Jonathan S. - Sparknotes

Sparknotes: Bad reputation among students and teachers caused by misuse
By Veronica Polivanaya
Published on October 20, 2008 in Volume 45, Issue 2

On a scale of legitimacy, many would place SparkNotes at the lower end of the spectrum, maybe next to Urban Dictionary. The word “SparkNotes” itself is considered taboo by many students and teachers alike, as if it were a crime against humanity rather than a mere study tool designed to help those with good intentions. The bad reputation SparkNotes has accumulated over the years stems from popular dissent and falsely-made accusations by those who simply have not given it a chance. SparkNotes is actually a clear, legitimate tool—if used the right way.

Upon hearing the term “Spark Notes,” the first word that typically comes to mind is “plagiarism.” It is commonly believed that students turn to SparkNotes simply to get out of reading assignments. Most—if not all—students have stooped to that level at least once in their lifetimes, whether it was due to lethargy or simply a lack of time. After all, spending 10 minutes reading curtailed chapters sounds like a much better alternative to pulling an all-nighter sifting through seemingly endless pages. Although it may seem like a good idea at the time, SparkNotes will get you nowhere in the long run if simply used as a replacement for the reading. It provides a sufficient amount of detail for the reader to be able to grasp the meaning of the chapter but not enough to prepare you for, say, a reading quiz. Students who pick SparkNotes over reading the book itself are simply cheating themselves out of a good education, and the blame cannot be placed solely upon SparkNotes for their misused conduct.

Because SparkNotes has been associated with other information-providing Web sites like Wikipedia, there exists a common misconception that entries can simply be provided by users and, in turn, be filled with fabrications and fraudulent chapter summaries. That cannot be farther from the truth: entries are written by top students or recent graduates who specialize in the subjects they cover. The Web site was launched in 1999 as a dating service by four Harvard students. Most of the Web site’s hits came from high school and college students, so it launched literature study guides in an attempt to galvanize users. In 2001, bookseller Barnes&Noble purchased the Web site for $3.55 million, which in turn initiated the release of printed literature guides. SparkNotes is much more legitimate than many deem it to be. For one, the entries are written by students who write based on their fields of expertise, and cannot be modified by a random user with a SparkNotes account. Secondly, the site is run by Barnes&Noble, a corporation that would not be selling the literature guides had it not classified the products as appropriate.

We are generally influenced by those around us and may cave in to peer pressure at times, whether we realize it or not. The fact that SparkNotes is frowned upon in our school community leads to a universal and unwarranted disapproval of the Web site. It’s time to brush away the misconceptions and go purchase AP practice exams for your iPod from SparkNotes—just use them wisely.

https://www1.amschool.edu.sv/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://gunn.pausd.org/oracle/web/articles/917