If there’s one writing skill you need to have in your toolkit for standardized tests, AP exams, and college-level writing, it’s the ability to make a persuasive argument. Effectively arguing for a position on a topic or issue isn’t just for the debate team—it’s for anyone who wants to ace the essay portion of an exam or make As in college courses.

To give you everything you need to know about how to write an argumentative essay, we’re going to answer the following questions for you:

• What is an argumentative essay?
• How should an argumentative essay be structured?
• How do I write a strong argument?
• What’s an example of a strong argumentative essay?
• What are the top takeaways for writing argumentative papers?

By the end of this article, you’ll be prepped and ready to write a great argumentative essay yourself!

Now, let’s break this down.

If you’ve tuned into the news lately, you’ve seen the checks and balances system of government at work. Whether it’s courts striking down executive orders or governors vetoing legislation, checks and balances are constantly working to keep the United States government functioning.

But what are checks and balances, exactly? And how do they help make democracy work?

Although it’s important for everyone to understand the checks and balances system, it’s especially critical for you to understand if you’re taking a government course. Additionally, since a system of checks and balances plays an essential role in the U.S. federal government, the concept will also be a heavy contender for an AP exam free response question.

That’s a lot to cover, huh? Not to worry, though! By the end of this guide, you’ll have all the information you need to

• Answer the question, “What are checks and balances?”
• Write your own checks and balances definition
• Identify pros and cons of a checks and balances government
• Explain various checks and balances examples
• Analyze real-life examples of checks and balances

Let’s get going!

The AP Literature exam is designed to test your ability to analyze literature. That means you'll have to know how to use analytical tools, like literary elements, to uncover the meaning of a text.

Because literary elements are present in every piece of literature (really!), they're a good place to start when it comes to developing your analytical toolbox. In this article, we'll give you the literary element definition, explain how a literary element is different from a literary device, and look at the top nine literary elements you need to know before taking the AP Literature exam.

So let's get started!

Understanding how the United States government works is critical to succeeding on the AP United States Government and Politics exam. That includes having a solid understanding about how each piece of the federal government works together.

One of the key components of this is the checks and balances system, which is where each branch of government checks--or limits--the power of the others. And unfortunately, understanding how those checks work can be a little confusing.

That’s where this article comes in. Today, we’re going to investigate how the executive branch of the U.S. government checks the judicial branch. To do this, we’ll:

• Define the three branches of government
• Examine how the judicial and executive branches operate
• Answer the question, “How does the executive branch check the judicial branch?”

So let’s get started!

One of the best ways to practice a language is to read it. It’s even better when you read idiomatic phrases that don’t always translate directly into English. That helps you learn more than just vocabulary--it teaches you to unlock the meaning behind the words, too. It’s definitely a skill you’ll definitely need to ace your AP Spanish Language exam or your AP Spanish Literature exam!

Today, we’re going to introduce you to 9 of the best inspirational Spanish quotes about life. Reading through these will help you practice your advanced reading and comprehension skills...and it might just give you some food for thought, too. For each quote, we’re going to give you:

• The Spanish quote
• The English translation of the quote
• A short discussion of why the quote is inspirational

¿Listos? ¡Bien, empecemos!

One of the types of questions you’ll see on both the SAT exam and the ACT exam are word problems. You know, situations where you’re given real-world scenarios, and you have to figure out the answer to a particular question based on the data you’re given.

It’s common to see conversions in word problems. Conversions ask you to change a value from one form of measurement into another. In today’s article, we’re going to cover one specific type of measurement conversion: imperial volume conversion.

Specifically, we’re going to show you how to figure out how many cups are in 4 quarts. (Spoiler alert: 16 cups are in 4 quarts!)

We’ll teach you:

• The math formula for converting cups to quarts
• How to figure out how many cups is 4 quarts by figuring out the cups to quarts conversion
• How to read a chart that explains different imperial volume conversions

Ready? Let’s dive in!

When you hear the term “human resources” or “HR,” what do you think of? You’ve probably heard it quite a few times, whether that’s from your business courses, the news, or even as you’ve researched potential majors.

One of our favorite examples of someone who works in human resources is the character Toby from The Office. Toby’s job was to keep Michael Scott, Dunder Mifflin’s off-the-wall regional manager, in check. (If you’ve ever seen The Office, you know that was an impossible order!)

And if you remember Toby, you’ll also recollect that he was also considered a wet blanket and no fun.

But despite its portrayal in The Office, working in human resources is actually an excellent fit for anyone who enjoys working with people and shaping a company’s policies. This article will not only introduce you to the human resources degree, it will also give you a peek at the doors it can open for you.

It’s pretty much a guarantee that you’ll see quadratic equations on the SAT and ACT. But they can be tricky to tackle, especially since there are multiple methods you can use to solve them.

