Draw a T-chart on your paper. Make a vertical line running roughly through the middle of the paper from top to bottom. Add a horizontal line across the top to create a two-column chart. Label the left column "x" and the right column "y."
Write three or four values under the "x" column. Space them out numerically. Choose numbers like -3, 0, 3 and 6, for example.
Plug the x-values into your function. For example, let's say that your function is f(x) = x^2 - x + 5. F(x) and y are interchangeable terms when discussing functions. Then write the corresponding y-values into your "y" column.
For x = -3
f(x) = (-3)^2 - (-3) + 5 = 9 + 3 + 5 = 17.
For x = 0
f(x) = 0^2 - 0 + 5 = 5.
Plot x- and y-axes on graph paper, if necessary, and plot your points. Then, since this is a quadratic function, your points should show a parabola when you connect them with a smooth curve.