Free Printable Cornell Notes Templates

About these cornell notes templates handouts

Cornell notes split a page into three parts: a narrow cue column on the left, a wide notes area on the right, and a summary strip across the bottom. Students record during the lesson in the wide column, then add questions and key terms in the cue column afterward, and finish with a short summary in their own words. Cornell education professor Walter Pauk developed the system, and it reached a national audience through his 1962 book How to Study in College.

These pages follow the usual proportions: the cue column is about 2.5 inches wide against about 6 inches for the notes, scaled to fit an 8.5 by 11 inch sheet with printer-safe margins. The standard page has colored header strips and dotted guide lines. The lined page carries ruled lines through every section for students who like a rule to write on, and the grid page uses quarter-inch squares for equations, graphs and diagrams.

The blank frame draws only the three-part layout and leaves everything else open, which is useful when you want students to design their own cues or when you want to add your own prompts before copying. Every page has name, date, class and topic lines, and all four can be filled in on screen before printing.

How to use them

1. Pick the version: standard for most classes, lined for note-heavy subjects, grid for math and science, blank for custom use.
2. Type the class and topic into the fill-in boxes if you want them printed for the whole class.
3. Print one per student per lesson, or save a PDF and let students print their own.
4. Model the three steps once: record notes on the right, write questions on the left after class, then summarize at the bottom.
5. Have students cover the notes column and quiz themselves from the cue column the next day.

Classroom tips

• Teach the cue column last. Many students write cues during the lesson, which defeats the purpose of reviewing afterward.
• Limit the summary to two or three sentences so students have to decide what matters most.
• On the grid version, ask students to draw a diagram or work an example in the notes area, then write a cue question that asks about it.
• Collect the pages at the end of a unit and use the cue column questions as the basis for a review game or quiz.

Notes on this page

• Layout follows the Cornell system's 2.5-inch cue column and 6-inch notes proportions, scaled to fit margins.

Where the facts come from

• Cornellians (Cornell Alumni Magazine): Walter Pauk created the system at Cornell; popularized by How to Study in College (1962)
• University of Cincinnati Learning Commons: Page layout: 2.5-inch cue column, 6-inch notes column, summary section

Last reviewed 2026-10-03. Handout Hero designs are original and made for this site. They are general reference material; check your own school, district or tradition where it matters.