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how to use a study guide

How Students, Teachers, and Book Clubs Can Make the Most of Study Guides

As the name implies, study guides are a great tool for students—but they’re also invaluable teaching devices, book club refreshers, cheat sheets for parents and tutors supporting a student’s learning, and wit-sharpeners for casual readers.

SuperSummary creates literary study guides designed to help all of these audiences develop a deeper understanding of their favorite (or, let’s be honest, least favorite) texts and build invaluable study skills along the way. Even the trickiest assigned reading feels approachable with such a resource at your side. When used the right way, our guides can help you ace your next exam or essay, teach your class like a tenured professor, or lead book club conversations with a cool head.  

You can use them however you please, but if you need a little direction, we’ve created this how-to to help you. 

Benefits of Using a Study Guide

If you’re looking for measurable benefits, like better grades or hours saved, it’s true that study guides provide them. (In fact, 96% of students said our resources helped them get a higher grade, and 97% of teachers said these resources saved them time.)

But many of the benefits aren’t so quantifiable. They also: 

  • Help you understand the information. From As I Lay Dying to Moby Dick, some books are just hard to untangle, but study guides can help you with reading comprehension and identify important literary elements. Even texts you thought you already understood take on new meaning with the help of SuperSummary. 
  • Help you retain the information long-term. Repetition is the greatest tool we have in our memory toolbox. If you need to retain information about a text—say, for a test—it’s a lot more feasible to revisit a guide than an entire source. Doing so will carve a semi-permanent place in your brain for the material you need to know. 
  • Reduce the sheer amount of information you need to learn. War and Peace is over a thousand pages long, but our study guide is just 88 pages. While reading a guide can’t replace reading the full text, it can distill the important information and make it easily accessible, and therefore easily learnable. 
  • Inspire quality discussion in the classroom or book club. We’ve all experienced crickets in the classroom, but study guides can help both students and teachers avoid those awkward, lengthy pauses. If you’re a teacher or book club member, our essay and discussion topics can serve as a launching pad for interesting conversation. Plus, reading the guide will provide insight into literary devices you can bring up to enrich the group’s understanding of the text. If you’re a student, you’ll be able to answer your teacher’s questions and engage thoughtfully in conversation with your classmates.  
  • Help you build confidence. No, study guides won’t help you get to class on time, but they will make you more confident around the content of a work. In fact, 99% of book club readers said our resources made them more confident when discussing the text. With a deeper understanding of the work’s plot, symbols, themes, characters, and context, you’ll feel ready to take the classroom or book club by storm. 

What’s In a SuperSummary Study Guide? 

Our guides are packed with comprehensive summary and rich analysis to help you make the most of any text, whether you’re a teacher, student, parent, book club member, or casual reader. They include: 

  • A detailed Plot Summary presents the entire scope of the text at a glance to establish an understanding of the plot. 
  • Chapter Summaries and Analyses review the literary work section by section, then provide analysis of why that section matters within the trajectory of the plot and its literary elements. 
  • Character Analysis investigates the arcs of major characters and how their storyline influences and impacts the work as a whole. 
  • Analysis of Themes, Motifs, and Symbols clearly identifies important literary elements in the text and traces their development throughout the work and why it matters. 
  • Discussion of Literary Devices establishes both the definition of the device and how it was deployed effectively in the work. 
  • Contextual Analysis provides the reader with a broader understanding of the text in relation to the author’s experience or the time in which it was written. 
  • Important Quotes with explanations relate these big ideas from the overarching narrative back to the text and provide clear context for how different literary elements interact in the work. 
  • Essay Topics provide prompts for teachers, spur thinking in students, and push discussion forward in book clubs. 
  • Further Reading and Analysis inspires readers to think more broadly about the text and the role it plays in literature and culture.  

Study Guide Uses for Students 

Study guides are for studying, of course, but as a student, there are many different ways to make the most of these handy tools. You can use the it to: 

  • Prepare for class discussion. Once you’ve read the work, review your guide for interesting analyses or literary devices to raise in class. 
  • Gather ideas for an analytical essay. It will identify important elements of the text, from character developments to themes, that might spur your own inspiration when identifying potential thesis topics. 
  • Outline your book report or paper. This resource isn’t just an inspiration engine, it can also refresh your memory on elements of the text that could fit into your essay (the Important Quotes section is particularly helpful!). 
  • And, of course, prepare for a test. As you prepare for a test, it can both refresh your memory of the plot line and spur analytical thinking that could be invaluable in the classroom.

How to Use a Study Guide as a Student 

It would be nice if you could just lay your study guide under your pillow and absorb all the information inside, but alas, making the most of a these resources does require a little more effort. Instead, we’d suggest the following: 

Step 1: Read the Source

While some might argue that study guides could replace reading the source text in a pinch, we wouldn’t suggest it. There are nuances, such as tone, dialogue, and syntax, that just can’t be captured outside of the original text. Instead, you should read the source carefully and use the other resources to supplement your reading. 

Think of your study guide like a map. If you’re going for a hike, a map can be a really valuable tool for making the most of it. But without the hike itself, the map won’t deliver much of an experience. Similarly, the study guide can be your map when analyzing a text—but without reading the text itself, you won’t get as much from the additional resources. 

