# OK, so what about Cliff's notes?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [July 13, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285 "2005-07-13T02:46:39Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 2

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**Author:** ![nivlac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/3bc359/32.png) [@nivlac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nivlac)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 4:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285/21 "2005-07-14T04:45:17Z")

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I don’t see anything wrong with Cliffs Notes. Of course I’d do the assigned reading, but I also read other sources especially critiques. Cliffs Notes are just part of the package and are sometimes useful for really tough reads. Another publication that proved useful when I was in school was the Schaum’s Outline series. Got me through some challenging math classes.

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**Author:** ![Anne\_Neville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Anne\_Neville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anne_Neville)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285/22 "2005-07-14T15:54:12Z")

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> [@Burnt Sugar](#):
>
> _Great Expectations_. I didn’t like the book at all. I got through a few chapters, but it was annoying me. Why a whole paragraph just to describe opening a door?

[Dickens was supposedly paid by the word](http://www.booksbycharlesdickens.com/) when he was writing it as a serial novel.

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**Author:** ![Burnt\_Sugar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ee59a6/32.png) [@Burnt\_Sugar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Burnt_Sugar)\
**Post date:** [July 14, 2005, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285/23 "2005-07-14T23:54:02Z")

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> [@Anne Neville](#):
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> [Dickens was supposedly paid by the word](http://www.booksbycharlesdickens.com/) when he was writing it as a serial novel.

Ahhh. Well, that explains it.

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**Author:** ![monica](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a183cd/32.png) [@monica](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monica)\
**Post date:** [July 15, 2005, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ok-so-what-about-cliffs-notes/312285/24 "2005-07-15T00:06:57Z")

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> [@Anne Neville](#):
>
> [Dickens was supposedly paid by the word](http://www.booksbycharlesdickens.com/) when he was writing it as a serial novel.

Interesting. I’d heard that too, but my English teacher last year flat-out denied it, and I have _never_ found him to be wrong. Of course, there’s a first time for everything.

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