When graphing functions, it's important to know the basic parent functions. From there you can shift the graph up, down, left and right accordingly. Theses shifts are also known as translations.

f(x) = x^2,  f(x) = sqrt(x),  f(x) = x^3,  f(x)= |x| are some examples of parent functions

f(x) = (x - 2)^2 + 3 has the same graph as f(x) = x^2 except it is translated 2 units left and 3 units up.

f(x) = sqrt(x + 1) - 3 is the same as the graph of f(x) = sqrt(x) except it is translated 1 unit right and 3 units down.

f(x) = (x + 4)^3 - 1 is the same as the graph of f(x) = x^3 except it is translated 4 units right and 1 unit down.

f(x)= |x - 2| + 1 is the same as the graph of f(x)= |x| except it is translated 2 units right and 1 unit up.