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Make your search more efficient by following these simple guidelines.

General Search Tips

The search engine is not case-sensitive, so you can use all lowercase if you like or capitalize a word or two — it doesn't matter. Correct spelling, on the other hand, is essential because the search engine only returns exact matches of any word or name you enter. However, don't go overboard with special characters in spelling — the search engine does not recognize diacritical marks, such as accents.

The global search at the top of every page will return results from all the content on the site, including books and downloads, literature notes, subject articles, Ask Cliff articles, and so on. You can also search within specific literature notes and subject areas by using the search boxes on those pages (more on these options below).

Searching by Keyword

Enter one or more keywords into the search box with a space between each word. The search engine then lists results in which all your keywords appear somewhere in the title, author name, and/or description.

If you enter multiple words and would like to see listings that contain at least one of them, use OR. For example, if you enter "Shakespeare OR history," your search results will include all listings containing the words "Shakespeare" or "history," but not necessarily both.

Searching by Title

Enter a word or phrase from the title. For example, to find the book CliffsAP Literature and Composition, 3rd Edition, any part of the title such as "CliffsAP Literature" or "Literature and Composition" or even "3rd Edition" will work. However, the closer you get to the exact phrase, the closer to the top of your results list the title will be. "Composition Test" will not get the desired results at all.

Searching by Author

Type in the first name (if you know it) and last name of the author, with no comma between them. For example, charles dickens. This can provide more specific results than searching for dickens, charles, which will return titles whose author names contain either "charles" or "dickens."

Searching by ISBN

The ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is a 10-digit or 13-digit number that uniquely identifies a given book title. You can usually find the ISBN on the back cover of a book, above the price code. When you type an ISBN in the search box, make sure that it contains 10 or 13 characters, with no spaces or special characters except for hyphens. Hyphens are acceptable, but not required.

Searching within Literature Notes

On the table of contents page or on any page within a CliffsNote, type your search terms in the Search this CliffsNote box and click the Go button. In the search results, you will see a list of pages within that particular CliffsNotes that contain your search terms. For your convenience, you'll see the first few lines of text from each page, with your search terms highlighted. You can use the Search this CliffsNote box on the search results page to further narrow down your search.

Searching within Subject Areas

On the table of contents page for a particular subject, such as Astronomy, type your search terms in the Search box next to the table of contents and click the Go button. In the search results, you will see a list of pages within that particular subject that contain your search terms. For your convenience, you'll see the first few lines of text from each page, with your search terms highlighted. You can use the Search this Content box on the search results page to further narrow down your search.