SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips

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!

The Cartesian plane (or the x-y plane) is a two-line graph on which you plot ordered pairs. The two intersecting lines of the Cartesian plane make four distinct graph quadrants.

In this article, we’ll discuss what graph quadrants are, how to manipulate data points on graph quadrants, and walk through some sample graph quadrant problems.

Whether you've already graduated or are about to graduate from college, if you're asking yourself, "Should I get a master’s degree?" it’s time to dig deep and find the answer. A master's degree can be useful for particular careers—but it's also expensive and time-consuming. So is a master’s degree right for you?

In this guide, we go over what a master's degree is, four key questions to ask yourself before you decide to get one, the pros and cons of getting one, and three tips to help you decide on the best master’s degree program for you.

Have you heard about contour line art but aren’t sure what it is? The good news is that you’ve likely already made dozens, maybe even hundreds, of contour line drawings throughout your life without realizing it! Contour drawing is one of the easiest and most effective ways to improve your hand-eye coordination and drawing skills.

In this guide, we explain what contour lines in art are and how you make contour line art. We also suggest different contour drawing exercises so you can keep improving your skills.

If you’re taking a geometry or trigonometry class, one of the topics you’ll study are trigonometric identities. There are numerous trig identities, some of which are key for you to know, and others that you’ll use rarely or never. This guide explains the trig identities you should have memorized as well as others you should be aware of. We also explain what trig identities are and how you can verify trig identities.

In math, an "identity" is an equation that is always true, every single time. Trig identities are trigonometry equations that are always true, and they’re often used to solve trigonometry and geometry problems and understand various mathematical properties. Knowing key trig identities helps you remember and understand important mathematical principles and solve numerous math problems.

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.

Adding and subtracting fractions can look intimidating at first glance. Not only are you working with fractions, which are notoriously confusing, but suddenly you have to contend with converting numerators and denominators, too.

But adding and subtracting fractions is a useful skill. Once you know the vocabulary and the basics, you’ll be adding and subtracting fractions with ease. This guide will walk you through everything you need to know for adding and subtracting fractions, including some example problems to test your skills.

All living things are made of cells and all cells have different parts that perform specific functions. One of the parts present in every cell is called the cell membrane.

In this article, we’ll discuss the cell membrane structure and function, answering the questions “what does the cell membrane do?” and “why is the cell membrane important?”

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.

A literary device is a technique a writer uses to convey ideas and messages to their readers. That means that as readers, we need to understand and use literary devices to fully understand a work’s major themes!

Today, we’re going to take a closer look at how to use imagery to analyze a text. We’ll start by giving you the imagery definition before talking about why it’s an important tool for analyzing a text. Then we’ll walk you through some imagery examples in poetry and fiction and show you exactly how to analyze the imagery in each.

By the end of this article, you’ll be able to talk about imagery in literature like a pro, so let’s get started.

Analyzing literature can be pretty confusing, especially if you’re reading something that’s pretty complicated. That’s why it’s important to understand literary devices, which are tools designed to help you unlock the meaning of a text.

Think of literary devices like tools in a toolbox. Each device has a different use, so it’s important that you have a bunch of different options to choose from...especially when you’re crunched for time, like during an AP Literature exam.

That’s why we’re going to teach you everything you need to know about assonance, which is a literary device that helps a writer create both rhythm and tone. To do this, we’ll:

• Define assonance and talk about why it’s helpful in analyzing literature,
• Walk you through assonance examples in poetry and prose, and
• Give you four expert tips to help you find an analyze assonance in any text.

Ready? Let’s dive in!

You’ve no doubt seen pictures of camel spiders before, usually accompanied by a story about deadly bites, camel eating, or chasing people across the desert. Thanks to chain letters, camel spiders have a reputation as being fearsome, terrifying predators—but is that warranted?

In this article, we’ll be covering the facts and fictions of camel spiders, including where they’re found and what they eat, as well as some biological information about how camel spiders fit into their environment. Read on to learn more about camel spiders!

The term iambic pentameter sounds like it’s more at home in a science textbook than it is in your English class. But believe it or not, iambic pentameter is a type of poetic meter!

In other words, iambic pentameter is a term that refers to a very specific type of rhythm that you find in poetry.

Knowing what poetic meter is and how to find it is an important skill for the AP Literature exam, and it can be really impressive if you discuss it properly in the AP exam’s essay portion. We know poetic meter might sound scary—heck, anything that has to do with poetry can be scary!—but we’re here to help. In this article, you’ll learn what iambic pentameter is, discover how to find it in a poem, and analyze iambic pentameter examples in poetry.

Let’s dive right in!

The word photosynthesis comes from two Greek words: photo, meaning “light”, and synthesis, meaning “put together.” Looking at that those two roots, we have a good idea of what happens during the chemical process of photosynthesis: plants put together water and carbon dioxide with light to create glucose and oxygen.

In this article, we’ll break down what photosynthesis is, why photosynthesis is important, and discuss the chemical equation for photosynthesis: what it is and what each part of it means.