Where to Begin: Some pointers

There is no correct way to make a study guide.No right or wrong or proper and improper. However, when faced with a text written by a comrade you know you want to create a guide which will help them understand the material in as concrete a way as possible. For this reason I have created this "guide to guides" to hopefully help you with some options when starting out.

1. Be thorough: Be sure to cover all the primary points which are discussed within the body of the text. Leaving out even a small concept can mean the difference between a good guide and a great guide.
2. Piecemeal: if you are faced with a longer text, such as a book or lengthy pamphlet, divide your guide into chapters or segments. Trying to mosh in a 20pg guide into a 6pg guide does nothing for no one.
3. No drifting: When writing out the questions and answers be sure that the answers to every question are found within the body of the text. It does no one any good if you give them a question which is overly ambitious and requires information found outside of the text in question. Likewise avoid questions which are much larger than the concept found within the text; meaning, if you are reading a piece on the nature of the socialist state (pro or con) than avoid writing out questions like "What was the class character of the Cuban state?" Such questions not only do not deal with the topic (the state) but drift into tendency warmongering. This is on top of the fact that the reader in question probably isn't proficient in the various nuances of Cuban structure.
4. Colors: It helps to color code your answers. Personally, when I write guides, I place my questions in italics with my answers being a shade of blue. This helps readers eyes and avoids everything becoming a single monochromatic block of writing.
5. Credit: Be sure to give credit where credit is due. If you are not creating an original guide and instead are repurposing a guide from elsewhere, be sure to give the original source (whether it is an organization or person) credit.
6. Quote: When providing answers to questions be sure to include quotes from the text at hand. This is especially important if you are creating a longer guide which has no chapter or segment breaks as such quotes can give the reader a idea of what area of the text the questions is basing itself off from. Not only this but such also shows proficiency; nothing says "I'm knowledgeable" like answering a question with direct quotes. Though strains should be taken to where every question isn't answered by direct quotes, you should have a even split between your wording and your source's wording, it is important to quote at least mildly throughout.
7. Neutrality: Keep questions original and to the spirit of the text. One shouldn't make a question which is nothing more than a cheap shot at tendency "so and so." This doesn't mean avoid making guides to controversial texts; if a text is inherently hostile towards "tendency X" than make appropriate questions so the reader will understand such content.Simply keep in mind that there is a fine line between making a guide to educate people and making a guide to tarnish another tendency; there is certainly overlap to some texts but keeping in mind what further enhances one's knowledge and what is bile is vital to creating a high quality guide.
8. Building blocks: Often times the hardest part of making a guide is knowing where to begin. This is doubly true when tackling longer pieces. I personally prefer combing through paragraph by paragraph and searching for those cornerstones which form the foundation. When you are reading at what point do you begin to see concept being introduced? This is usually when the style changes from "this is what is happening now" to "what needs to happen." At this point identify the primary idea and read forward until you have gobbled up all of the supporting paragraphs. At this point it is good to make a question and answer. Once completed move forward to the next idea block and repeat. When applying this strategy be sure each question tackles the topic at hand and is not a question devoted to a supplementary topic which the author uses to illustrate the primary point (such topics can thus, in turn, be used by you in your answer).

That is everything which comes to the forefront of my mind. Such thoughts are simply guidelines and no one has to use them, but if you want to make a guide and wonder where to begin than consider the above points.

Good advice