2 Column Notes Template – Main Ideas and Details

All 11 sheets

With headings 5

2 column notes template with a summary line Main ideas and Details over 18 ruled lines, with a Summary line across the foot of the page.
2 column notes template, Main ideas and Details A narrow column headed Main ideas beside a wide column headed Details, 20 ruled lines, with Name, Date and Topic lines at the top.
2 column notes, blank headings The same two columns with both heading boxes empty, for headings of your own. 14 lines.
2 column notes, Key terms and Definitions A new word on the left and what it means on the right, on 12 taller lines.
2 column notes, Questions and Notes Notes go in the wide column during the lesson. Afterward, write a question or a key word beside each note in the narrow column, to review from. 16 lines.

Open columns and half sheets 2

2 column notes, 2 half sheets Two short note pages side by side with a cut line, each with Name and Topic lines and 10 ruled lines. A half sheet fits an interactive notebook.
2 column notes, open columns with no lines Main ideas and Details over two open columns with no ruled lines, for sketches, bullet lists and diagrams.

Show all 11 sheets (4 more)

Ruled paper, no headings 3

2 column notes paper, college ruled Ruled paper with no headings: lines 9/32 inch apart, a Name and Date line, and one line down the page a third of the way across.
2 column notes paper, college ruled, summary block College ruled, with the column line stopping above the last six lines: a block the full width of the page for a summary.
2 column notes paper, wide ruled The same page with lines 11/32 inch apart, for larger handwriting.

Filled-in sample 1

2 column notes, filled-in sample: parts of a plant Sample. Four main ideas, Roots, Stem, Leaves and Flowers, each with two details beside it, to show how one idea on the left takes several lines on the right.

How this list was compiled: Laid out in-house on October 9, 2026. Checked that day against Wikipedia: the plant facts on the sample at its Root, Plant stem, Leaf and Flower articles, the two-column layout at its Cornell Notes article, and the college and wide ruled spacings at its Ruled paper article. Licence: own work

How it works

This 2 column notes template prints on one page, Letter or A4, with 20 ruled lines. Type on it first, or print it empty. Other headings, half sheets and ruled note paper are in the Sheet menu.

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How to take two-column notes

Write each main idea, name or date in the left column. Beside it on the right, write what you learn about it, one fact, example or step a line. Start the next main idea on the next free line.

Other headings

The Sheet menu has the same page headed Questions and Notes, or Key terms and Definitions, or with both heading boxes empty. Any heading can be typed over: Claim and Evidence, Problem and Steps.

Ruled paper with no headings

Three sheets are plain note paper, college or wide ruled, with one line down the page a third of the way across.

Leave a blank line after each main idea, so a detail can be added later.
To review, read a main idea, say its details from memory, then check the right column.

Questions and answers

What are two-column notes?

Notes on a page split into a narrow left column and a wide right column, about twice as wide. Main ideas, key words or questions go on the left, and the notes that belong to each go beside it on the right.

Do two-column notes need a summary?

Not always. One well-known two-column method, Cornell notes, leaves five to seven lines open at the foot of the page. Two sheets here keep that room: one has a Summary line and one has a block six lines deep.

What subjects are two-column notes good for?

Any lesson with ideas and the facts behind them: a science chapter, a history lecture, a video, a novel. In math, put the problem on the left and the worked steps on the right.

What is an example of two-column notes?

The sample at the end of the Sheet menu is a page on the parts of a plant: Roots, Stem, Leaves and Flowers on the left, each with two details on the right.