What you’ve always wanted to know about… Cornell Notes Oh, you know you do!...

First, let’s do a Quick Write. Answer the following questions. How did you learn to take notes? How skilled are you at note-taking? How do you think taking good notes can contribute to your success as a student in middle school? in high school? in college? in a job? in life? Are there any other benefits to note-taking skills?

Sometimes you take notes while listening to your teacher in class. There are many ways to take notes. You should learn several strategies. Different learning situations may call for different strategies. Sometimes you take notes while listening to your teacher in class. Sometimes you take notes while you read (a textbook, a novel, an article, a poem, etc.) Sometimes you take notes when watching a film, TV, or a PowerPoint presentation.

You can write notes… randomly on lined paper as a Dialectical Journal in a Reading Response Log in an outline form on sticky-notes in margins of the text (if allowed!)

There are even new electronic “notepads” for taking notes without pen or paper!

however, with Cornell Notes you can… take notes for almost all learning situations be more organized be more efficient and save time use them to review and study for tests and you will find them very easy to use! and NO batteries needed!

If you are an AVID student, you are required to use Cornell note-taking strategies. The reason is because Cornell note-taking is one of the most effective methods that you can use!

Where did this technique come from? Developed in 1949 at Cornell University by Walter Pauk. Designed in response to frustration over student test scores. Meant to be easily used as a test study guide. Adopted by most major law schools as the preferred note taking method. Used by A.V.I.D. students world-wide!

To begin…. Start with a blank sheet of lined paper. Draw or fold to create a left-hand column about 2 ½ inches wide. Then draw or fold about 2 inches up from the bottom to create a place for summary writing. Note: A modified version of Cornell Notes might not include the area for writing a summary.

Here is an example of Cornell notes about Literary Elements.

When YOU are using Cornell Notes strategies, you can use your own preferred style of actual note-taking. For example: You start at the top of the page and take notes, line by line. The biggest drawback to linear notes is that they show little to no structure or organization. It is difficult to see how concepts and terms relate to one another. If your teacher tests on straight factual questions, taken nearly word for word from a lecture, linear notes are almost as effective as other styles. However, if you are required to reflect and think about the information, you might want to use another style when possible.

Another example: Outlining This style uses Roman Numerals, letters, numbers and indenting to give order to the concepts and subpoints in a lecture or text. The main titles generally follow a Roman Numeral and are written next to the left margin. Main points are indented a little traditionally after a capitalized letter. Subpoints are further indented following a number and so forth.      If you are not comfortable with the traditional use of Roman Numerals and letters to identify main ideas and subpoints, create your own variation. Main points and subpoints can indicated by all capital letters, larger letter sizes, underlines, colors, highlights, etc.      Students who use the Outlining style usually scored higher on text exams.

This is called “mapping”. This is a highly visual approach to note-taking and arguably the most difficult to do during a lecture. This method takes practice. If the speaker is disorganized, this style would likely be the most frustrating.      Mapping is generally most effective for taking notes from text books rather than lectures. The exception to this would be if the teacher displays mapping to illustrate the lecture concepts on the board, in which case we would highly recommend using it for that part of the lecture.      To begin mapping, write down the main idea or concept of the lecture in large letters anywhere on the page. If you start in the middle of the page, it will give you more room to expand in all directions. If you want to get creative, frame the main idea with a circle, square, star, cloud or any shape you desire. Branching from the main idea are the topics enclosed in another shape of your choice. Branching from each topic are the related subtopics enclosed in another shape. Use the shapes consistently to visually depict how topics and subtopics are related.

And the Matrix format: The Matrix format is another way to display information visually. It is a very highly effective method for displaying information for review. Students using the matrix system performed better on tests compared to students using linear or outline styles. Matrix notes reduce clutter - therefore locating notes becomes easier and quicker.      Matrix notes can be used when there are two or more topics for comparison. Therefore this style cannot be used all of the time. It is ideal for comparing and evaluating sets of information.   The Matrix system lays out information in a table-like format. First, identify the topics you wish to compare and place them as headings either in the top (horizontal) columns of the table or the first (vertical) row of each table. Next, determine the items for comparison. The topics and items form the structure of the table.      The matrix format is recommended when taking notes from texts.

Student Name Today’s Date Period # Topic or Title Why is the strategy of Cornell Notes valuable to me as a student? Cornell Notes = an effective way to study helps me to understand the material quiz myself later Summary: Cornell notes will help me for a variety of reasons. I will be able to quiz myself every night so I will be better prepared for tests and quizzes.  Also, now I know I will be reading the entire section or article, rather than merely skimming it to find the answers to certain questions (or just looking at the bolded words).