CliffsNotes (often, incorrectly, CliffNotes) are a series of student study guides available primarily in the United States. The guides present and explain literary and other works in pamphlet form or online. Endorsors say the guides help readers understand complex works, while detractors say they let students avoid even reading them.

CliffsNotes was started by a Nebraska native named Clifton Hillegass in 1958. He was working in a bookstore when he met the owner of a series of Canadian study guides called Coles Notes, who suggested that Hillegass create an American version. Hillegass started with booklets covering 16 William Shakespeare titles, with the first being Hamlet; CliffsNotes now exist on hundreds of works. The term CliffsNotes has now come into modern usage, as a noun for notes of a similar nature to the original CliffsNotes books.

CliffsNotes have a reputation among students as a shortcut to studying the actual literature, some would argue to the point of cheating. CliffsNotes themselves contain a disclaimer to students about the dangers of depriving themselves of the proper education experience of solely using CliffsNotes without studying the actual literature involved. In fact the optimum method of usage for CliffsNotes would be to read a chapter or segment of the actual literature first, and then read the CliffsNotes version of that same chapter or segment, for review.

John Wiley & Sons, a publisher of scientific and technical publications, bought CliffsNotes in 2001 from IDG Books.

Other guides

In addition to guides for literature, the company produces several other series of guides, including:

• CliffsQuickReview - a quick reference for information on many scholastic subjects, such as sciences, mathematics, and history.

External links

• CliffsNotes website