How to Complete Image Upload Tasks

Some Stemble questions ask you to complete work on paper, such as drawing a diagram, labeling a process, showing calculations, or submitting other handwritten work.

For Stemble to grade your submission accurately, your work must be neat, clear, and easily legible in the image you upload.

Before you submit

Make sure all three of these are true:

1. Your work is neat and easy to read.
2. The image contains only what you’ve been asked to include for the current question.
3. You took a clear, straight-on photo.

If any of these aren’t true, fix the image before uploading it.

1. Make your work easy to read

Stemble can only grade what is clearly visible in your uploaded image. Your handwriting, calculations, labels, and diagrams should be neat enough that someone can read them quickly and confidently without guessing.

For the best results:

• Use plain white paper whenever possible.
• Write or draw dark enough to be clearly visible.
• Make handwriting and labels large enough to read easily.
• Keep diagrams, calculations, and labels organized.
• Avoid faint writing, cramped text, overlapping labels, or messy corrections.
• Make sure every required part of your work is visible.

Can you immediately read every word, number, symbol, and label in the photo? If you need to squint, zoom in significantly, or guess what something says, the image isn’t clear enough yet.

If your work isn’t legible: Stemble may not be able to grade it accurately. Stemble Support also can’t adjust a grade when the submitted image isn’t clear enough to read. If any part of your work is difficult to read, take a clearer photo before submitting.

2. Include only what you’ve been asked to submit

Your uploaded image should contain only what you’ve been asked to include for the current question.

This may include your answer, calculations, diagram, labels, name, student ID, or other information if your instructor or institution requires it.

Crop out anything that isn’t required, such as:

• Other questions or answers
• Unrelated notes
• Extra worksheets or textbook pages
• Computer screens
• Hands or faces
• Your desk or surroundings
• Unrelated writing, calculations, or diagrams

If you completed multiple questions on the same sheet of paper, crop the image so only the work and information required for the question you’re submitting is visible.

3. Take a clear photo

For the best results:

1. Place your paper flat on a desk or table.
2. Use a bright, well-lit area.
3. Hold your device directly above the page.
4. Take the photo straight on, not at an angle.
5. Make sure the entire submission is sharp and in focus.
6. Crop the image so only the required work and information are visible.

Don’t use your laptop camera

Do not hold your paper up in front of your laptop webcam to take the photo.

Laptop webcams can produce images that are blurry, grainy, dark, distorted, or too low-resolution for Stemble to read reliably.

Instead, lay your work flat and take a photo from directly above using a phone, tablet, or other camera.

Check your image before uploading

Before you submit, make sure:

• Every word, number, symbol, and label is easy to read.
• Your work is neat and organized.
• The image is sharp, well lit, and in focus.
• Everything you were asked to include is visible.
• The image is upright.
• Nothing unrelated to the question is visible.
• You did not take the photo by holding your work up to a laptop webcam.

Upload your image

Stemble works best with:

• .jpg / .jpeg
• .png
• .gif
• .webp

Unless the question says otherwise, upload one clear image containing only the work and information you’ve been asked to submit.

Having trouble with your file type?

Photos from an iPhone or iPad may be saved as .HEIC files, while scanned work may be saved as a .PDF. These files may need to be converted before uploading, and changing the file name or extension alone won’t convert the file.

See How to Convert HEIC or PDF Files for Image Uploads for step-by-step instructions.

If your image was graded unexpectedly

First, review the image you submitted and make sure:

• Your work is clearly legible.
• Every required part of your submission is visible.
• The image is sharp and well lit.
• Your work is neat and organized.
• The image is upright.
• Only the work and information required for that question are visible.

If everything looks right and the result still doesn’t, contact Stemble Support with your course name, assignment name, and question or task number. We’ll be happy to take a look.

Please note: Support can only investigate a grading issue when the submitted work is clear enough to read. If the uploaded work is illegible, we can’t adjust the grade.