What is the Difference Between Note Taking and Note Making

The main difference between note taking and note making is that note-taking is a faster process than note-making and most frequently involves someone else’s language, while note-making is a relatively slow process and involves more of our own language.

In note-taking, there is a good possibility of poorly comprehending and easily forgetting the content as it highly uses the language of the original author. In contrast, in note-making, the content is relatively easier to grasp and memorize as the process mainly involves our own language.

Key Areas Covered

1. What is Note Taking  
     – Definition, Features 
2. What is Note Making
     – Definition, Features 
3. Similarities Between Note Taking and Note Making
     – Outline of Common Features
4. Difference Between Note Taking and Note Making
     – Comparison of Key Differences

Key Terms

Note Taking, Note Making

What is Note Taking

Note-taking refers to the process of writing down or recording the main key points of information. This is a significant practice in any research process. For instance, if you are a student, you might be taking down discussion notes or lecture notes, which might serve you as a study aid later. Just imagine how useful the process of note-taking is to you if you are an interviewer who is conducting an interview with a celebrity in order to gather necessary information for a journal article or a book to be published.   

In note-taking, it is possible to see different note-taking practices. Outlining is one of the most frequently used note-taking methods, where the note taker quickly grabs the main points and creates a piece of content in bullet points. Guided notes are another note-taking method where the teacher provides the required templates for the students to take their individual notes. Cornell notes is another common note-taking method where we divide the page into three main sections: notes, cues, and summary.

However, compared to note making, the main issue in note-taking is that note-taking usually happens while we are listening, and the objective is to grab the key points quickly and note them down as we hear them in order to refer back to them later. We often use the original author’s language as it’s easier. But this can result in poor comprehension of the notes when we refer back to them later, and it is possible that we might easily forget the content.

What is Note Making

Note-making involves the process of reviewing, combining, and synthesizing ideas you hear or read. In contrast to note-taking, note-making is a relatively slow process that involves more of our own language rather than someone else’s language. Consequently, the content produced in note-making is easier to comprehend and remember.

When we are note-making while reading, we deliberately structure a personal version of what we read. This allows us to remember the information better as it is actively created from our own minds. Therefore, taking time and making enough effort to reword and build the content we are reading allows the information to be absorbed into our long-term memory.

There are three main principles common to any note-making process: rephrasing the original idea, connecting the ideas, and building upon ideas. Keep in your mind that while you are making notes, you should actively engage with them, revisit them, and revise them.

Similarities Between Note Taking and Note Making

• Note-taking and note-making are writing processes that most frequently help us in our studies.
• Both note-taking and note-making can be done with content that we hear.
• These processes demand active listening and engagement during listening, reading, or revision.

Difference Between Note Taking and Note Making

Definition

Note-taking refers to the process of writing down or recording the key points of information, while note-making refers to the process of reviewing, combining, and synthesizing ideas you hear or read.

Nature

Note-taking usually happens while we are listening, but we usually make notes while reading.

Speed

Moreover, note-taking is faster than note-making.

Language

In addition, note-taking involves more of the original speaker’s language, while note-taking often involves our own language.

Issues Related

Compared to notes we make, the information we note down is easily forgotten.

Conclusion

The main difference between note taking and note making is that note-taking is a faster process than note-making and most frequently involves someone else’s language, while note-making is a relatively slow process and involves more of our own language. Therefore, notes we make are often easier to understand and remember than notes we take down while listening to someone.

Reference:

1. “Note Making.” Library – University of Leeds.
2. Nordquist, Richard. “Note-Taking Definition and Observations by Writers.” ThoughtCo, 11 Sept. 2019.

Image Courtesy:

1. “Note-taking: Linear” By Matt Cornock (CC BY-NC 2.0) via Flickr
2. “Notebook, organizer, notepad, calendar, writing, notes, Woman, grey, sweater, taking” (CC0) via Pxfuel