Thank you to all the people who have commented. It's very helpful.
So, for the example you gave of +___grade___, could you simplify it to '+___grade' to show that the plus comes in front of the word, or do you have to leave it ambiguous?
In addition, can you draw words completely unrelated to the given word, or even science? For example, the word is "Kingdom" in terms of taxonomy, and you draw a crown to symbolize royalty. I doubt this is possible, but want to know before my partner and I go ahead in this.
I feel as if I'm left guessing what you actually can draw. If the word is "gravity", could you draw an earth with an arrow pointing down towards it? It doesn't say arrows are allowed, so I'm slightly confused here... In a similar instance, the word is "mole", is it possible to draw 6 dots with 2 small ones to symbolize the 6.02 in Avogadro's, with an arrow pointing to a question mark that is circled to emphasize that this equals ___?
If these questions could be answered than I would be so grateful, because it would be devastating to my Nationals-Attending team if I were to get disqualified in this event!!!
If you have any other pointers or suggestions please let me know.
Thanks!
EDIT: I apologize everyone, but I have yet another question. My partner and I were practicing for the word "Hypertension" and decided it would be appropriate to draw a heart with an up arrow right next to it. Is this acceptable since there is an arrow pointing up? I'm feeling really stressed about the rules relating to "symbols", and don't really know how to interpret them! I know that this heavily depends on the supervisor, but if you could give me any pointers on things that are and aren't allowed (ex. smiley faces to show symbiotic relationships), then please let me know. I'm also curious to if you can draw a group of words unrelated to the word given (e.g. an asteroid and a belt for "asteroid belt")