hateCornell

Why I Hate Cornell Notes 

Amy Widhalm 

http://ww2.d155.org/clc/Shared%20Documents/Orange%20and%20Black%20School%20Newspaper.pdf

 Central has recently introduced a new way of note taking called Cornell Notes. It was thought up at Cornell University in New York as an alternative way to take notes during lectures, textbook reading, etc. The idea was to help students take more efficient, accurate notes that truly analyzed what the subject was about. Teachers are being urged to use these notes as a tool for students struggling with their studies or who need a new way to study. Cornell notes have the format of a topic/objective, essential question, a questions column, a summary section, and a small box for the actual notes. 

 I, for one, am not a fan of this way of taking notes. The limited amount of space provided for the actual notes is so small, I can barely fit any of my ideas on the paper. I find the question column irrelevant. Why waste space that most students avoid writing in when it could have been used for more note taking?? And why must it be a question? Why not a key term or the sub headings of each section? I find it easier to look at the entire paper to study rather than fold my paper in half and force myself to answer questions that “could possibly be on the test.” What I don’t understand is if teachers want us to write potential test questions on our notes, why they can’t give us a study guide with questions that have a higher chance of being used. We could be studying questions that are nowhere near the ones we should be doing. Summaries can be helpful and all, but they don’t cover the little details in the notes. These details are often the main points that are covered by the test and most likely to be missed. Cornell notes may be helpful to some students, but they shouldn’t be forced onto students who prefer old-fashioned outlines.