Show your work

Updated 17 Jan 2024

When you have to show your work on a question, the Show work button opens a window where you can draw, enter text or equations, or upload images.

If your instructor has not yet graded your work, you can select Show work and change the contents of your entry.

  1. Select the Show work button in the player.
  2. Use the tools at the top of the window to enter and format your work.
  3. Select Save.

    If you do not select Save, your answer is graded as incomplete.

Click the Print button at the bottom of the window to print your work.

image of the toolbar

Select this tool


To do this
select icon

Select

 Select an object (such as a line or math equation). A blue highlight displays around the selected object.

You can move a selected object around the window.

Hold down the handle in the lower right corner of a selected image to resize it.
Draw icon

Draw a line

 Draw the line by dragging.

Select the dropdown arrow next to the pencil icon to select a line width.

Use the color dropdown (Pick color icon) to choose a color for your line.

Erase icon

Erase

 Erase an object.

Select the dropdown arrow next to the eraser icon to choose a width for your eraser. Then move the eraser over the object you want to erase.

To remove an image, select it and then choose Delete.
Text icon

Enter text

 Enter a text box.

When you click or tap in the window, a text toolbar appears so you can choose your font, the font size, font color, text box background color, font weight (bold or italic), and paragraph alignment.

When you have made your font choices, enter your text.

To change a font choice, select the text icon and then click or tap in your text box to reopen the text toolbar.
Math expression icon

Enter math
expressions

 Enter math notation like square roots, fractions, and Greek letters (e.g., pi).

When you click or tap in the window, a text box appears where you can enter your math expression. Image of the text box

Select the rectangle under the text box to open the basic symbols palette.

Symbols popup with templates for adding math notation

The arrows let you move the cursor in your expression.

The highlighted blue symbols are templates. For example, if you click the absolute value template , it shows in the box and you can type a value where the blue rectangle displays: An entry showing the absolute value of 4.

If the symbol you want isn't shown, select More to open the complete palette.

See Enter math expressions for details on entering math notation.
Pick color icon

Pick a color

 Choose a color for selected lines.
Add image icon

Add an image

 Upload an image file from your computer to the window.

The image size must not be more than 2.5 megabytes.

Hold down the handle in the lower right corner of a selected image to resize it.
Select background icon

Choose a background

 Choose whether your drawing window has a blank background, a ruled background like writing paper, or a graph-paper background.
Select background color icon

Choose the
background color

 Select a background color for the drawing window.
Send to front, send to back icons

Bring an object to the front /
send an object to the back

 Place a selected object on top of other objects or move a selected object behind other objects.

For example, if you have a blue line on top of a yellow line:

Blue line in front of the yellow line

You can select the blue line, select the Send to back icon , and the blue line appears in back of the yellow line:

Blue line behind the yellow line
Undo and redo icons

Undo / redo
past entries

 

 Undo your last entry or redo the last-deleted entry.

You can undo or redo multiple entries.
Delete icon

Delete

 Remove a selected object.

If you select the delete icon and no objects are selected, all the objects in the window are deleted.