Study Skills Core Modules

One type of note-taking you may not have heard of is the Cornell method.

This is a great way of taking, condensing and organising your class or lecture notes without the need for laborious recopying later. This means it can be used to review the class/lecture at the end of the day (always a good habit to get into!) AND is a ready-made piece of revision.

Method:

Take a ruler (or fold the paper) and create a line approximately 2.5 inches in from the left-hand margin (if you’re left-handed, you could experiment with folding along the right-hand side to see if that layout is easier for you). This should leave a larger space to the right of the page.

If you’re using a computer to take notes, you may want to create a table with two columns and adjust the width-sizes on the screen.

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During class (record):

• Make notes from the board, lecture or discussions in the right-hand space.
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• Whenever the topic changes or moves on to a new point, try to leave a few blank lines.
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• Don’t forget to add a relevant heading (topic title, date, etc) at the top of the page.
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• Leave a space (approximately 2 inches) at the end of your notes - either on each page, or on the final page of the class/lecture notes - for later.

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After class (review & reduce):

• Try and fill in any additional points, sentences or shorthand abbreviations you remember in those blank lines so that your notes are as clear and complete as they can be.
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• Then, for every significant bit of information on the right-hand side, write down a corresponding 'cue’ word or phrase in the left-hand margin next to it.
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• In the space at the end of your notes, summarise all the information you have learnt, linking it to other relevant notes where necessary. This can be in full or abbreviated sentences, or as a mind-map or list - whichever suits your learning style.

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For revision (reflect & recite):

• Take a piece of card and cover over the right-hand side of the page, revealing only the cues on the left-hand side.
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• Say the cue out loud, then try and say, to yourself or a revision buddy, as much as you can about the material covered by the card. When you have said all you can remember, remove the card and see how much you got right and what, it anything, you missed. Saying it out loud helps to reinforce your learning - if you can say it, you know it.

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Examples:

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Quick Activity

To complete this section of the note-taking module, you can upload your own example of using the Cornell Method of note-taking. You can either upload a scanned copy of handwritten notes you have taken in class, or you can use and upload a completed example on the Word template below. You might chose to type up some class notes for which you did not use the Cornell Method onto the template so that you can try out the method and create your first revision sheet…