Notes are easy to take and easy to never open again. The Cornell method makes reviewing part of the page itself: one sheet holds your notes, the questions that test you on them, and a short summary. Walter Pauk developed it at Cornell University, and all it needs is a pen and a ruled page.
Get the free Cornell notes template →
The three parts of a Cornell page
Draw a line down the page about a third of the way in from the left, and another across the bottom. That gives you three areas, each with one job:
- Notes, the wide column on the right. This is where you write during the lecture, meeting or reading.
- Cues, the narrow column on the left. Questions and keywords you add afterwards, one next to each idea.
- Summary, the band at the bottom. Two or three sentences in your own words, written last.
What drives evaporation?
How do clouds form?
Where does rain go after it lands?
Sun heats oceans and lakes; water turns to vapor and rises. Plants add vapor too (transpiration).
Air cools as it rises; vapor condenses on dust into droplets, which gather into clouds.
Precipitation: rain, snow, hail. Some runs off into rivers, some soaks into the ground and refills aquifers.
The sun turns water into vapor, the vapor cools into clouds, and it falls back as rain or snow that collects in rivers or soaks into the ground.
How to take Cornell notes, step by step
- Write in the notes column while you listen or read. Instead of writing everything word for word, jot down key ideas, examples, numbers and details you will want to review later. Leave a little space between ideas for the cues.
- Add cues the same day. While it is still fresh, read through your notes and write a question or keyword in the left column next to each idea. A good cue brings back the idea in the notes beside it.
- Write the summary last, once the page makes sense to you. If you struggle to sum it up in two or three sentences, go back over the notes and clear up whatever is still fuzzy.
- Review by covering the notes. Fold the page or cover the right column, read each cue and answer it out loud, then check. Answering without looking shows you the gaps that rereading your notes tends to hide.
Paper or digital: which template to use
The free Cornell notes template lets you fill the sheet right in your browser and download it in the format you work in:
- To print, take a blank PDF in A4 or Letter, or the sheet you filled in as a PDF.
- For GoodNotes and other iPad apps there is a page sized for the iPad, as PNG or PDF, to write on with a pencil.
- For Obsidian, a Markdown file with the cues, notes and summary as sections.
- For Notion, Markdown to paste into a page, or CSV to import into a database.
If you are not sure where to start, print one blank page and use it in your next meeting or lecture. Every format keeps the cues, notes and summary, so you can switch later and keep using the same method.
Cornell notes on a Mac
The review step translates well to an outliner. In Tree Outliner, each cue becomes an item and its answer goes into the item's note, so you can collapse the list and quiz yourself one question at a time. If you would rather keep each page as a note in folders, NoteTree keeps them in a plain folder tree.
Other free tools
The template is one of a few small tools we keep free on tools.noteifyapp.com. They all run in your browser, and your files stay on your device. There is a short overview of all of them on the blog.
- Remove EXIF and GPS from photos: see what a photo says about where and how it was taken, and download a clean copy before you post it or send it to someone.
- All free tools: also a dice game that simulates bottlenecks from The Goal, and a checker for AI agent skills.
FAQ
What are the three parts of a Cornell notes page?
A narrow cue column on the left for questions and keywords, a wide notes column on the right for what you hear or read, and a summary band across the bottom for a few sentences in your own words.
How wide should the cue column be?
About a third of the page. Wide enough for a short question per idea, narrow enough that the notes column keeps most of the space.
Can I use Cornell notes in Notion, Obsidian or GoodNotes?
Yes. The free template exports the same sheet as Obsidian Markdown, a Notion Markdown file or CSV, and a GoodNotes page as PNG or PDF, so you can keep your cues, notes and summary together wherever you work.
Is the Cornell notes template free, and do I need an account?
It is free and needs no account. The sheet is filled and the files are built in your browser, and nothing is uploaded.