Step 2: Read the Chapter Summaries and Analyses Alongside the Source

As you get to the end of each section, it’s best practice to pause and digest the material you just covered. There are many tactics you can take to do so—such as writing a summary of the chapters or taking notes about the content as you read—but using a guide is particularly helpful. 

With it, you’ll review the text’s important plot points and/or ideas, which helps them stick in your mind. And the guide will cover all of the notable symbols, themes, characters, and motifs within those chapters—many of which you might have missed. By identifying these important literary devices in the previous chapters, you’ll be able to note them in the following chapters, therefore building a more comprehensive perception of the work as a whole. 

Step 3: After Reading the Book, Refresh Your Understanding of the Material

To avoid any spoilers, we wouldn’t suggest reading the guide in full before you finish the text (although some readers like to visit the Essay Topics section before reading in order to raise their awareness of key literary elements before reading). 

Reading a study guide after you finish the text will help you build a birds-eye view of the text as a whole. You’ll develop a better understanding of characters’ roles within the larger narrative, the interplay of symbols, and the context behind the story’s motifs. 

Reviewing it will also serve as a refresher on the content that might have already slipped your mind. The Important Quotes section, for example, will bring you back to key passages and remind you why they mattered. 

Step 4: Note Any Sections of the Study Guide That Stood Out to You

The study guide is rife with inspiration. By marking key passages that caught your attention, you can revisit them and build your own ideas and arguments off of their foundation. 

Some examples of passages you might want to mark include: 

  • Ideas you could turn into an essay
  • Important quotes you missed when you read the work
  • Discussion points you’d like to bring up in class
  • Ideas that you don’t understand and could ask your teacher about
  • Material that might show up on the test 

Step 5: Revisit the Guide as You Prepare for Your Assignment

Whether you have a test tomorrow or an essay due next month, your study guide can help you prepare. Some strategies you could use include: 

  • Use it to write your own study guide (more on that below!)
  • Review it the day before a test
  • Use it to identify essay ideas or strengthen your argument 
  • Review it before class discussion
  • Bring it to class to help you join the discussion with well-formed arguments

How to Make a Study Guide for a Test Using SuperSummary 

While our guides are top-notch, a popular—and effective—study tactic is to write your own study guide. This allows you to organize information in a way that makes the most sense to you, and the act of writing itself is a helpful exercise. 

To make your own study guide using SuperSummary, you should: 

  • Read our resource in full 
  • Note any important elements of the plot, as well as key ideas and literary devices
  • Rewrite those plot points, ideas, etcetera in your own words
  • Use the resource you create your own practice test
  • Ace the exam! 

Study Guide Uses for Teachers

Our content a great resource for teachers as you prepare for class, creating and grading assignments, and testing. Many of our guides, like this one for Romeo & Juliet, even include auxiliary teaching materials. 

Study guides can be used as supplemental teacher materials or as a primary basis for literature study in order to help teachers: 

  • Lesson plan. Connections to the work’s primary themes are noted throughout, building a comprehensive view of the text so that you can adapt it to your lesson plans. 
  • Engage students with the text. Before beginning the assignment, use the guide to prepare students with pre-reading questions and warm-up prompts.
  • Promote analysis. As you progress through the text, use the analysis or essay topics to inspire students with free-writing or discussion. 
  • Build worksheets. Analysis of key literary elements, including characters, themes, symbols, and plot, help you think critically about the text so you can translate that thinking into assignments for your students. 
  • Assess knowledge and comprehension. Whether you utilize the provided quizzes or essay topics, or use the analysis to inspire your own question, the guide can serve as a great foundation for quizzes and tests.  
  • Cultivate a deeper understanding and enjoyment of literature. With activities for all learning types, including optional character, theme, and other worksheets, our guides are adaptive tools to help teachers engage with all of their students.

How to Use a Study Guide as a Teacher 

As you prepare your lesson plan for a literary work, it can be helpful to have a structured template for understanding all of the material. Enter: the study guide. Here’s how we’d suggest making the most of it in the classroom. 

Step 1: Read the Book

You probably already know that there’s no substitute for reading the text itself. There are details—including important literary devices you’ll want to share with your students—that you’ll completely miss if you don’t read the text. That said, if you’re planning a lesson on a text you teach year after year, the guide can serve as a helpful refresher between readings. But we still wouldn’t recommend going more than one school year without reading the text (again, the details matter!). 

Step 2: Use the Guide to Supplement Your Reading

As a teacher, you probably know how helpful it is to pause at certain points while reading to review the material you just covered. Using a study guide can make these check-ins even more valuable. 

As you wrap up reading each section, switch gears and review the corresponding chapter summary and analysis. Doing so will highlight important plot points or ideas from the section that you need to remember. Plus, reviewing the important themes and symbols mid-read will help you identify them as they appear in the rest of the text, meaning you’ll develop a richer understanding of the work as a whole.

As you read the text, inspiration will strike. Be sure to keep a pen and paper or note-taking app at the ready so you can jot down discussion points or test questions you could ask your students, as well as any other ideas you might have. 

