CliffsNotes is a company that has been publishing study guides since 1958. These study guides are available in pamphlet or online format. Cliff Notes is a common misspelling of the study guides. Some critics of study guides believe that they encourage students to avoid reading the actual literary work in favor of relying on the study guide for all of their information.
Cliff Hillegass, a man from Rising City, Nebraska, founded the CliffsNotes company. Hillegass has had a passion for literature since he was a child, and his passion for reading has led him to a career assisting students in gaining a better understanding of literature. Hillegass worked full-time as a college bookstore representative for Long’s College Bookstore while a graduate student at the University of Nebraska.
He made important contacts while working there, which he would later use to his advantage. Hillegass was encouraged to start his company Cliffs Notes by a contact in Toronto named Jack Cole. Coles, The Book People was owned by Cole. Cole’s Notes study guides were created by a Canadian company. Cole told Hillegass that American students might also be interested in buying study guides.
Hillegass started CliffsNotes in August 1958 in response to this suggestion. The company began by publishing 16 study guides based on Shakespeare’s works. The guides were created to assist students in comprehending the literature they were required to read in school. The distinctive yellow-and-black study guides quickly gained a global following.
Students should use the study guides in one of two ways, according to the company. Reading the assigned chapter of the book or act of the play is the first method. Following that, students should read the CliffsNotes section that corresponds to the chapter or act. Students may choose to read the entire book or play first, then consult the CliffsNotes for clarification.
CliffsNotes provide information about the literary work’s author, chapter summaries, character insight, social and historical context in which the work was written, a glossary of terms, and a bibliography to assist students in learning more about the literary work. CliffsNotes study guides are now available for non-literary subjects. CliffsNotes on topics like algebra, basic mathematics, science, history, foreign languages, writing, test preparation, and other academic subjects are available to students. Students can download and use free study guides from the website to improve their knowledge of a specific school subject.