Note Taking
The Cornell System
The Cornell system for taking notes is designed to save time but yet be highly efficient. There is no rewriting or retyping of your notes. It is a "do it right in the first place" system comprising three steps which may be best described as:
1. Preparation
2. Process
3. Postscript
Step One: Preparation
Before the class/lecture take a large, loose-leaf notebook. Use only one side of the paper. (you then can lay your notes out to see the direction of class) Draw a vertical line 2 1/2 inches from the left side of your paper. This is the recall column. Notes will be taken to the right of this margin. Later, key words or phrases can be written in the recall column.
Step Two: Process
During the class record your notes in paragraph form. Capture general ideas, not illustrative ideas. Skip lines to show end of ideas or thoughts. Using abbreviations will save time. Write legibly.
Step Three: Postscript
After the class/lecture read through your notes and make them more legible if necessary. Now “reduce” your notes using colours. Jot down ideas or key words which give you the idea of the class as you re-read the ideas and add in reflections in your own words. Now cover up the right-hand portion of your notes and recall the general ideas and concepts of the class in the recall column. Overlap your notes showing only recall columns and you have your review.

Editing class notes
There are several good reasons for organising and reviewing your notes as soon as possible after the class/lecture:
• While the lecture is still fresh in your mind, you can fill in from memory examples and facts that you did not have time to write down during the lecture. Moreover, you can recall what parts of the class were unclear to you so that you can consult the tutor, a classmate, your text, or additional readings for further information.
• Immediately reviewing notes promotes better retention than review after a longer period of time. Unless students review notes within 24 hours after the class or at least before the next class, their retention will drop and they will be relearning rather than reviewing.
A method of annotation is usually preferable to recopying notes. The following suggestions for annotating may be helpful:
• Underline key statements or important concepts.
• Use asterisks or other signal marks to indicate importance.
• Use margins or blank pages for coordinating notes with the text. Perhaps indicate relevant pages of the text beside the corresponding information in the notes.
• Use a key and a summary.
• Use one of the margins to keep a key to important names, formulas, dates, concepts, and the like. This forces you to anticipate questions of an objective nature and provides specific facts that you need to develop essays. Use the other margin to write a short summary of the topics on the page, relating the contents of the page to the whole lecture or to the lecture of the day before.
Condensing the notes in this way not only helps you to learn them but also prepares you for the kind of thinking required for essays, assignments and exams.