Step 3: Read the Full Guide After Finishing the Work

Once you finish the text, turn your attention to the study guide. By reading the book, you’ve already established a foundational understanding of it—the plot, characters, and even some symbols and themes. But reading the study guide takes that basic understanding and makes it richly multidimensional. 

Each section of the resource will serve its own purpose in deepening your understanding of the text: 

  • The summary will serve as a refresh on the important plot points
  • The analysis sections, especially themes, symbols, and motifs, can serve as foundation for helping your class understand the larger scope of the work 
  • Important quotes will help you pull out important sections of the text to present to your students
  • Essay topics can serve as prompts for writing assignments or even class discussions. 

As you read it, highlight the ideas and arguments that feel most significant or relevant to you, especially anything that might connect to other texts on the syllabus. 

Step 4: Use the Study Guide in the Classroom

Leading discussion is both one of the most productive and one of the most difficult teaching methods. Talking about the text helps students develop their understanding of it, as well as their critical thinking and debate skills. But actually getting them to start talking can be a challenge.

When you bring your guide into the classroom, you have a whole list of curated essay topics you can use to launch conversations. The other sections can be helpful too: 

  • Use the Character Analysis to discuss character arcs and motives.
  • Utilize the Literary Devices section to teach larger lessons about these elements.
  • Similarly, the Symbols, Motifs, and Themes sections can prompt deeper analysis on the part of your students when you ask a question or point them out in the text.
  • Use the Important Quotes to return class discussion to the text.   

Step 5: Revisit the Study Guide When Preparing or Grading Assignments

When it comes time to craft your exam or grade an essay, it can feel difficult to think of new ideas or even remember the details of the text. It can even act as a rubric. 

Use it to: 

  • Refresh your memory of the text
  • Brainstorm test questions
  • Help students identify essay topics
  • Validate a student’s idea or answer 

Study Guide Uses for Book Clubs

Just because it’s called a “study guide” doesn’t mean it’s only useful in the classroom. These are great tools for casual readers and book club members, too, prompting analytical and critical thinking about a text that makes you a stronger reader (and thinker). 

When preparing for book club, use this resource to: 

  • Refresh your memory of the text. If you’re a quick reader who finished the book weeks before book club, or a slower reader who can’t quite remember the beginning of the book, it serves as a quick refresh before you meet. 
  • Deepen your understanding of the book. If there were concepts you couldn’t quite grasp or plot points that seemed out of place, it can clear up any confusion. 
  • Prompt discussion. The essay topics at the end of our guides make great discussions questions! You can also mark interesting ideas throughout to bring up with your fellow book clubbers. 

How to Use a Study Guide for Book Club

If you’re a member of a book club (or even if you’re just reading a text for fun), using a guide can deepen your understanding of the text and give you the tools to share your ideas with others. 

To prepare for book club, we’d suggest: 

Step 1: Read the Book

The hardest part of book club is also the reason for book club. But you can’t really understand, or engage in conversation about, the work without reading it. 

Step 2: Read the Chapter Summaries As You Go

You won’t want to read the guide in full before you’ve finished the book (no spoilers, please!), but you could supplement your reading with the chapter summaries and analysis. The chapter summaries are broken into sensical chunks. As you get to the end of each section or chapter, read the corresponding chapter summary and analysis. 

Doing so will highlight key plot points and deepen your understanding of what you’ve read by pointing out important themes and symbols. You can then apply this newfound knowledge to the rest of your reading. 

Step 3: After Finishing the Book, Finish the Study Guide

Now you can read the full guide. By doing so, you’ll develop an even deeper understanding of the work, its literary devices, and the author’s intentions. As you read it, be sure to mark any passages or ideas that stick out to you. These can serve as great fodder for conversation during book club. 

Step 4: Bring the Study Guide to Book Club 

Your guide is your cheat sheet for a successful book club. Here’s how you can use it: 

  • Bring up any question you had about ideas presented in the resource
  • Use the essay topics for discussion
  • Talk about any symbols or themes you found interesting
  • If there’s anything you disagree with, ask your fellow book clubbers for their thoughts 

Step 5: Return to SuperSummary for Your Next Book Club Pick

Sure, they’re helpful in the moment, but our large library of guides can also help you pick your next read. Check out our Collections to find other works like your last read or something totally different. If you find a work you’re interested in, you know there will be a corresponding guide to help you make the most of it. 

Our collections include: 

  • Celebrity book club picks. If your club’s preferences align with a celebrity’s, these collections can help you identify books you’ll all like.
  • Best sellers and award winners, so you can keep up with trends in the book world. 
  • Genre categories, so you can deepen your understanding about a genre, author, or kind of text. 
  • Collections by themes and topics if you want to explore a new subject or align with holidays or awareness months. 
  • Curriculum, which is helpful for both teachers or parents organizing book clubs for their children. 

Using SuperSummary to Supplement Your Reading

No matter your role, SuperSummary can be your go-to resource for better understanding the texts you read. In addition to our expansive library of expert-written study guides, we also provide a large library of learning content to supplement every reader's experience. 

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