In this article, we’re going to walk through using one specific method—completing the square—to solve a quadratic equation. In fact, we’ll give you step-by-step instructions for how to complete the square using the completing the square formula. By the end, you should have a better understanding of how and when to use this mathematical strategy!

Ready to learn more? Then let’s jump in!

Ah, love. Who doesn’t get weak in the knees when they read great love quotes? And since Spanish is a romance language, it makes sense that some of the best quotes about love are in Spanish!

But more importantly, reading and understanding quotes is a great way to prepare you for your Spanish IB and Spanish AP exams. That’s because they often rely on figurative language, which means that the literal translation is different than the phrase’s actual meaning. By studying quotes like these, you gain a better understanding of how to speak, read, and understand Spanish on a more advanced level.  

In this post, we’re going to help you prepare for your exams by giving you a list list of the 11 best Spanish love quotes with English translation. For each quote, we’ll:

• Give you the love quote in Spanish
• Provide the English translation
• Discuss the meaning of the quote

Ready? Let’s get started!

If you’re taking any of AP Art courses, like 2-D or 3-D studio art, you absolutely have to understand the core principles of design. That’s because the elements and principles of design are a foundational element of great art!

In this article, we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about the seven principles of design, including:

• An overview of the principles of design
• An introduction to key concepts
• An in-depth look at each of the principles one-by-one
• Three top tips for incorporating these principles into your own work

Let’s get started!  

If you’re getting ready for the AP Biology exam, then you’re probably spending quite a bit of time studying cell structure. But keeping all the structures straight and understanding each one’s function can be confusing!

That’s why we’re breaking down cell structures for you, starting with the endoplasmic reticulum, or ER. In this article, we’ll teach you everything you need to know about the endoplasmic reticulum, including how it functions in a cell. We’ll even break down the differences between the rough endoplasmic reticulum and the smooth endoplasmic reticulum!

Ready? Then let’s get started!

We’ve all stumbled on a web page that just doesn’t work. You know the type: the links aren’t clickable, the scrolling is all over the place, and sometimes...they automatically play music. (The worst.)

When a website misbehaves, bad JavaScript is usually at fault. That’s because JavaScript is the scripting language that controls the interactive elements of a website. In fact, JavaScript is actually a robust, powerful scripting language that automates processes like animating images or providing autofill suggestions. Basically, JavaScript is one of the fundamental coding languages of the web.

Like any language, there’s lots you can do with JavaScript. But today, we’re going talk about one specific type of JavaScript command: the TypeOf function. In this article, you’ll learn about the JavaScript TypeOf function, including what it is, how it works, and its most common uses.

So let’s dive in!

As you prepare for the AP Literature exam, one of the things you’ll have to do is become an expert in a few literary works that you can use on the composition portion of the exam. We recommend that you choose four to five notable works with different genres and themes to make sure you can write an amazing student choice essay.

(Actually...practicing analyzing literature will help you on the whole exam, not just the written portion, so it’s a win-win situation!)

But just because these works have to be “notable” with “literary merit” doesn’t mean they need to be boring, too! That’s why we’re talking about Edgar Allan Poe’s short story, “The Cask of Amontillado,” as a good choice for your AP exam. Not only is it widely recognized as an excellent piece of literature, it’s got a little of everything: horror! Suspense! A surprise twist! And as an added bonus...it’s short.

To bring you up to speed, we’ll start with “The Cask of Amontillado” summary, then we’ll jump into character and thematic analyses. By the time you finish this article, you’ll be able to write fearlessly about “The Cask of Amontillado” on your AP exam.

In 2018, Scientific American published an article titled “The Number of Americans with No Religious Affiliation Is Rising,” which looked at the rising number of Americans who don’t identify with any religion. In 2018, a survey done by the Pew Research Center found 34 to 36 percent of millennials identify as atheist, agnostic, or just “nothing in particular.”

While most people have a general understanding of atheism, agnosticism can be a little more confusing since it falls in the grey area between total belief and total disbelief in the existence of a higher power and/or God.

In this article, we’ll explore what it means to be agnostic. First, we’ll define the term agnostic and talk about what agnosticism looks like in practice, then we’ll dive into the differences between being agnostic vs. atheist. Finally, we’ll share a list of famous people who are agnostics.

So let’s get started!

One of the best ways to prepare for the AP Literature exam is to learn about different literary devices and how you can use them to analyze everything from poetry to novels. Not only will this help you on the multiple choice section of the test, it’s critical for earning perfect scores on your essays, too!

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at one specific device: point of view. First, we’ll give you the point of view definition, then we’ll explain how the work’s narrator affects its point of view. Then we’ll explain the four types of point of view and provide examples and analysis for each one.

By the end of this article, you’ll be a point of view expert! So let’s get started.