How to Take Cornell Notes (Free Template)
The Cornell method splits one page into three parts so your notes double as a study guide. It was developed in the 1950s by Walter Pauk, an education professor at Cornell University, and it is still one of the most recommended note-taking systems for high school and college.
The three sections
- Notes (right, the big column): what you write during the lecture or while reading.
- Cues (left, narrow column): questions and keywords you add after class. Our template's cue column is 55 mm (about 2⅛ in) wide.
- Summary (bottom box): two to four sentences in your own words. Ours is 50 mm (about 2 in) tall.
How to use it: the 5 Rs
- Record. During class, write the main ideas in the notes column. Use short phrases, not full sentences, and skip a line between ideas.
- Reduce. Within a day, turn each block of notes into a question or keyword in the cue column. "Causes of WWI" becomes "What were the four main causes of WWI?"
- Recite. Cover the notes column, read each cue, and answer out loud. This is the step that makes it stick.
- Reflect. Write the summary at the bottom: what was this page really about, and how does it connect to what you already know?
- Review. Spend ten minutes a week re-reciting your cues. Before a test, your cue column is a ready-made practice quiz.
A quick example
Notes column: "Photosynthesis: light + water + CO₂ → glucose + O₂. Happens in chloroplasts. Light reactions (thylakoid), Calvin cycle (stroma)." Cue column: "What goes in and out of photosynthesis? Where does each stage happen?" Summary: "Plants use light energy in the chloroplast to turn water and carbon dioxide into sugar, releasing oxygen."
Tips that make Cornell notes work
- Fill in the cues the same day while you still remember the lecture.
- Use one page per topic so each summary stays focused.
- Add a name, date and subject line at the top so loose pages stay organized.
- Prefer the cue column on the right? You can move it in the editor.
Make your own version
The Cornell notes template page lets you change the line spacing, cue width, summary height and page size (US Letter, A4 and more), or put a name and date header on top. For other ways to structure study notes, see the boxing notes template and the Frayer model.