Juana!

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this is kind of new territory for me.. i never used those notes... but are not them a way to cheat? basically a person goes to school to learn... if the want to learn a condensed version does that make it like cheating?+

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Indigenous

I think you mean crib notes. Cliff Notes is a book series that contains summaries of famous literature.



Aside from that, I've never used them. With the exception of math, most school subjects came fairly easy to me.

Juana!

what are crib notes? sorry for ignorance... i meant cliff notes as books condensed..

are crib notes the ones you use for cheating on tests? jajajaja if you knew... just a couple of them... a friend of a friend told me that she knew someone named Juana (no relation....) writing on her legs for the tests .. and just lifting her shirt enough to see there... she also wrote formulas (math, algebra, calculus and trigonometry) on bubble gum sticks... if caught she just could "chew " the evidence..

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AmorMiHombre

I tried using cliff notes, well Spark Notes and i gave up...i find it more fun and easier to actually just read the damn book....and if i need help understanding something or perhaps a good idea for an essay i'll use Spark Notes. For instance, they might mention a good quote and i'll use that or i might read a great article/review and kind of borrow an idea the reviewer was talking about.

I don't think it does you good to read a condensed version. Mostly it's because i'm always scared of the professors that like to ask questions like "on page 345, on line 33 the character said this about something.....what was he talking about" and most likely it wasn't mentioned in the condensed version and you're shit out of luck.

I've never done crib notes, but i have been in a room where people will ask other people for answers or you'll take a quick glance at your notes during the test to help jog the old memory. Sometimes it's more fun when everyone's just helping each other out and all mayhem breaks loose....But i'm almost positive (99%) i've never cheated in English...

Indigenous

Oops.

Sorry, just realised I misread part of your post.

Lorill

I don't consider Cliffs Notes cheating. First of all, they can be a very long read. Also, they help you understand literary concepts much better. Also, if teachers wanted to, they could test over information that you could not find in them.

kulotsalot

unlike writing mathematic equations on your leg or on sticks of gum, cliffnotes doesn't give you answers to the teachers questions, it doesn't predict what will be discussed in class so it isn't outright cheating. it's a learning resource for busy people and for those who need a little bit more help in understanding key concepts of a certain subject. cliffnotes doesn't just give you a synopsis, it also discusses some of the "deeper layers" behind the text - maybe the social climate in the story and how it affects the characters, the author's beliefs and attitudes and how it affects his writing, etc. in a way cliffnotes can be helpful, but if you rely solely on it to learn, then you are missing out on a lot of stuff! usually teachers want us to "discover" the hows and whys of a story so that we can exercise our brain and be creative.

because i love to read i only borrowed my friends' cliffnotes once during high school (i remember we were reading shakespeare's the merchant of venice) to check if my ideas about the story were right. i was a very busy student too; i could've used my ballet career as an "excuse" to just use cliffnotes everytime, but i believe there is something about reading the original version of a book that is so much better than just reading the condensed version.

sillyrabbit

i dont consider it cheating at all.....i like amor have used spark notes instead of cliff notes...difference, paying for it or not paying for it...i think the problem is that in some books its hard to pick out the hidden meanings or to get the point the author was trying to make...

i think its rediculous how people think there is one side to a book....reading anything, i think people take away what they want from it....i think words no matter where they come from mean something different to everyone and being educated, teachers should understand that. i know thats more philosophy than literature but i think its about time people start to realize that no two people are alike, that applies to everything...

if its fact than theres only one answer, but books that are not non-fiction are simply stories, not facts....the message the author is trying to get across may be different to everyone....to think that we should all get the same message out of a story is very close-minded....we have freedoms in this country that show we are open minded, maybe its time we start acting like it in our schools....wheres the harm in letting people think for themselves?

Esco

If there's any cheating in using cliff notes, it's the fact you're cheating yourself. I don't see anything wrong with using them, though I think it would be much more benficial to yourself to not use them. In the long run you'll be better off.

To each his own.

Bergs

When President Bush had learned that the founder of Cliff's Notes had died, he exclaimed "Oh no! He was my favorite author."

BigTruck

I dont think they are cheating. Its just a reference or "giude book" like they have for any class. Definately not the same as using a crib sheet on a test.

And NEVER write cheat notes on your body!!...very bad idea

clouderold

I would say its not cheating IF you read the book and use it for the interpretations and summaries, I see reading just cliff notes as cheating.

I find them very helpful on books, especially old english literature, because they give you a better understanding and summary.