Applying the Cornell method to your notes

Hello, dear readers of Valery Kharlamov’s blog! Today I will talk about what the Cornell method is, how exactly it arose and why it is convenient. I will also share recommendations on how to use it correctly in order to achieve the most effective results in your activities and not lose sight of important information.

Some general information

Schools, universities, technical schools and other educational systems do not teach one important skill — correct note taking. Who remembers how, following the teacher, he tried to have time to write down the lecture word for word? And how then do the fingers and hand hurt? And how difficult is it to make out the material, because in a hurry the handwriting became unrecognizable even for its owner?

Schoolchildren and students are very easy to distinguish by the callus on the inside of the middle finger. Modern young people, “nibbling” on the granite of science, manage to make video recordings so that they have the opportunity to prepare for the session. But is it realistic to then review a whole selection of lectures for the semester immediately before the exam? Walter Spider found a way out of such difficult situations back in 1950.

While teaching at Cornell University, he saw how his students were suffering, and proposed a completely new way of taking notes, which they liked. And all because it helps to systematize the received material. Due to the fact that there is little “water”, that is, completely unnecessary sentences that do not carry useful information, it becomes easier to understand and remember this lecture, speech, and so on.

Even after a long time, opening the summary, you will be able to remember what exactly was discussed that day. Interesting? Then let’s look at the basics of this method.

Instructions

Everything is pretty simple. You should take a regular notebook or notebook and divide the sheet into three cells. That is, by drawing an initially horizontal line, stepping back from the bottom edge of the page by about 5-6 cm. Then a vertical line along the entire length of the sheet, only stepping back about 6 cm from its left side. It turns out that now your sheet consists of three sections — main thoughts, notes and summary.

Now, when you read a textbook or listen to a lecture, write out important and worthwhile ideas in the thickest column, which is signed as notes. Try to leave space between sentences in case you want to make additions. When the outline of the material is completed, try to write down on the left side the main points that were discussed, dates, terms, names, and so on, most importantly, briefly. Then, from the bottom, indicate the very essence of this topic, what is important in it and in general, what is the point.

Confused? See how it should look like (I have shown a more expanded version of the table):

This method has become so popular that special notebooks are even sold in the United States, which are based on Walter’s template. And some universities encourage students to take notes only in this way.

Recommendations

1. Use colored pens to highlight new abstracts, names, or subtopics. So later it will be easier to navigate and see the necessary information.
2. Create your own symbols for frequently repeated words. This will save you time, energy and space.
3. Avoid long sentences, try to rephrase them so that they consist of no more than 6-7 words.
4. To make your notes look like a work of art, and there is a desire to review them periodically, improve your handwriting. You can learn the basics of calligraphy by watching this article.

Application

Even if you have not studied at school or institute for a long time, the Cornell method will still be useful to you. For example, when preparing for a meeting, public speaking, or even your own lecture. Brief notes with the main ideas will help you concentrate and not miss even the smallest details. It can also be used during meetings. While the management is broadcasting about new company reforms, news and tasks, everything will be recorded for you.

And importantly, this template can also be used when planning. Yes, instead of a weekly. Only in the left column write out the main tasks, and in the right side — break them into subtasks, and related cases. At the very bottom, indicate the result that you would like to achieve by the end of the week. Then take notes whether it was achieved or not. This way you can even track your performance.

Conclusion

And that’s all for today, dear readers! I would like to recommend that you look at the article “How to use a mind map: methods and examples of programs”, because with the help of mind maps it is also easy to take notes. Good luck in mastering this interesting method!

The material was prepared by Zhuravina Alina.