Cornell Note-Taking

Psychologically, there is a belief that the more senses involved in learning, the more impactful the learning experience will be. One way to involve the senses in learning is by listening, seeing, taking notes, and mentally draws the learning content or materials. This one can be manifested in Cornell note-taking strategy or method. It can be a method since it provides a structured way of taking notes, with specific steps and a layout designed for effective organization of information. It can also be a strategy since it encourages active learning and critical thinking by involving not just note-taking, but also reviewing, questioning, and summarizing—actions that help improve comprehension and retention.

The Cornell Note-Taking Strategy is a systematic method for organizing and reviewing notes, developed by Professor Walter Pauk at Cornell University in the 1940s. This method helps students take more effective notes during lectures or while reading, and makes reviewing the learning materials easier. It promotes active learning and retention of information.

Here’s how the Cornell note-taking strategy is applied:

The Cornell method divides the note page into three sections:

Cue/Question Column (Left): This narrow column on the left side is reserved for key points, questions, or cues. After the lecture or reading, students fill this column with cues or questions that trigger memory and understanding of the content in the main notes. These questions can also serve as prompts for further review or discussion.
Note-Taking Column (Right): The larger right-hand section is used during the lecture or reading. This is where students write their detailed notes, including important concepts, definitions, formulas, diagrams, and key information. The notes should be concise but informative enough for review later.
Summary Section (Bottom): At the bottom of the page, students write a brief summary of the key points or main ideas from the notes. This summary helps consolidate understanding and acts as a quick reference for future study sessions.

Here is the format of Cornell note-taking. In this sample, the text is taken from Ha (Ha & Huertas-Abril, 2024)¹ for educational purposes.

Keywords, Prompts, Questions goes here. This area is filled after reading.

Your notes go here. You fill this area during reading or listening. Here's the example

In everyday life, people need to cope with both public and political issues, make decisions and solve problems, which requires the ability to critically evaluate what they receive from different channels: seeing, listening and reading (Taglieber, 2000). Moreover, the United Nations (2015) proposed that ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education for all people is a goal for sustainable development. In the era of the Industrial Revolution 4.0, in which the bloom of technology facilitates global connection and information exchange, ensuring equity in education is not only limited to ensuring the ability to simply read and write, but to have critical literacy in order not to sink in the world of information and be led by others’ intention without being aware of their purposes.

Research has shown that a part of university students lacks critical reading skills, especially when asked to find out the author’s purpose and the main idea of the text (Le et al., 2022; Mohd Zin et al., 2014). Moreover, the lack of critical reading skills can lead to students’ dependence on the textbook and learning by route (Le et al., 2022). This can result in the lack of understanding to construct knowledge and wisdom, and to create new things.

Summary of the main points. This is filled after reading or listening.

Steps of the Cornell Method

Record: During the lecture or while reading, take detailed notes in the right-hand column.
Reduce: After the lecture or reading, use the left column to jot down questions, keywords, or cues that relate to the notes.
Recite: Cover the right column and try to recall or explain the content based on the cues or questions in the left column.
Reflect: Think about the notes, ask questions, and reflect on the material’s importance or applications.
Review: Regularly review the notes and summaries to reinforce understanding and retention.

Ha, T.A. & Huertas-Abril, C.A. (2024). Teaching critical reading in higher education: A literature review and pedagogical framework proposal. Thinking Skills and Creativity. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2024.101599 ↩︎