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Fill in the blanks question

In Fill in the blanks questions, participants indicate their answer by entering the word(s) or phrase(s) missing from the question wording. 

Setting the delivery style 

It is possible to choose how you want to deliver your Fill in the Blanks question. You can deliver the question in the following delivery styles: 

  • Scored provides the ability to add specific scoring and feedback values to the question choices 
  • Unscored provides a simple question layout for survey-based assessments with the ability to add feedback but not set scores 

Adding the question wording 

To create or edit the wording for your Fill in the Blanks question, click where it says Click here to change the question wording and enter the question wording you desire. You can use the text formatting toolbar to present the question wording in any way you wish. Refer to Using the text formatting toolbar for more information on how to do this. 

Creating a blank 

If you select a word by double-clicking it, you may notice that the trailing space (the space immediately after the last letter of the word you have selected) is also selected. This is normal, and trailing spaces will not actually be included in the blank itself. There are cases, however, when a word is followed by a space and then a non-text embedded element (such as an image), where not only is the trailing space included in the blank but the image and its trailing space as well. To avoid this, you can left-click and drag your mouse over the exact characters you want to include in the blank. You can also deselect trailing spaces (or any individual characters) by selecting a word and then holding Shift and pressing the left arrow key on your keyboard once. 

After you have entered the question wording for your Fill in the Blanks question, to create a blank: 

  • Highlight the word or phrase in the question wording that you want to be the blank. 
  • Click Create a blank. 

 The word "Edmonton" has now becomes a blank and its own selectable object in the question wording field. Beneath the question wording, you will have the option to set the following values for this blank: 

  • In the Correct value field, you can edit the blank. Any changes will be reflected in the blank in the question wording field. 
  • From the Match style drop-down list, you can select the match style for the blank: 
  • Choice matches exactly mean a participant's answer must match the blank exactly (case-sensitive) to receive a score. 
  • Choice matches ignoring letter case means a participant will receive a score even if their answer matches the blank exactly (case-insensitive). 
  • Choice matches the text misspelled means a participant will receive a score even if their answer is misspelled. 
  • Choice includes the text means a participant will receive a score as long as a part of their answer matches the blank exactly (case-sensitive). 
  • Choice includes the text ignoring letter case means a participant will receive a score as long as a part of their answer matches the blank (case-insensitive). 
  • You can also set the Width (in characters) of the blank as it will appear to participants. 
  • The width of the blank must be at least as long as the number of characters in the blank (e.g., Edmonton is 8 characters long, so its blank must be at least 8 characters wide). 
  • If you do not enter a number in the Width field, it will automatically set depending on the length of the blank. 

 

To create more blanks, highlight the word or phrase in the question wording that you want to be a blank and then click Create a blank. New blanks will appear below already-existing blanks. 

To delete a blank: 

  • You can delete the blank from the question wording field by selecting it and pressing Delete on your keyboard. 
  • When you leave the question wording field, a prompt will appear to confirm the deletion. Click OK to cancel the blank or Cancel to abort the deletion. 

If you want to clear all of the blanks you have created, click Reset all blanks. 

  • A prompt will appear to confirm the deletion. Click OK to reset all blanks or Cancel to abort the deletion of all blanks. 

If you double-click on a blank in the question wording, the corresponding blank text field will be selected, and you can immediately begin editing it if you desire. 

Scoring answers 

By default, the Fill in the Blanks question is set to Score per blank, which means a score is awarded for each blank. 

  • To set a score for correctly entering a blank, enter the desired score in the Correct score field. 
  • To set a score for incorrectly entering a blank, enter the desired score in the Incorrect score field. 

If you uncheck the Score per blank option, a score will only be awarded if all blanks are entered correctly. 

  • To set a score for correctly identifying all blanks, enter the desired score in the Correct score field. 
  • To set a score for incorrectly identifying all blanks, enter the desired score in the Incorrect score field. 

Showing feedback 

You can choose to present feedback to participants based on the blanks they enter, although you do not have to do so. For example, you may wish to provide more details to the participant on why a particular blank is correct or incorrect, such as, "Sorry, that city is not the capital of Alberta." 

If you are using the Score per blank option, you can enter correct and incorrect feedback for each blank. 

  • To specify feedback for correctly entering a blank, enter it in the Enter optional feedback here field of the Correct score section for that blank. 
  • To specify feedback for incorrectly entering a blank, enter it in the Enter optional feedback here field of the Incorrect Score section for that blank. 

If you are not using the Score per blank option, you can enter feedback for correctly or incorrectly entering all blanks. 

  • To specify feedback for correctly or not correctly entering all blanks, enter the text you desire in the appropriate Enter optional feedback here field. 

Adding a comment box 

Adding a comment box to a question enables participants to provide a response to your Fill in the Blanks question. 

  • To add a comment box to a question, click Add comment box. The comment box will be added to the bottom of the question. 

You can specify prompt text for the comment box by entering it in the Add your comment field.

Don't forget to click Save to save all changes and continue editing the question. A message appears confirming the question has been saved. 

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