How to Compare Spark Notes vs. Cliffs Notes

Your teachers love to assign book after book and sometimes you just don't have time to read them all. And sometimes those classics are just too hard to understand. For a little extra help, you can try Spark Notes or Cliff Notes. Compare the two before you use them to study.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Open two Internet browser windows. Go to the Spark Notes and Cliffs Notes websites.
2. Check each section separately. Start with Literature because that tends to be the biggest section on both sites.
3. Compare the list of books. The easiest way to do this is to print both screens and cross off the books that appear on both lists.
4. Look for the books you need to read. If Spark Notes has more of the books you need, use Spark Notes as your study guide.
5. Peruse the other subjects. Both Spark Notes and Cliffs Notes have sections for History, Math and Science. Cliffs Notes tends to have a better selection for these subjects. Cliffs Notes also covers books in foreign languages.
6. Use your own judgment. You should be able to tell if Spark Notes or Cliffs Notes will work better for you.

Tips & Warnings

• Consider reading the books and using Spark Notes or Cliff Notes primarily as a study guide. You might be surprised at how much you like the books. They're classics for a reason.
• If you're looking for help with test preparation, both Cliffs Notes and Spark Notes have test prep sections.
• You can use both Cliffs Notes and Spark Notes if you're really having trouble understanding the material.