Study techniques5 min read·

Cornell Notes and Mind Maps: Note-Taking Methods That Help You Revise

Most notes are written once and never used again. These two formats are built so that your notes turn into revision tools.

The Problem With Most Notes

Copying slides or textbook paragraphs word for word feels productive but involves very little thinking. Good notes do two things: they make you process information while you write, and they are easy to test yourself on later.

Cornell Notes

Developed at Cornell University in the 1950s, this format divides each page into three parts:

  • Right column (notes) — the main notes, in your own words, during the lesson or reading.
  • Left column (cues) — after the lesson, write questions or keywords that match each part of your notes.
  • Bottom (summary) — two or three sentences summing up the page.

    • How to Revise With Them

    Cover the right column. Read each cue in the left column and answer it from memory. Then uncover and check. Your notes have become a self-test, which is active recall built into the page.

    Mind Maps

    A mind map puts the main topic in the centre of the page, with branches for subtopics and smaller branches for details. Use single keywords, colours and small drawings.

    When to Use Which

  • Cornell notes — lectures, textbooks and detailed topics with lots of facts and explanations.
  • Mind maps — seeing how a topic connects, planning essays, and summarising a whole chapter on one page.

    • Tips for Any Format

  • Write in your own words. Rephrasing forces understanding; copying does not.
  • Leave space. Gaps let you add later insights and corrections.
  • Review within 24 hours. Fill in the cue column or redraw the mind map from memory the next day.
  • Keep it findable. In myExamRoutine, attach a short note or a link to each subtopic, so the explanation that helped you is one click away when you revise.

    • Turn your syllabus into a tracker

    myExamRoutine tracks every topic of your syllabus, plans your study days and shows your weak areas. Try it free for 15 minutes.

    Build my tracker free →

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