<p>Have you seen your grades increase/decrease from the usage of SparkNotes? State your opinion on SN and experiences with it.</p>
<p>I usually just read the book and then go to SparkNotes if I am confused about something. I find that it is helpful for this reason, though I wish they would put more books online.</p>
<p>bump, and for the rest of you guys, i want to know if using it when in desperate times is helpful? what i mean by that is when “you didnt read the book and the essay is due tomorrow” sort of scenario :P</p>
<p>lawl i used sparknotes when i was in hs, but only to clarify things i wasn’t sure about. like the main themes of chapters etc. i wouldn’t recommend using it if you didn’t read the book at all, because the summaries sometimes leave out important details</p>
<p>^^Haha, I’ve never done that before, but something is better than nothing:) Regardless though, I agree with the other posters, I wouldn’t recommend it be used for that purpose.</p>
<p>I use SparkNotes when I’m confused by something, but never in place of reading it.</p>
<p>most of the books i was assigned i used spark notes in place of it. Did fine.</p>
<p>ilikeUW- That’s how I got through my junior year and aced every test/papers we had to write on the books we read. But I used more sources that just Sparknotes to find me examples to use in my essays. :)</p>
<p>I didn’t read about half my books for junior and senior year lol and I took AP both years lol… Whenever we started a book I’d say to myself, I’m gonna read this one completely! but then I end up reading maybe a third of it and then sparknoting everything else for my essays lol. I did fine, A average both years and got 4’s on my ap tests :P</p>
<p>However, I end up writing better essays and in class discussions if I read the book. So I still would suggest reading the book and not relying solely on sparknotes lol</p>
<p>Sparknotes is great…if they have the book you are reading.</p>
<p>I can read pretty quickly (especially if it’s just fiction), so I just read whatever I was assigned. Aced every test to do with English, 5 on the Lang exam with almost no prep.</p>
<p>I’ll read the actual novel, but read the whole Sparknotes book online the night before a test.</p>
<p>I also used their SAT 2 practice tests for Math 2, USH, and Chemistry (all of which were extremely helpful).</p>
<p>does it help? yes. do you see an increase/decrease in grades? hmm. i haven’t noticed.
but generally i think its better not to use sparknotes in the long run. reading books without the help of guides is a better way to comprehend them too.</p>
<p>It depends. This summer, I had to go back and write notes for a book I had read 2 months before, so I used spark notes to help me remember a few points. I didn’t finish one book, not because of lack of time (I can read a novel of its size in as few as 3 hours) but because I hated it and I hate the entire genre of which it is a part, with few exceptions, so I spark noted the second half of the book. Jsyk, the third, and probably most difficult book I had to read I did sans Sparknotes.
I don’t think I usually use it during the school year. If I don’t read a book, it’s because I hate it too much for me to read Sparknotes. I think this has only happened with the Red Badge of Courage. I hated that book, as did everyone I know.</p>
<p>Sometimes I like to look up books I’ve read for pleasure on there, just for funsies, to see what they say about them. It can be interesting.</p>
<p>^ I shudder at the though of the Red Badge of Courage! :/</p>
<p>Sparknotes is VERY helpful. When reading Shakespeare, I’d read the Sparknotes version online. I’d then come in the next day understanding everything and answering whatever question my English teacher threw out.</p>
<p>I don’t see my grade necessarily increase, but say I manage a 70 or 80 on a quiz. If I read the book I get around a 90 (but often I don’t have time), and if I don’t read at all or use SparkNotes I get a 40 or 50. So it’s a decent substitute and time saver.</p>
<p>I use it for standardized test prep.</p>
<p>I read the actual novel and uses SparkNotes for some quick outlines on themes or if I am confused by a point the book made.</p>
<p>Sometimes, especially when you’re stuck w/ terrible English teachers (I’m talking about ones who don’t teach and expect you to cram in everything in matters of days, period). Mainly that has happened in middle school.</p>
<p>I just use as a quick refresher or sometimes to study off it when I don’t want to re-read the entire book (for literary tests w/ those objective questions about the plot).</p>
<p>I wouldn’t ever substitute it for the book itself - kinda have to give the literature a chance and not be so narrow-minded and dismissive</p>
<p>*** reminds of the time when my middle school teacher gave us a those quizzes from sparknotes an as actual test = idiot</p>