1. Cornell Notes How to…

2. Cornell Notes How to…
Follow these easy steps to convert your regular 8.5 x 11 lined paper into a Cornell Note.
If you don’t wish to make your own, you can always print the Cornell Note Template on the template page at

3. Cornell Notes How to…
Draw a vertical line from top to bottom that is a few inches from the left margin. Leaving about a third of the page from the bottom, draw a horizontal line. Draw a horizontal line on the top line, so you end up with a large I.

4. Write a general title for the lecture or reading
(on the top left)
Write your name, date and period number at the top of each page
(on the right)
Cornell Notes How to…

5. Cornell Notes How to…
Write all the details of the main ideas and concepts on the right side of the page.
Consider skipping one line between ideas and several lines between topics.
Mark ideas that go together with an asterisk*.

6. Cornell Notes How to…
Review and clarify
Review the notes soon after the lecture, power point, or reading.
Make sure your notes are clear; that the information makes sense.

7. Cornell Notes How to…
Place main ideas,
key points, topics, terms, places, dates, etc on the left side of the page.
The left side is a good place to put questions! Your answers will be in your right hand column!

8. Cornell Notes How to…
Summarize
Write a summary at the bottom of your page!
Briefly mention all key points!

9. Cornell Notes How to…
Study
Use both columns of your notes to study for tests as well review your summaries.

10. Cornell Notes How to…
Study Step 1
Read the Summary first, to trigger long-term memory of the content of the Cornell Note.

11. Cornell Notes How to…
Study Step 2
Fold Cornell Note along vertical line separating Main Points from Details.

12. Cornell Notes How to… Study Step 3
Read Main Points column and test yourself in answering questions concealed in the Details column.

13. Cornell Notes How to…
Study Step 4
Read Details column again to be sure you reviewed all the information. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as needed.

14. Cornell Notes How to…
Mr. Joyet’s students must take Cornell notes for: Lectures, Power Points, Reading, Grammar Lessons, etc...
Make a habit of it.
Try it each night this week for ten minutes, while you read.

15. Cornell Notes How to…
For more information on Why Cornell Notes and the rubric, read Cornell Notes –Why!

16. Level One Questions Defining Describing Identifying Listing Naming
Observing
Reciting
Scanning

17. Level Two Questions Analyzing Inferring Comparing Sequencing
Contrasting
Grouping
Inferring
Sequencing
Synthesizing

18. Level Three Questions Imagining Applying a principle Judging
Predicting
Speculating
Applying a principle
Evaluating
Hypothesizing

19. Defining
What is the definition of lunar eclipse?

20. List
Name three poems written by Robert Frost:

21. Identifying
Which states seceded from the Union to form the confederacy?

22. Recitation
How does The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost begin?

23. Analysis
In Native Son, how does Bigger Thomas’ violence against his gang members reveal a deeply rooted insecurity and fear of people?

24. Contrast
In The Bet, how do the lawyer and the banker differ in their attitudes toward capital punishment?

25. Synthesis
How does the term “manifest destiny” capture the essence of western expansion in the United States?

26. Inference
If the moon is full August 17, July 18, and June 19, when will it be full in April?

27. Applying a Principle
Using the principle of communicative property, how can we find out the number of apple trees in an orchard having 15 rows, 5 trees each?

28. Judging
Which of the characters in Great Expectations suffered the most?

29. Speculating
In The Catcher in the Rye how might Phoebe, years later, describe Holden to her children?

30. Imagining
Imagine you were Maria in The Power of One how would you feel
about the things P.K. was talking about at first? What would you say to
your father? What would you do?

31. Predicting After reading the first chapter
of The Outsiders, what do you
predict will happen to Ponyboy
and his friends?

32. LEVELS OF QUESTIONS
These questions are surface-level and the answers can be found within the text. Words often used are: define, describe, identify, list, … or they ask for a specific date or number.
LEVEL ONE Question--
What are level one questions?
What is an example of a level one question?
Simple example: (from Joy Luck Club)--List the mothers and daughters and the conflict each pair had.

33. LEVELS OF QUESTIONS (cont’d)
LEVEL Two Question--
What are level two questions?
These questions are the result of “reading between the lines” of the text--making inferences (educated guesses). Keywords would be: analyze, group, infer, compare/contrast, etc.
What is an example of a level two question?
Simple example: (from Julius Caesar) compare and contrast the personalities of Brutus and Cassius

34. LEVELS OF QUESTIONS (cont’d)
LEVEL Three Question--
What are level three questions?
These questions are the result of going beyond the text itself and applying the information given. Keywords are speculate, hypothesize, imagine, predict, speculate etc.
What is an example of a level three question?
Simple example: (from Romeo and Juliet) ---Speculate what the implications are when people elope w/out parental permission