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Having
a hard time understanding literature
lingo?
Perhaps you'll want to grab hold of some
notes.
SparkNotes
Aspires to Assist
Book- Comprehension Barriers
By
Krista Michelle Arrigo
August/September 2002
The
CollegeBound Network NewsClick -- You may
not be an expert at translating those age-old
textbooks, but neither were several Harvard
University, Cambridge, MA, students.
For that reason alone, four seniors founded
SparkNotes (a.k.a lit-friendly study guides)
to help you interpret the classics, including
that hard-to-understand 18th century dialogue.
And you're in luck. These helpful guides
are now available at Barnes & Noble stores
nationwide, just in time for the new school
semester.
With
a mission to influence a new generation
of readers with good study habits, the Ivy
League-student creators designed SparkNotes
Study Guides to help students better understand
and enjoy great works of literature. The
guides offer concise, focused summaries
and analyses that get to the point quickly.
They offer guides on Shakespeare's works,
including the
time-honored Romeo and Juliet; philosophy
works such as Plato's Phaedo and
Henry David Thoreau's Civil Disobedience;
as well as poetry, drama, history, and economics
(thank goodness for this one!).
"We
think students can give a more accurate
take on what they really need to know,"
says Justin Kessler, a 1998 Harvard graduate
and executive editor of SparkNotes. And,
unlike their competitors, affirms Kessler,
SparkNotes are designed by the people who
use them: Students.
"SparkNotes
will quickly become the preeminent study
guide for all high school and college students,"
predicts its publisher, Dan Weiss. Hundreds
of college and high school teachers are
already recommending them for their smart
and fresh approach to literature, he says.
"They are of exceptional educational
quality," says Weiss. While SparkNotes
have already gained popularity on its official
Web site, Weiss believes they will be just
as "accepted and sold in the book world."
Based on the site, SparkNotes also offer
five helpful sections created as a direct
response to user feedback and requests,
including "Themes, Motifs, and Symbols,
Key Facts" and "Important Quotations
Explained."
In
addition to SparkNotes' educational site
and Study Guide book series, the company
is making SparkNotes Test Prep guides available
in stores this September that are specifically
geared for national college admissions test
preparation. |
