# Cornell notes

Topic: [lecture, reading or workshop]
Date: [date]
Source: [author, title, link and page or timestamp]
Learning question: [what should I be able to explain?]

## Blank worksheet

| Cue or question | Notes and evidence |
| --- | --- |
| [write after taking notes] | [main point, example, page or timestamp] |
| [question that tests understanding] | [answer in your own words] |
| [what remains unclear?] | [follow-up and where to check] |

### Summary
[Close the source. Explain the main idea and its significance in two or three sentences.]

### Recall and review
- Cover the notes column and answer each cue aloud.
- Check your answer; mark what you missed.
- Connect the idea to something you already know.
- Next review: [date]. Remaining question: [question].

## Worked example — a scene-writing workshop

Source: An invented workshop exercise, not a research citation.
Learning question: What makes a scene turn?

| Cue or question | Notes and evidence |
| --- | --- |
| What changes? | A character's options change, rather than just the location. |
| How could I show that? | Mara asks for a key. Her brother hands it over, then says the lock was changed. Her original plan is no longer possible. |
| What should I revise? | Find a scene in which the character leaves with the same options they arrived with. Add a choice with a consequence. |

### Summary
A turn changes what a character can do next. I can test a scene by comparing their options before and after it.

## Use the method
Take notes first; add cue questions afterward. Recite, reflect and review instead of only rereading. On paper, give the notes column most of the page, leave a narrower cue column and reserve space below for a summary. The Markdown table keeps those roles when the file moves between editors.

Method reference: Cornell Learning Strategies Center, The Cornell Note Taking System — https://lsc.cornell.edu/how-to-study/taking-notes/cornell-note-taking-system/