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Cornell (Two-Column) Note TakingThe Cornell method of note taking (Morgan, Forget, and Antinarella 1996; Pauk, 2001) is astudy skills strategy that can be taught and utilized in all content areas. It is a strategy that can beused with reading text or listening to a lecture. It is also a note-taking method that is required ofstudents in many, if not most, law schools and medical schools – a fact that speaks well for itseffectiveness as a tool for retention of great quantities of information.Good notes are the product of strategic reading or listening. The Cornell method helpsstudents organize information in a useful format, rank the importance of various elementscontained in the reading and systematically study the information that has been evaluated andorganized. The student recognizes a main idea and contributing points from which this theme isgenerated. The student then can judge how much detail to record in light of the assigned orexpected outcome of the reading. In this way, the student gains control and becomes moreefficient in the learning process.By necessity, this note-taking system moves the student from a passive reader/listener to oneactively involved with comprehension. It is this linkage to thinking and comprehension thatresults in long-term learning. The strategy helps the student become a better learner by acquiringmetacognition skills. The student understands that the notes are a skeletal representation thatmust be dealt with correctly to keep the whole picture in correct context.Good note taking forces interaction with the learning experience, leading to acquisition of theability to be metacognitive in learning situations. Studies show that students consider note takingto be an essential learning skill for success in secondary school and college. Other research withstudents indicates that a good set of notes is very significant in academic success. Mostimportantly for middle and high school teachers is that Cornell notes can be a very productivenightly homework assignment. This will be discussed below.Understanding the SystemCornell (or 2-column) note taking is a system that divides a page of loose leaf paperdifferently than the way it comes from the store. Most loose leaf paper has a red margin aboutone to one and a half inches from the left edge of the paper. In 2-column note taking, the notetaker ignores that margin and draws a new margin about 1¼ inches to the right of the originalmargin, dividing the paper into 1/3 and 2/3 sized sections. Then, the note taker ignores the redmargin, writing all the way to the left edge of the paper. The only thing that goes on the left sideof the paper is a main idea. So there is a good deal of space on the left side of the paper betweenmain ideas (all the easier to spot the key points). On the right (2/3) side go all the details relatingto the main idea. These are the details that are to be recalled. This note taking system is©2004 MAX Teaching with Reading & Writing, 6857 TR 215, Findlay, OH 45840, 404-441-7008 http://www.maxteaching.com27