Cornell Notes

The Cornell method provides a systematic format for condensing and organizing notes. This system of taking notes is designed for use by a high school or college level student. There are several ways of taking notes, but one of the most common is the "two-column" notes style. The student divides the paper into two columns: the note-taking column (usually on the right) is twice the size of the questions/keyword column, which is on the left. The student leaves five to seven lines open, or about {{convert|spell=in|2|in|cm|0}}, at the bottom of the page.

Notes from a lecture or text are written in the note-taking column; notes usually consist of the main ideas of the text or lecture, and longer ideas are paraphrased. Long sentences are avoided; symbols or abbreviations are used instead. To assist with future reviews, relevant questions or keywords (which should be recorded as soon as possible, so that the lecture and questions will be fresh in the student's mind) are written in the left-hand keyword column. These notes can be taken from any source of information, such as fiction books, DVDs, lectures, or textbooks, etc.{{citation needed|date = June 2024}}

When reviewing the material, the student can cover the note-taking (right) column while answering the questions/keywords in the key word or cue (left) column. The student is encouraged to reflect on the material and review the notes regularly.{{cite book |last1=Wong |first1=Linda |title= Essential Study Skills |date= 2014-01-01 |publisher= Cengage Learning |isbn=978-1285430096 |pages=288 |edition=8 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=yL2iAgAAQBAJ&q=Cornell+Notes}}

While Cornell note-taking is frequently advocated in educational literature,{{Cite web |title=The Cornell Note Taking System – Learning Strategies Center |url=https://lsc.cornell.edu/how-to-study/taking-notes/cornell-note-taking-system/ |access-date=2025-04-18 |language=en-US}}{{Cite journal |last1=Saran |first1=Manick |last2=Krentz Gober |first2=Madeline |last3=McCarty |first3=E Berryhill |date=November 2022 |title=An introduction to the Cornell Note system |url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01455613221146457 |journal=Ear, Nose & Throat Journal |language=en |volume=101 |issue=9_suppl |pages=37S–41S |doi=10.1177/01455613221146457 |pmid=36548929 |issn=0145-5613|doi-access=free }}{{Cite web |title=The Cornell Method for Note-Taking |url=https://www.uc.edu/campus-life/learning-commons/learning-resources/notetaking-resources/cornell-method-notes.html |access-date=2025-04-18 |website=Campus Life |language=en-us}} empirical evidence regarding the impact of the system on learner retention and student performance remains inconclusive.

On one hand, multiple studies support the benefits of the system. A study published in 2023 at Al Baha University compared two groups with one trained on Cornell note-taking and found improved performance.{{Cite journal |last=Abualzain |first=Osama Yousif |date=2024-08-09 |title=The Effect of Implementing Cornell Note-Taking Strategies on New Students' Performance in Listening Comprehension |url=https://tpls.academypublication.com/index.php/tpls/article/view/8509 |journal=Theory and Practice in Language Studies |volume=14 |issue=8 |pages=2379–2388 |doi=10.17507/tpls.1408.10 |issn=2053-0692|doi-access=free }} A study from 2019 concluded that "Cornell Notes and REAP had a significant effect on EFL secondary school students' critical reading skills".{{Cite journal |last=Ahmad |first=Samah Zakareya |date=2019-09-29 |title=Impact of Cornell Notes vs. REAP on EFL Secondary School Students' Critical Reading Skills |url=https://www.ccsenet.org/journal/index.php/ies/article/view/0/40869 |journal=International Education Studies |language=en |volume=12 |issue=10 |pages=60 |doi=10.5539/ies.v12n10p60 |issn=1913-9020|doi-access=free }} One study published in 2023 found a positive effect on nursing students who were taught the Cornell note-taking system.{{Cite journal |last1=Amhout |first1=Aziz |last2=Kharbach |first2=Ahmed |last3=Naciri |first3=Aziz |last4=Lahlou |first4=Laila |date=2023-04-01 |title=The effect of the Cornell method on the quality of grade production and learning performance of nursing students |url=https://www.pedagogicalresearch.com/article/the-effect-of-the-cornell-method-on-the-quality-of-grade-production-and-learning-performance-of-12787 |journal=Pedagogical Research |language=english |volume=8 |issue=2 |pages=em0153 |doi=10.29333/pr/12787 |issn=2468-4929|doi-access=free }} A study published in 2010 by Wichita State University compared two note-taking methods in a secondary English classroom, and found that the Cornell note-taking style may be of added benefit in cases where students are required to synthesize and apply learned knowledge, while the guided notes method appeared to be better for basic recall.{{cite journal |last=Jacobs |first=Keil |date=25 April 2008 |title=A Comparison of Two Note Taking Methods in a Secondary English Classroom |url=http://soar.wichita.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/10057/1388/grasp-2008-56.pdf |journal=Proceedings: 4th Annual Symposium: Graduate Research and Scholarly Projects Conference Proceedings Held at the Eugene Hughes Metropolitan Complex |publisher=Wichita State University}} Symposium Chair: David M. Eichhorn

