When you have to complete a task, it’s extremely important to follow instructions.
Otherwise, you may make a mistake, and that could affect your academics, professional relationships, and so on. Still, it’s easy to read the rules and miss an important aspect.
The caveats are just as relevant as every other aspect of any set of instructions.
Therefore, you should pay particular attention when you’re asked to follow a specific set of guidelines to complete a task.
Among most guidelines, parameters, and guides, you may see many instructions preceded by the term “unless otherwise noted,” so what does it mean?
What Is the Meaning of “Unless Otherwise Noted”?
When someone gives you instructions and says “unless otherwise noted,” they mean that you should follow their instructions in most cases. However, if there are any special exceptions to the rule, then these exceptions will be noted, and you will be expected to handle the noted situation differently. Managers, bosses, teachers, and other authority figures often use this phrase to clarify their meaning and avoid unnecessary questions in the future. When you see “unless otherwise noted,” you know that any exceptions to a rule or guideline will be explicitly noted and explained so that you don’t have to rely so much on your own judgment.
The Usage of “Unless Otherwise Noted”
This phrase is most useful when delivering instructions or telling somebody how to complete a task. It’s very common in professional environments, but it also wouldn’t be pretentious to use it in a more casual setting.
The majority of members of any generation or socioeconomic group will probably understand this phrase.
Most rules or guidelines have exceptions, and that is where this phrase comes in. In the next example, Chia-Fu is explaining how to handle certain international clients to a subordinate.
Sellapan: The company’s language policy suggests that we should answer calls in English, but what if I notice that a Sinophone client is calling? Should I answer in Chinese?
Chia-Fu: Unless otherwise noted, follow the company’s policy and answer phones with an English greeting. If they respond in Chinese, then you can either continue the conversation in Chinese or transfer them to our dedicated Chinese-language support staff. Any important exceptions will be outlined in the client summary document.
Sellapan: Ok. I will answer in English and determine my next course of action after the client responds.
When Sellapan had a question about proper procedure, Chia-Fu pointed to the company guidelines as an example of what to do. Unless otherwise noted, Sellapan should answer the calls in English.
However, exceptions may be “otherwise stated” in the company’s client summary document, so Sellapan should remember to look at that when answering calls.
Below, Alexi and Manu are reading an instruction manual to understand how to use their new smart TV.
Alexi: According to the instructions, we can still use this device while it updates unless otherwise noted.
Manu: That makes sense, but where would an exception be noted? I don’t want us to break our TV because we accidentally didn’t properly follow the instruction manual! I wish that they would have stated the exceptions right there. At the very least, they could have pointed us towards the relevant section.
Alexi: I know. Now, it looks like we’ll have to scour this manual closely to find the exceptions.
The above example illustrates how it’s especially important to be very clear and specific with the phrase.
This instruction manual would have been a lot easier for the duo to understand if they had given some sort of direction towards the “otherwise noted” exceptions.
If you need to include exceptions or caveats in any text, then make sure that they’re easy to find.
This phrase doesn’t always have to be used for instructions or orders. It can also be used to refer to exceptions to certain standards.
For example, an article about snow monkeys may state that all of the facts and figures within the article come from the Japanese Ministry of the Environment unless otherwise noted.
That means that they would write a note or point it out whenever they cite another source.
Variations of “Unless Otherwise Noted”
Unless otherwise stated
You will likely read or hear a few alternatives to this phrase in your day-to-day life. “Unless otherwise stated” is the most common alternative.
For example, the manager at a burger restaurant may tell a new cook that he should put ketchup on all of the burgers on the menu unless otherwise stated.
If not otherwise noted
Also, you may hear someone say “if not otherwise noted” or “except where otherwise specified” among many other variations of the same idea.
A bus attendant may say that except where otherwise specified, buses arrive in 20 minute intervals for most routes. The sentence below illustrates the use of “if not otherwise noted” in a standard course syllabus.
Other alternatives for “unless otherwise noted”
Many other slight alternatives to these phrases can be found in everyday texts, and they all basically mean the same thing and can be used in similar contexts.
In any variation of each of these phrases, you may find “noted” used interchangeably with “written” or “stated,” so “unless otherwise noted” could be read as “unless otherwise written.”
The use of “stated” is more common when referring to oral instructions, but it can still be used to refer to text.
Another expression that you will often come across in the business world is “well noted.” However, “well noted” is far from being a synonym of “unless otherwise noted.” It simply means that you acknowledged a certain message (often used in business e-mails, etc.).
Hey fellow Linguaholics! It’s me, Marcel. I am the proud owner of linguaholic.com. Languages have always been my passion and I have studied Linguistics, Computational Linguistics and Sinology at the University of Zurich. It is my utmost pleasure to share with all of you guys what I know about languages and linguistics in general.