Writing papers and book reports has long
been the bane of high school and college
students' existence. It seems that no
matter how hard you work to stay caught
up, there is always a paper due tomorrow.
Using book notes to help get the ideas
flowing can save you time, heartache,
and the stress of getting a bad grade.
There are many styles and formats available
now, but a book note typically includes
a summary of a literary work, commentary
on the subject matter and deeper meaning
of the passages, and biographical information
about the author. The best book notes
are written by qualified people (i.e.
a college degree in literature, or in
the academic area the book note is covering).
Most importantly, the book note you choose
should be easy for you to use - after
all, if the information is just as difficult
to find in the book note as it is in the
book, what's the point?
When to use Book Notes
Book notes can help you out with more
than just book reports. They provide valuable
information you can use to write a paper
about an author, philosopher, society,
or culture. Let's say you had to write
a paper about nineteenth century Russian
culture. You gather together a lot of
information about what was going on politically,
what kind of figures were popular, what
the economy was like, etc. Imagine the
authenticity you could add to your essay
by including even a small part about Leo
Tolstoy, a prominent Russian author from
the nineteenth century.
Providing information connected to a
specific person makes the essay much more
enjoyable to read, and showcases your
ability to provide breadth and depth of
research. Naturally, it is not necessary
for you to read all of Tolstoy's works
to know enough about him to include a
piece in your essay. Book notes on one
of his masterpieces will usually contain
enough information for you to apply what
you learn to your more general topic.
How to use a Book Note
The most important thing to remember
about using book notes is they are not
intended to be substitutes for reading
the real book. You will miss out on the
opportunity to read some of the greatest
works of literature if you only read their
book notes. Try reading the book note
chapter by chapter after you read that
chapter in the book. This helps confirm
the ideas you come up with on your own,
and will point out new ideas while the
reading is still fresh in your mind.
Alternatively, you could also try reading
the summary of each chapter before reading
the chapter in the book. This will help
direct your reading to find the things
that are most important in each chapter,
and will help you find new ideas that
either agree or disagree with the ideas
discussed in the book note.
When you sit down to write your paper,
having already gone over the reading and
the summary, you will have an arsenal
of ideas on which you can rely to start
writing the paper. Very rarely will you
receive an essay assignment that is answered
perfectly by the information in the book
note, so you'll have to pour some of your
own thoughts into your paper.
Where to find Book Notes
The best things in life are not always
free, but there are a lot of free resources
available now online. The three best places
I have found for book notes are SparkNotes.com,
CliffNotes.com,
and PinkMonkey.com.
They each have their own advantages and
disadvantages, so try each one out until
you find the one that works best with
your style.
This article was posted on March 01,
2005
