Scared out of my mind awaiting the big test. So much going through my mind but I need to focus on the material. Did I study? Yes, but does it even matter? I didn’t seem to retain any of the information.

Luckily, though, more and more students are learning about a technique to help with this panic. Cornell Notes is extremely helpful for those few hours before the test to cram in all of the knowledge you need to remember.

There are many different ways to take notes for classes. But in high school classes, the amount of information that needs to be absorbed can be overwhelming. Cornell Notes are a structured way to take concise notes. They allow you to identify the main idea of each paragraph in your textbook and to organize vocabulary.

Some teachers do not use this style of note-taking because of its lack of popularity, and reasons vary why students may or may not want to use Cornell Notes, but those who do try the technique seem to like it.

Dunbar graduate Izzy Brubeck has learned that Cornell Notes are highly useful in college as well as high school.

“In my college orientation class we are about to have a quiz over note-taking since so many people do not understand how to take notes during class,” she said. “Because of my amazing former English teacher I’m going to get a 100.”

Senior Morgan Quick also said Cornell style notes are productive.

“One specific benefit that I see from Cornell Notes is that the vocabulary is clearly sectioned off, and it visually pops out at you,” said Quick. “Otherwise, you would have to search through your notes in order to remember the key ideas.”

In the study “Increasing Achievement Scores with the Use of Cornell Note Technique Style” conducted by Heritage College, it was proven that Cornell notes provided an exponential growth in student testing scores.

English teacher Ms. Kari Long wasn’t surprised by the results.

“[Cornell notes] teach students to be responsible for their own learning instead of guiding them with notes, where they can take information in a mindless way,” she said.

Quick agrees.

“I see the benefits of Cornell Notes because of the way they organize all the information that you take in while you read,” she said.