This site allows you to upload attachments, insert links, or display images, which can be very useful for making your question clear (though you should never depend on the attachment to do all your explaining, since we can only search for words).

Commonly students will attach a picture of the problem from a book, or of their own work. Be careful to make a clear picture, with good focus and contrast, and reduce it in size if necessary. (One easy way to make a small image file is to display what you want to send on your screen, and take a screenshot of just the part that matters, e.g. with Windows' "Snipping Tool".) You can also include a link to a site on which your problem is stated, as long as it is publicly accessible.

Often you can just copy an image (such as a screen shot) and simply paste it into your message.

If you want to create and attach a graph, and do not know how to do it, here are some ways to try:

First make a graph. If you do not already have a favorite graphing program, go to desmos.com, a free graphing site. It can be as simple as typing an equation into the box; or you can do many more advanced things that you can learn about by clicking the question mark (?) in the upper right for help.

We will assume you are using Desmos; other utilities should have similar capabilities.

Here is a screen shot showing what Desmos looks like after I have entered the equation y = 3x² - 5x - 2:

You can either create an account and share pictures directly from there, or, if you prefer, download your graph, and then upload to our site.

To share directly from Desmos as a link, log in and use the Share Graph button in the upper right, then click Copy. This copies the URL of your saved graph (not just an image, but the actual, editable, graph). Then select some text in your message (such as the word "here" at the end of this paragraph) then click the Insert/Edit Link icon and paste in the URL of the graph, then set Target to Open link in a new window. Then others can link to it as you can ...

here.

To upload a picture of the graph as an attachment, use the Share Graph button again, but click Export Image, then Download PNG after making any adjustments you want. Then upload it to your message by either dragging it into the Attachment box that says Drag files here ..., or clicking + Add File and open the file you want to upload.

When you upload, the picture will not appear inline in your message, but as a small thumbnail picture at the bottom of your message, which others can click to see it full size. See the attachments box at the bottom of this article!

Note that there are limits to the number and size of files you upload, so if you have a lot to share, links are the better way. But be sure that anything you link to is permanent, so that it will not disappear before we read it.

To insert a picture of the graph as an image, it must have been uploaded somewhere online. Neither Desmos nor our site gives you access to the URL of your image, so you have to put it somewhere else. But once it has a URL, you can use the Insert/Edit Image tool and enter the URL and the desired dimensions.