<p>Sparknotes is THE best, no doubt about it.</p>
<p>And it’s true that it’s detailed enough to be a substitute for the book (if you don’t enjoy the book, that is).</p>
<p>Sometimes sparknotes is too vague for those pop quizzes. Grade Saver is great for summary.</p>
<p>sparknotes rarely helps me on my quizzes because my teachers ask me for the most ridiculously small details when reading the book. but it definitely helps in essay tests and whatnot.</p>
<p>Three years of honors English and still counting!</p>
<p>Sparknotes helps me for class discussion for Elective lit. I can’t be bothered re-reading a book I’ve already read years ago until before the exam (when I need to because like yoursky our tests include ridiculous details) so I use it to go through the main events and then make leading comments and pretend I know everything in class. :)</p>
<p>Sparknotes are not allowed to be used at my school. They are considered to be cheating and an honor offense. It’s pretty much a straight ticket to the Honor Council if you’re caught. And considering that I’m on the Honor Council… I refrain from usage.</p>
<p>My eight grade Lit. teacher recommended using them to catch up if you were behind because she was a pretty understanding teacher. And she told us to use it for Shakespeare. (Which is most definitely what I did!)</p>
<p>I mentioned it as a way to review in ninth grade, and my Lit. teacher practically yelled at me.</p>
<p>My English Lit. teacher in grade 10… read sparknotes and asked questions that were not in the Summary by sparknotes… which made passing the quizzes impossibly difficult… because she chose such random details.</p>
<p>And we were specifically told and given a hand out that said anything like Sparknotes or Cliffnotes is cheating and is a specific break of the Honor Code.</p>
<p>So… I don’t think it’s really worth it.</p>
<p>Just wondering (and reviving a thread)… How do you guys pass English without reading the books?
My teacher gives us questions like finish this quote, or what was this character’s first impression of this other minor character, or what was the character wearing/his or her favorite clothing, etc. If I didn’t read and just used sparknotes, I’d fail.</p>
<p>^We usually have a couple questions like that, butthey’re mostly pretty general.</p>
<p>I prefer to, you know, actually read the book. Sparknotes is useful if you have a quiz on symbols and stuff in the book, but if you’re writing a paper, I wouldn’t suggest using it. A lot of people trust Sparknotes over their own independent thought, which I wouldn’t recommend.</p>
<p>Just to put it in perspective, I haven’t read a single book for “official” summer reading and yet passed pretty much all the test, and by passed I mean A’s. My teachers so far have been pretty good with giving us essays that ask us about themes and symbolism and stuff…all on Sparknotes!</p>
<p>How do you do on the objective portion? My teacher uses semi-broad topics for the essays and incredibly nit-picky details for the test.</p>
<p>EDIT: In-class Essay topics for me are like:
Describe differences between book x and the movie, using at least three different instances that are different and how they are carried out.
Describe how the characters in book x deviate from standard belief and prove that these kinds of people are capable of perceiving a greater truth.
Those were our two options.</p>
<p>Ah, we had 11 options, and they were kind of like if you could ask one of the characters a question, what would it be and what would the answer be? And then like compare and contrast two characters, which could easily come from Sparknote’s character analysis feature. Those were the two I picked. I don’t know, I kind of pick things up nicely when I look at Sparknotes, so the objective parts aren’t that bad. They aren’t ridiculously nitpicky.</p>
<p>Lol I hate my teacher… Sparknotes wouldn’t help much if at all =(</p>
<p>Hahaha, that’s why I love our school, the AP’s are the easiest things ever, you don’t have to try like at all.</p>
<p>My English class is an Honors class…</p>
<p>There was a “debate” in the parent’s forum about Sparknotes and academic dishonesty. Well, so be it. Why walk to work when you can take a car? Same principle really. Except I don’t usually read the books if it’s summer work. Sorry. It’s summer work. I’m not doing anything in the summer for school. Nor do I intend to do much after work when I work.</p>
<p>I like to read the summary before I get read the book then read the rest after I read the book to make sure I picked up everything. A lot of the older literature is hard to understand without having the general idea first (Shakespear, Oedipus Rex, etc).</p>
<p>spark notes is good but not great, </p>
<p>passing test by using it is like winning a basketball game by a half court shot. you passed but by luck.</p>
<p>Not if you’re just that good.</p>
<p>No… our essay topics so far this year have been (from the Sun Also Rises):</p>
<ol>
<li>Jake’s Anger: Chapter 3: AP Style Essay- 40 minutes</li>
</ol>
<p>“Jake’s anger fluctuates above and below the surface in Chapter 3. Look closely in the chapter and decide what triggers that anger. Give examples and analyze them. (hint: If you can unify the triggers somehow you will recieve credit for more depth in your essay rather than just listing unrelated triggers.)”</p>
<ol>
<li>Unraveling: Chapter 17: AP Style Essay- 40 minutes</li>
</ol>
<p>In Chapter 17, Hemmingway conveys to the reader the unraveling of different charters. Using literary terms, explain how Hemmingway does this. (Symbolism, Irony, Characterization, Setting, etc.)</p>
<p>(Not an exact quote.)</p>
<p>So based on those… I don’t think Spark Notes would be that helpful.</p>
<p>But… Yeah. Definitely a violation of the Honor Code. Because it’s lying. You’re saying “I read this book.” When you actually read a summary. You didn’t do all of the work. Someone else did it for you. So that is also cheating.</p>
<p>Yeah, right now it’s saving my ass in Literature…I hate Jane Austen.</p>
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<p>I concur. The last time I actually read a book in English was the ninth grade, but even in AP Lit I’ve gotten nothing but As.</p>