Below, we explain how to create fill-in-the-blank exercises with open-ended blanks in our Q-Exam® software.

The fill-in-the-blank exercise with open-ended blanks is a question format in which the candidate is asked to complete given statements.
They must fill in the free-text gaps themselves without assistance such as autocomplete or dropdown answer options.
This question type can be enhanced with images or PDF documents.
To do this, please select the "My Questions" tab in the Q-Exam® platform and click on the "Create New Question" option. Now select "Fill-in-the-blank question, free text."

General Information

The tool for creating your questions is divided into various subcategories. The "General Information" tab is open by default.
AFTER you save a question in Q-Exam® for the first time, it is automatically assigned a unique ID, which allows you to easily locate the question later. Each time you edit the question, it also includes a version number.

When you create a new question, it is initially saved with the status “private draft.” It is visible only to you. To assign a question to an exam, you must later change the question status to “public pool.” Your question will then also become visible to the group of colleagues defined by your organization. In the ‘General Information’ tab, you must also specify the number of points the candidate will receive for correctly answering this question. It is important that you categorize your question correctly so that it can be easily found later and included in an exam. Q-Exam® refers to the categorization of questions as a ‘Blueprint.’ The Blueprint information is specified by your organization.

If you want to create multiple exam questions with the same placement, you have the option to save the current placement as a template.
In addition to the categorization, you can add a short description and list keywords under “Tags.” Under “Review History,” you can later view the current status of the review process and track the various previous versions of the question in the “History Overview.”

Question Group Settings

In the "Question Group Settings" tab, you can combine multiple questions into a single question group. You can learn more about this topic in a separate video. For this example, we'll stick with the "Normal Question".

Question Bank

In the "Question Bank" tab, you create the fill-in-the-blank text.

To insert a new blank, please select the corresponding button.

For each blank, you can choose whether you expect a text or a number as the answer.

By clicking the plus symbol, you can specify possible answers that you would classify as either correct or incorrect. You can delete a possible answer using the 'X'.
"You have the option to weight the gaps.

In this example, two points are awarded for the question, and there are three gaps in the fill-in-the-blank text. The answer to the third gap is given special importance. Basically, the weighting of the individual gaps works by assigning individual values to each gap. The percentage share of the respective weighting value in the total sum of all weighting values assigned in this question now reflects the influence of the respective gap on the final points awarded. Blanks to which you assign the same value have the same influence on the final score. So, in this specific example, if you assign a value of 'ONE' to the first two blanks and a value of 'TWO' to the third, you are weighting the third blank as twice as important as the first or second. Of the maximum two points to be awarded for this question, 0.5 points are now allocated to each of the first two gaps and one point to the third.
You also have the option to link gaps together.

This way, you can prevent the same answer from being counted as correct twice in different gaps. This feature is helpful, for example, if you want to test a list of different functions in a cloze text without the order being significant. To logically link two gaps, simply assign them to a common group.
You can edit your text using the toolbar.

You are working with an HTML editor. If the text formatting does not meet your requirements, this icon [< >] will display the source code.
If desired, you can attach images or PDF documents to the question. To do so, please select the "Upload Media" option.

The question preview displays all the answer options you have specified as a dropdown menu for your reference. Please note that in the exam, a text entry field will appear in the same place! If you would also like to use a fill-in-the-blank question with a dropdown menu in the exam, you can select the question type of the same name under "My Questions".

Metadata

In the "Metadata" section, you can add references, cross-references, or sources related to your question.

Save

Save changes to your question by clicking the "Save" button.
Each time you save, you have the option to save your changes as a "Version" or "Related":

• Click "Version" to save your changes under the same question ID.
• Click "Related" to create a copy of the original question with a separate question ID.

When saving, you can also decide whether your question should remain private and in draft mode or whether you want to add it to the public pool. Please note: Only questions with the status "public pool" can be added to an exam later.

Review

Once you have moved a question to the public pool, it goes through a multi-step review process. Depending on your organization’s policies, you may be asked to select a “Technical Reviewer” in the “Review” tab.
We explain the review process here.