Guide · Study skills

How to take Cornell notes

Cornell notes are a note-taking method that splits each page into three parts: a narrow cue column on the left for questions and key words, a wide column on the right for what you hear in class, and a summary across the bottom.

The Cornell note-taking method was developed by Cornell education professor Walter Pauk, and it works in five steps: record, question, recite, reflect and review. Below are a template to copy, a worked example, and how it fits a recorded lecture.

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A Cornell page: a 2½-inch cue column, a 6-inch note-taking column and a 2-inch summary, as Cornell’s Learning Strategies Center draws it.[2]

What are Cornell notes?

A way of laying out each page so your notes turn into a self-test. You write during the lecture on the right, add questions on the left after class, and sum up the page at the bottom. Walter Pauk, a Cornell education professor, developed it.[1]

Cue column
Size on a letter page2½ inches, on the left
What goes in itQuestions and key words that the notes beside them answer
WhenAfter class
Note-taking column
Size on a letter page6 inches, on the right
What goes in itThe lecture, in short telegraphic sentences
WhenDuring the lecture
Summary
Size on a letter page2 inches, across the bottom
What goes in itA few sentences that sum up the page
WhenAfter class
Sizes from Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center handout, adapted from Pauk’s How to Study in College.[2]

How do you take Cornell notes?

In five steps: record the lecture in the note-taking column, write questions in the cue column after class, recite the answers with the notes covered, reflect on what they mean, and review all your notes every week.[2]

Writing the questions helps clarify meanings, reveal relationships and strengthen memory, the handout says, and covering the notes to answer them is how a Cornell page becomes exam revision.[2]

The five steps

  1. 1

    Record

    During the lecture, write in the note-taking column, in short telegraphic sentences: key words, not every word.

  2. 2

    Questions

    As soon after class as you can, write questions based on your notes in the cue column. They set up your exam revision later.

  3. 3

    Recite

    Cover the note-taking column. Looking only at the cue column, say the answers aloud, in your own words.

  4. 4

    Reflect

    Ask yourself what the facts mean, what principle they rest on, how you could apply them, and how they fit with what you already know.

  5. 5

    Review

    Spend at least ten minutes every week reviewing all your previous notes, not just the latest lecture.

From Cornell’s Learning Strategies Center[2].

A Cornell notes template to copy

Paste it into any notes app and fill in the right-hand side during the lecture, the left-hand side and the summary afterwards. It is plain text, so it keeps its columns in a fixed-width font.

In Google Docs, Word or Pages

  1. 1. Insert a table. Two columns and two rows, the full width of the page.
  2. 2. Narrow the left column. Set it to about 2½ inches, roughly a third of the page, in the table’s properties.
  3. 3. Merge the bottom row. Merge its two cells into one: that’s the summary box.
  4. 4. Save it as a template. Make a copy for each lecture, so every page starts the same.
cornell-template.txt
CORNELL PAGE

Course:                         Date:
Topic:

CUES AND QUESTIONS      | NOTES
(write after class)     | (write during the lecture)
------------------------+---------------------------------------------
                        |
                        |
                        |
                        |
                        |
                        |
                        |
                        |
------------------------+---------------------------------------------
SUMMARY (after class, in your own words: 3 to 5 sentences)

What does a Cornell notes example look like?

Like this page from an economics lecture on price elasticity of demand. Each question on the left is answered by the notes beside it, so covering the right-hand side turns the page into a quiz, and the summary holds the whole lecture in four sentences.

Intro to Microeconomics · Week 5Price elasticity of demand
What does price elasticity of demand measure?
How much quantity demanded responds to a change in price. % change in quantity demanded ÷ % change in price. Learn word for word.
Elastic, inelastic, unit elastic?
Over 1 = elastic (price-sensitive). Under 1 = inelastic. Exactly 1 = unit elastic. Drop the minus sign: use the absolute value.
Why use the midpoint method?
Divide each change by the average of the two values, so the answer is the same whether the price rises or falls.
Worked example: the coffee cart?
$4 → $6; 120 → 60 cups a day. Quantity: −60 ÷ 90 = −66.7%. Price: 2 ÷ 5 = 40%. Elasticity ≈ 1.67, so elastic: three other coffee places nearby.
What makes demand more elastic?
Close substitutes; luxuries rather than necessities; a big share of the budget; more time to adjust. Gasoline: inelastic in the short run, more elastic over years.
What is the total revenue test?
Revenue = price × quantity. Elastic: raise the price, revenue falls. Inelastic: revenue rises. Unit elastic: no change. Cart: $480 → $360 a day.

