Use of Own Words
Reading a text and making notes on it using your own words is highly recommended. It is a good sign which demonstrates that you have understood what you are reading or have read. Use of own words also shows confidence in oneself. When you use your own words, while making your own notes you free yourself from being accused of plagiarism. Plagiarism is a very serious offence in academic writing. It is defined as using the words of the original author of the text without acknowledging his or her work. In other words, it is taking another writer's exact ideas and writing them as if they are yours.
However, when you use your own words, you recast what the original author of the text has written. You in turn rephrase and capture the ideas raised in the original text and still retain the same meaning using your own words.