There are a lot of summary websites out there, but which is the best for you?

Being an English education major, I'm assigned to read a bunch of stuff. While trying to balance life, work, sleep, exercise and homework, it's a lot to juggle at once. On average I am assigned to read over 100 pages per class a week, and with the Internet at my fingertips there is a world of summaries to explore to make sure I'm on track with understanding the material. Although I believe reading what you are assigned is important, I realize that life gets in the way. So two of my favorite sources to check my understanding of my work are Thug Notes and SparkNotes.

Thug Notes is one of my more recent discoveries and it has changed my life. They are so funny that I watch these summary videos on YouTube even when I'm not assigned to read what is being summarized. Sparky Sweets, Ph. D., is the author of Thug Notes and he's really changed the game for making literature less traditional and more thug. There is a lot to gain from Thug Notes, not only does he summarize, he also gives an analysis on the videos. He also wrote a book that provides even more information than the videos. The only downfall of Thug Notes is that it is new and Sparky Sweets, Ph.D., is the only author, so his material is more limited.

SparkNotes is the Old Faithful of summaries. We can't deny that we've used SparkNotes at one point or another in our schooling careers. Some use/abuse this helpful tool and rely strictly on SparkNotes to get them through certain classes or novels, and this isn't a smart move. Though they are helpful, they should be used more as a guide rather than our primary source. SparkNotes is useful for producing paper ideas, understanding texts that are hard to comprehend like Shakespeare, and further explanation of quotes that are vital to the text. SparkNotes succeeds in providing most classic material as well as more modern young adult literature, and even historical documents such as the Bible and the Articles of Confederation.

These two resources have helped me understand the material that I am studying on a more basic level than just reading the assignments alone. I don't think that as a teacher I would restrict my students from using these resources, but I would give them warning and guidelines on how to use them properly. Choosing between SparkNotes and Thug Notes isn't something that I would want to choose between. If I'm looking for real-world and modern applications, Thug Notes would be my go-to, but if I'm looking for a watered-down version of a text, SparkNotes is my BFF.