your name, teacher’s  Keywords

name, class and period, date).  Vocab words

 Categories (e.g. “Causes of WWII” or “Parts of a Cell”)

The wide column on the right is  Pictures, symbols, icons…

for your notes.

 If taking notes during a This is the summary section. In it you should include:

lecture, write as much  A short summary of the notes from this page (3-4 sentences)

information the lecturer says  What you have learned

as possible, especially  Most important points of the lecture/reading

anything that:  Questions you still have

o s/he repeats or  If your notes are multiple pages long, summarize each page individually, and include a full summary

emphasizes of all the pages of notes on the last page

o you think might be

on a test

o appears on the

overhead,

projection, or

board

 If taking notes from a

textbook, look for:

o headings and

subheadings

o bold, underline, or

italicized text