Introduction: A Cornoutline merges two of the skills that we have worked on so far this year, Cornell note taking and outlining. Like your Cornell notes, a Cornoutline has three spaces each with its own purpose. Click here for a blank Cornoutline template.
Section One
In a Cornoutline the larger/wider notes section is on the left and you must take notes in this space in the outline form that we have learned. The notes that you take will be focused on a question that we are studying in class and will provide you with the content (specific historical evidence) for answering that question eventually. Your outline should be no more than one page.
Section Two
The narrower section that is on the left in Cornell notes will be on the right in a Cornoutline. However, instead of writing questions in this space, you will use the review/comment function in MS Word to keep a running commentary of how the content of your outline helps you to answer the question on which you are focusing. You should write no fewer than three comments and no more than five in this section.
How do I create the comment in Word?
Creating the comments is pretty easy. You just highlight the text that is relevant in your notes, click "Review" at the top of the screen, and then click "New" in the upper left corner of your screen. Now you have a comment bubble in which to put your analysis of the content in your outline in relation to the question.
Section Three
The final section in which you normally summarize the notes will be used differently in a Cornoutline. Instead, you will write a well crafted one paragraph response to the focus question using your notes in this space. Whereas in Cornell notes you have a summary at the end of each page, in a Cornoutline you have just one "summary" at the very end, your paragraph. Your paragraph should be no longer than half a page.