Summary

Price elasticity of demand compares the percentage change in quantity with the percentage change in price; above 1 is elastic. The midpoint method gives the same answer in both directions. Substitutes, necessity, budget share and time decide how elastic demand is, and with elastic demand a price rise lowers revenue. Exam: the midpoint formula with working, and the total revenue test with an example.

An example Cornell page for an economics lecture. The same lecture, as NoteOwl’s study notes, is on the lecture notes template page.

How does the Cornell method work with a recorded lecture?

Record the lecture so you can listen and write key words only. Afterwards, fill the gaps from the transcript and NoteOwl’s study notes, then write the cue questions and the summary yourself: that part of the method is where the learning happens.

Record
With NoteOwlRecord the lecture in NoteOwl, in the room or in an online class, so you can listen and write key words only. Fill gaps from the transcript later.
PlanPro
Notes column
With NoteOwlSummarize as → Student Lecture writes the topics, definitions, examples and exam points. Paste the parts you need beside your own notes.
PlanPro
Questions
With NoteOwlStill yours to write. The “Flagged for the exam” section of NoteOwl’s notes shows where to start.
Plan—
Recite
With NoteOwlAnswer your cue questions aloud in a voice note, then compare what you said with your notes.
PlanFree
Reflect and review
With NoteOwlAsk NoteOwl’s chat how a lecture connects to earlier ones, with the passage behind each answer, or press ⌘K to search every lecture.
PlanPro
Summary
With NoteOwlWrite it yourself, in your own words: that’s where the learning happens.
Plan—
NoteOwl doesn’t draw a Cornell page: its lecture recorder gives you the transcript and study notes, and its chat with your meetings answers from your own lectures. Pro is a one-time purchase, with a free trial in the app (NoteOwl pricing).

How does the Cornell method compare with other note-taking methods?

Each method suits a different kind of lecture. The Cornell method stands out because the cue column turns your notes into a self-test; outlines suit well-ordered lectures, maps show connections, and charts compare things side by side.

Cornell
How it worksA wide notes column, questions in a cue column, a summary at the bottom
Best forLectures you’ll be examined on: the cue column doubles as a self-test
Outline
How it worksHeadings with indented points under them
Best forLectures that follow a clear order of topics
Mapping
How it worksThe topic in the middle, ideas branching out and linked
Best forSeeing how ideas connect
Charting
How it worksA table with a column for each feature
Best forComparing several things on the same points, such as theories or periods
Sentence
How it worksEach new point written as its own numbered line
Best forFast lectures where the structure isn’t clear yet

Sources

Last checked . The method, its layout and its five steps are from Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center.

  1. [1]Cornell University Learning Strategies Center, The Cornell Note Taking System
  2. [2]Cornell University Learning Strategies Center, The Cornell Note-taking System (handout, adapted from Walter Pauk, How to Study in College, 7th ed., 2001)

FAQ

Questions about the Cornell method

What are the five steps of the Cornell method?

Record, Questions, Recite, Reflect and Review, as Cornell University’s Learning Strategies Center lists them: take notes during the lecture, write questions in the cue column after class, answer them aloud with the notes covered, think about what the ideas mean, and review all your notes every week. Many guides call them the five R’s, with Reduce as step two.

Who invented Cornell notes?

Walter Pauk, an education professor at Cornell University, developed the system and described it in his book How to Study in College, according to Cornell’s Learning Strategies Center.

How wide is the cue column on a Cornell page?

On the original letter-size page, the cue column is 2½ inches wide, the note-taking column 6 inches, and the summary takes the bottom 2 inches. On a laptop, a two-column table with a narrow left column and a merged bottom row gives the same layout.

Are Cornell notes good for lectures?

Yes. The Cornell method was written for college lectures: you take notes while the lecturer talks, then turn them into questions you can test yourself on before the exam. Recording the lecture in NoteOwl lets you listen instead of writing everything down, and check your notes against the transcript afterwards.

Can I take Cornell notes on a laptop?

Yes. Use a two-column table in Google Docs, Word or Pages, with a merged row at the bottom for the summary, or paste the plain-text template from this page into any notes app. Make one copy per lecture so every page has the same shape.

Can NoteOwl make Cornell notes from a lecture recording?

Not the layout. NoteOwl writes study notes from a recorded or imported lecture with its Student Lecture template, which you can paste into the notes column; the cue questions and the summary are yours to write, because that is where the method does its work. NoteOwl’s chat can then answer each cue from the lecture, citing the passage.

Is NoteOwl free for taking lecture notes?

Recording and importing lectures, study notes and chat are part of NoteOwl Pro: $79 once for one Mac, with a 7-day free trial in the app and no card. Voice notes of your own voice, such as reciting your cue answers, and dictation into any app are free in NoteOwl.

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