Getting Started:
Be prepared. What are you trying to find out? Your notes should be in POINT FORM - no sentences. Leave out articles (a, an, the), and any other words not critical to your understanding. Use your own words. This ensures that you actually understand the material, and that you will be less likely to accidentally paraphrase or copy words from the text. Use quotations to strengthen your arguments or position. Collect and cite the quotations in your notes. Found the same information in more than one source? Good! Cite both / all sources. This adds strength to arguments / evidence. Collect your Works Cited information as you go. See:
Blank Cornell Note Sheets
Divide the paper into 3 sections.
Draw a dark horizontal line about 5 or 6 lines from the bottom. Use heavy magic marker so that it is clear.
Draw a dark vertical line about 5 cm from the left side of the paper from the top to the horizontal line.
Document
Write Notes
The large box to the right is for writing notes.
Skip a line between ideas and topics.
Don't use complete sentences. Use abbreviations, whenever possible. Develop a shorthand of your own, such as using "&" for the word "and", or by removing vowels from words, or creating a symbol for "ion" that you put at the end of all those long words that end with "ion".
Review and Clarify
Review the notes as soon as possible after class.
Pull out main ideas, key points, dates, and people, and write them in the left column.
Summarize
Study your notes
Reread your notes in the right column.
Spend most of your time studying the ideas in the left column and the summary at the bottom. These are the most important ideas and will probably include most of the information that will be tested.
