Cornell notes template
The Cornell layout: a narrow cue column on the left, the main note area on the right, and a summary block across the bottom.
Opens with these settings already loaded. Change anything you like, then download as PDF, PNG or SVG.
How the three areas are meant to be used
You take notes during the lecture in the large right-hand area only. Afterwards — ideally within a day — you write questions or keywords in the left cue column that the notes answer. Then you write two or three sentences in the bottom block summarising the whole page in your own words. The summary is the part most people skip and the part that does most of the work.
Why it works
The cue column turns a page of notes into a self-test: cover the right side and try to answer the cues. That is retrieval practice, which is substantially more effective for retention than re-reading. The layout is not magic in itself; it is a physical prompt to do the review step that would otherwise not happen.
Standard proportions
The conventional layout is a 2.5 inch cue column and a 2 inch summary block, which is what this template uses on Letter. The rule spacing in the note area is adjustable — tighten it if you write small and want more lines per page.
Printing it accurately
This only measures correctly if your printer doesn't rescale the page. In the print dialog set Scale: 100% — not "Fit to page" or "Shrink oversized pages". If you're not sure it worked, print the calibration page, measure the ruler on it with a real ruler, and it will tell you exactly what your printer is doing to the page.