However, many other studies report limited or no significant impact on student performance. A 2013 study found that while students instructed in Cornell Notes (CN) produced qualitatively better notes, this did not correspond to higher achievement results; the researchers reported "no significant difference between the intervention and base classes on achievement."{{Cite CiteSeerX|title= Effects of Teaching Cornell Notes on Student Achievement|last=Broe|first=Duane|date=Summer 2013|citeseerx= 10.1.1.1061.8854}} Similarly, a 2023 study involving high schoolers determined there was "no difference in student-choice note-taking and Cornell note-taking on student performance in a high school Family and Consumer Sciences class".{{Cite journal |last1=Quintus |first1=Lori |last2=Borr |first2=Mari |last3=Duffield |first3=Stacy |last4=Napoleon |first4=Larry |last5=Welch |first5=Anita |date=2023-09-19 |title=The Impact of the Cornell Note-Taking Method on Students' Performance in a High School Family and Consumer Sciences Class |url=https://natefacs-ojs-ttu.tdl.org/natefacs/article/view/61/58 |journal=Journal of Family and Consumer Sciences Education |volume=30 |issue=1}} Additionally, a 2016 doctoral thesis by Baharev Zulejka reported that 8th-grade students using Cornell Notes produced notes with slightly greater word counts but containing fewer key points compared to controls, and identified no statistically significant improvement in their comprehension test scores.{{Cite thesis|last=Zulejka|first=Baharev|title=The effects of Cornell note-taking and review strategies on recall and comprehension of lecture content for middle school students with and without disabilities|date=2016|publisher=Rutgers University - Graduate School of Education|url=https://rucore.libraries.rutgers.edu/rutgers-lib/51151/|doi=10.7282/T3HD7XZ8|language=en}}

• Note-taking

{{reflist}}

{{wikibooks|Note Taking}}

• {{cite web |url=https://lsc.cornell.edu/how-to-study/taking-notes/cornell-note-taking-system/ |title=The Cornell Note-taking System |publisher = Cornell University, Learning Strategies Center}} [http://lsc.cornell.edu/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Cornell-Note_Taking-System.pdf PDF]
• [https://productive.fish/blog/cornell-notes/ Cornell Notes - How to Take Better Notes and Study More Effectively]

• [https://columnsapp.com/ Columns App]

• [http://incompetech.com/graphpaper/cornelllined/ Cornell Note-taking Lined Paper PDF Generator] Incompetech.com
• [https://www.timeatlas.com/cornell-note-template/ Make Your Cornell Notes Template with Word] Anne Hennegar, TimeAtlas.com, 2017. Includes video, Word template and PDF
• [https://www.notion.so/Cornell-Notes-Template-a8de143f5c064968bfc4e656e0782a35 Cornell Notes Notion Template]
• [https://evernote.com/templates/cornell-notes Evernote Cornell Notes Template]
• [https://www.goodnotes.com/templates/cornell-notes Goodnotes Cornell Notes Template]
• [https://www.noteshelf.net/ Noteshelf Cornell Notes Template]

Category:Note-taking

Category:Cornell University