The Cornell Notes Method: Take Notes That Actually Help You Study
Are your notes just a transcription of the lecture? Learn how to use the Cornell method to turn your notes into an active recall study guide.
The Problem with Traditional Notes
Most students take notes like court stenographers. The professor talks, and the student aggressively types every single word on their laptop, desperately trying to transcribe the lecture.
When you transcribe, your brain goes on autopilot. The information travels from your ears directly to your fingers, completely bypassing the critical thinking centers of your brain.
Worse, when it’s time to study, you are left with a massive block of dense text that is impossible to review efficiently. Your notes should not be a textbook; they should be a study tool.
Enter the Cornell Note-Taking Method.
How to Set Up Cornell Notes
Invented by a Cornell University professor in the 1950s, this method forces you to synthesize information and builds an active recall system directly into your page.
Divide your paper (or digital template) into three sections:
1. The Notes Section (Right Side)
This is the largest section, taking up the right two-thirds of the page. This is where you take notes during the lecture.
- Do not write full sentences. Use abbreviations, bullet points, and diagrams.
- Focus on capturing the main ideas, not every word.
2. The Cue Column (Left Side)
This is a narrow column on the left. Leave this blank during the lecture. After class, within 24 hours, review your notes and write prompts, questions, or key terms in this column that correspond to the notes on the right.
- Example Notes: “Mitochondria generates ATP through cellular respiration.”
- Example Cue: “What is the function of the mitochondria?“
3. The Summary Box (Bottom)
At the bottom of the page, write a 1-2 sentence summary of the entire lecture in your own words. This forces you to synthesize the big picture.
How to Study with Cornell Notes
The magic of the Cornell method isn’t in how you take the notes; it’s in how you use them to study.
Because you created the “Cue Column” with questions, your notes have magically transformed into a built-in flashcard system!
When studying for midterms:
- Cover the large “Notes Section” on the right with a piece of paper.
- Look at the question in the “Cue Column” on the left.
- Use Active Recall to answer the question out loud.
- Slide the paper down to check if you were right.
You no longer have to waste hours making flashcards on Quizlet before an exam—your notes are the flashcards.
Track Your Lecture Hours
If you are going to take the time to build beautiful Cornell notes, you actually have to show up to the lecture.
Use the StudyNova Attendance Calculator to monitor your skips and ensure you are in the room to capture the critical information that isn’t on the slides.