The Cornell note-taking method: how to take Cornell notes, step by step

The Cornell page layout

The method was developed at Cornell University in the 1950s by Walter Pauk, and it is still one of the most widely taught note-taking systems. Its strength is that the page itself prompts you to review. Each page has three areas:

Put the topic and date at the top of each page so you can find it again quickly.

How to take Cornell notes

1. Set up the page. Draw a line about a third of the way across from the left, and another a few lines up from the bottom. Add the topic and date at the top.
2. Record in the notes column. Write short phrases, not full sentences. Use abbreviations, bullet points, arrows and quick sketches. Leave gaps between ideas so you can add to them later.
3. Reduce into the cue column. Within a day, read through your notes and write a question or keyword beside each main idea, such as "What causes inflation?" next to the paragraph that answers it.
4. Summarise at the bottom. In two or three sentences, write what the whole page was about. If you can't, that shows you which part to go back over.
5. Recite and review. Cover the notes column and answer each cue out loud or on scrap paper, then uncover and check. Repeat a few days later, and again before a test.

The 5 Rs of Cornell notes

Pauk described the method as five steps, often taught as the 5 Rs:

• Record: capture the main ideas in the notes column.
• Reduce: condense them into cues and questions on the left.
• Recite: cover the notes and answer the cues from memory.
• Reflect: ask how the ideas connect to what you already know.
• Review: go back over the cues regularly, a few minutes at a time.

A worked example

Notice that the cues are questions, not headings. "What limits the rate?" makes you recall the answer; "Limiting factors" only reminds you that there was one.

Taking Cornell notes in Ink Pad

Ink Pad gives you ready-made Cornell paper in the browser, so there's no ruling lines by hand:

1. Create a notebook. Tap New, give it a title, choose a cover and pick Cornell as the paper. You can change a single page's paper later, or apply it to every page.
2. Write. Use the fountain pen or ballpoint for notes and the highlighter for key terms. Pens respond to pressure from a stylus such as Apple Pencil. In Auto mode fingers draw until a stylus touches the screen, then fingers scroll and zoom while the stylus writes.
3. Tidy up. Use the lasso to move a block of notes, hold at the end of a stroke to snap a perfect line, circle, rectangle or triangle, and add text boxes or images. The zoom window helps you write small and neat.
4. Study. The study timer runs 25-minute focus sessions and keeps a daily streak.

Ink Pad is free for up to three notebooks, with every pen, paper template and sticker, page images, notebook links and backups. Ink Pad Pro ($3.99 once) adds unlimited notebooks, PDF import, annotation and export, and handwritten flashcards: hide parts of a page, such as your notes column, and review them with spaced repetition. Notebooks stay in your browser, with no account.

Tips

• Don't write everything down. Listen for signals like "the key point is" or anything repeated or written on the board.
• Write cues the same day. Your memory of the lesson fades quickly, and gaps are easier to fill while it's fresh.
• Use the method for reading too. It works for textbooks and articles, not just lectures.
• Keep summaries short. If it takes more than three sentences, the page probably covers two topics.

Common mistakes

• Leaving the cue column empty. Without cues it's just ordinary notes with a margin.
• Copying the slides word for word. Short phrases in your own words make you think about the material.
• Writing headings instead of questions in the cue column.
• Only rereading. Cover the notes and test yourself; that's the step that does the work.
• Skipping the summary because the lesson felt clear at the time.