Cornell Note Taking System

Below are the instructions for the Cornell Note Taking System given to us by our professor.  This is a great way to outline a chapter so that you can study for a test.  I used this to outline a chapter for one of our assignments and it was so easy.  Much easier than the traditional outline format.  I recommend this to any college student.

The Cornell Note Taking System

Recall Main

------2 1/2”-------- ----------------6”--------------------

Reduce

concise jottings and

summaries as cues for

ideas and facts toRecord the lecture as fully and as

Reciting, Reviewing,

and

meaningfully as possible.Reflecting.

The format provides the perfect opportunity for following through with the 5 R's of note-taking. Here they

are:

1.

Write legibly.

2.

Summarizing clarifies meanings and relationships, reinforces continuity, and strengthens memory. Also, it

is a way of preparing for examinations gradually and well ahead of time.

3.

you recall, say over facts and ideas of the lecture as fully as you can, not mechanically, but in your own

words and with as much appreciation of the meaning as you can. Then, uncovering your notes, verify what

you have said. This procedure helps to transfer the facts and ideas of your long term memory.

4.

point for their own musings upon the subjects they are studying. Such musings aid them in making sense

out of their courses and academic experiences by finding relationships among them. Reflective students

continually label and index their experiences and ideas, put them into structures, outlines, summaries, and

frames of reference. They rearrange and file them. Best of all, they have an eye for the vital-for the

essential. Unless ideas are placed in categories, unless they are taken up from time to time for reexamination,

they will become inert and soon forgotten.

5.

most of what you have learned, and you will be able to use your knowledge currently to greater and

greater effectiveness.

©Academic Skills Center, Dartmouth College 2001Record. During the lecture, record in the main column as many meaningful facts and ideas as you can.Reduce. As soon after as possible, summarize these ideas and facts concisely in the Recall Column.Recite. Now cover the column, using only your jottings in the Recall Column as cues or "flags" to helpReflect. Reflective students distill their opinions from their notes. They make such opinions the startingReview. If you will spend 10 minutes every week or so in a quick review of these notes, you will retain