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Short Answer Questions

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Short answer questions require respondents to type a word or phrase in response to a question (that may include an image). Answers may or may not be case sensitive and can include more than one correct answer. Acceptable answers can be a word or a phrase, but must match one of your correct answers exactly. It is a good idea to keep the required answer as short as possible to avoid missing a correct answer that is phrased differently.

Example of a short answer question:

Short answer question example

Question set-up

  1. In the Question Bank, select the desired question category, then click Create a new question... and choose Short answer. The Adding a question screen will open.
  2. Give the question a descriptive name - this makes it easy to identify it in the question bank. The question name is not visible to students.
  3. Enter a passage of text into the Question text field. Images, audio, and video can also be inserted into this field using the HTML editor toolbar.
    Tip: if the answer is intended to fill a gap in the text, use underscores ( __ ) to indicate where the gap is.
  4. Set the Default mark (question grade) by entering a numerical value (i.e. the maximum number of marks for this question).
  5. Choose whether the answers are case-sensitive. Case sensitivity can be tricky where capitalization is important (e.g., Will you accept "Champ" as well as "champ" as an answer).
  6. Next, fill in the answers you will accept (e.g., "Champ", "Champie", and "Champy"). 
  7. Add grade for each answer. To mark correct answers, select 100%.
  8. (Optional) You can also select wildcard answers that will award credit or partial credit for a response. For example, entering the answer "Champ*" would accept the responses, "Champ", "Champie", and "Champy".
  9. Click Save Changes to add the question to the category.