The Anatomy of the Cornell Note-taking System

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Do you want to take more effective notes for your lectures? It turns out what you do with your notes after lecture will help you learn better. 

Take notes during your lecture and consolidate your learning after it. Use the Cornell note-taking system to take notes, practice, and reflect upon what really matters from the lecture.

The Cornell Note-Taking System

  • Summarize the important ideas from your notes 
  • Create practice problems 
  • Reflect upon how you will be marked

How it works: 

Take notes during the lecture

  • Capture the main ideas 
  • Organize with headings 
  • Use bullet points 
  • Create diagrams or charts

Review your notes

Brainstorm key ideas and questions. 

Ask yourself: 

  • How could the professor test me on this information? 
  • How do these concepts connect to what was learned before? 
  • What are important words I need to apply?

Summarize the most important points

What was the point of this lecture? Based on how you like to learn, use pictures and/or words.

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