CORNELL NOTES
FOR ACADEMIC SUCCESS
Presented by
LHHS Guidance Office
10/27/10
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Cornell Notes
How do Cornell Notes help you in
your academic classes?
•Develops Critical Thinking Skills
•Helps you Remember what is said
in class
•Helps you work on assignments
and Prepare for tests outside of
class.
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Why should you take notes?
Good notes help you to problem
solve.
Good notes help you organize and
process information.
Good notes help you remember
because you will process them 3
times using the Cornell Notes
approach.
LET’S REVIEW THE PROCESS!
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Follow these easy steps to
convert your regular 8.5 x 11
lined paper into Cornell Notes:
*If you don’t wish to make your
own, you can always print the
Cornell Note Template on the
template page at:
www.englishcompanion.com/
pdfDocs/cornellintro.pdf
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Draw
a vertical line from
top to bottom that is a few
inches from the left
margin.
Leaving about a third of
the page from the bottom,
draw a horizontal line.
Draw a horizontal line on
the top line, so you end up
with a large “I”
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Write
a general title for
the lecture or reading
(on the top left)
Write
your name, date
and period number at
the top of each page.
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Write
all the details of
the main ideas and
concepts on the right
side of the page.
Consider skipping one
line between ideas and
several lines between
topics.
Mark ideas that go
together with an
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Review and clarify
Review the notes soon
after the lecture, power
point, or reading.
Make
sure your notes
are clear, complete and
that the information
makes sense.
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Place main ideas,
key points, topics,
terms, places, dates,
etc on the left side of
the page.
The left side is also a
good place to write
questions! Your
answers will be in the
right column!
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Summarize
Write a summary at the
bottom of your page,
in your own words. You
can also note any follow
up questions you may
have for your teacher.
Briefly note all key
points!
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Study Your
Notes!!!
Use both
columns of your
notes to study for
tests; also review
your summaries.
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Study: Step 1
Read the
Summary first, to
trigger long-term
memory of the
content of the
Cornell Notes.
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Study: Step 2
Fold Cornell Note
along vertical line
separating Main
Points from
Details.
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Study: Step 3
Read Main Points
column and test
yourself in
answering
questions
concealed in the
Details column.
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Study: Step 4
Read Details
column again to
be sure you
reviewed all the
information.
 Repeat steps 3
and 4 as needed.
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Students
should take
Cornell Notes for:
Lectures, Power
Points, Reading,
Grammar Lessons,
Math, Science

Make a habit of it.
LET’S PRACTICE...
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