Respondus Exam Author Formatting

The document you are going to import into Respondus should be test questions only. Please remove any test title or student name field. It is also a good practice to leave one blank line at the beginning of your document. If using Microsoft Word turn off automatic bullets and numbering when formatting your questions. Please refer to WORD Help for instructions on how to turn off automatic bullets and numbering.

• Multiple Choice
• True-false questions
• Essay or short answer
• Multiple answer
• Fill in the blank
• Matching

Multiple Choice

• Each question must begin with a question number, followed by either a period “.” or a right parentheses “)”.
   

  3. 3)

• The question wording must follow the question number. There should be one space or tab between the question number and the question wording.

  3. Who determined the exact speed of light? 3) Who determined the exact speed of light? 3. Who determined the exact speed of light? 3) Who determined the exact speed of light?

• Each answer choice must begin with a letter (A-T) followed by a period “.” or a right parentheses “)”. There can be one blank line between the question and the answer choices.

  3. Who determined the exact speed of light? a. Albert Einstein b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison d. Guglielmo Marconi

• One way to mark a correct answer is by placing an asterisk (*) directly in front of the answer choice. Do not put a space between the asterisk and the answer choice.

  3. Who determined the exact speed of light? a. Albert Einstein *b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison d. Guglielmo Marconi

• The second option to mark a correct answer is to place a list of correct answers at the end of the file. The list must begin with the word “Answers:” and must appear at the end of the file.
  Please Note: When using the answer key method at the end of the file, any text typed after the answer key will be ignored, so no additional questions can be added.

  Answers: 1. A 2. C 3. B

• A title can be imported with each question. If a title is not provided for a question, the first 20 characters from the question wording will be used as the question title. Titles must be placed at the beginning of a question and begin with “Title:” followed by the actual title. Optional Elements are Question Title and Feedback.

  Title: Speed of Light 3. Who determined the exact speed of light? a. Albert Einstein *b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison d. Guglielmo Marconi

• General feedback can be imported with each test question. Feedback must appear before the answer choices. Place the tilde “~” symbol in front of the correct answer feedback and the “@” symbol to indicate feedback for incorrect answers.
  Please Note: There must be at least one space between the ~ or @ symbols and the feedback text.

  Title: Speed of Light 3. Who determined the exact speed of light? ~ Yes. Albert Michelson won the Nobel Prize for Physics for determining the exact speed of light. @ No. The correct answer is Albert Michelson, who won the 1907 Nobel Prize for Physics for determining the exact speed of light. a. Albert Einstein *b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison d. Guglielmo Marconi

• To import feedback for each answer choice, place the feedback immediately after the answer choice and begin the line with the @ symbol.

True-false questions

The process of importing “True-False” questions (question numbering and question wording) is similar to that used to format multiple choice questions. Both of the following examples are valid ways to format a True and False question.

1. Question and Answer Format. It is important to note that the “True” answer choice must be listed first in order for Respondus to recognize it as a True-False question type. If False appears first in the list, the question will be imported as a multiple choice question.

   3) Albert Michelson determined the exact speed of light. *a. True b. False 3) Albert Michelson determined the exact speed of light. *a) T b) F

2. Place an answer list at the end of the file. The list must begin with the word “Answers” and must appear at the end of the file. The correct answers on a True-False answer key can be designated three ways:

   1. The complete word “True” or “False”

   2. The letter “T” or “F”

   3. The alphabetical letter “A” for true, or “B” for false

To include a question title or feedback with the True-False questions, follow the same formatting rules outlined for multiple choice questions. Remember there must be at least one space between the ~ or @ symbols and the feedback text. Optional Elements are Question Title and Feedback.

Essay or short answer

The question format for an essay question is similar to multiple choice and True-False questions. The difference is that the first line of formatting must begin with “Type: E”. This is followed by the question title (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording. 

Multiple answer

• The multiple answer question format is very similar to the format for multiple choice questions (question numbering and question wording). One significant difference is that the first line of formatting must begin with the question type “Type: MA”.

  Type: MA 3. Which of the following individuals are credited with determining the exact speed of light? a. Albert Einstein *b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison *d. Edward Williams Morely

• A second option for importing answers is to include an answer key at the end of the file. The list must begin with “Answers:” The correct answers designated in a Multiple Answer key can be listed three ways:
        1.  Place a blank space between the letters that represent the correct answers.
        2.  Place a comma between the letters that represent the correct answers.
        3.  Place a comma and a blank space between the letters that represent the correct answers.
  Please Note: When using the answer key method at the end of the file, any text typed after the answer key will be ignored, so no additional questions can be added.

  Answers: 1. B D 2. B,D 3. B, D
• To include a question title or feedback with a Multiple Answer question type, follow the same formatting rules outlined for multiple choice questions. Remember there must be at least one space between the ~ or @ symbols and the feedback text. Optional Elements are Question Title and Feedback.

  Type: MA Title: Speed of light 3. Which of the following individuals are credited with determining the exact speed of light? ~ Yes. Albert Michelson and Edward Williams Morely collaborated on a series of experiments that eventually led to the exact determination of the speed of light. @ No. Albert Michelson and Edward Williams Morely collaborated on a series of experiments that eventually led to the exact determination of the speed of light. a. Albert Einstein *b. Albert Michelson c. Thomas Edison *d. Edward Williams Morely

Fill in the blank

• Fill in the Blank questions may be imported by starting the first line of formatting with the question type “Type: F”. This is followed by the “Title” (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording. 
  Please Note: Students are only allowed one correct answer per question, but multiple forms of that answer can be provided by the instructor for grading. The list must begin with “Answers:”. If the student types any of the answer choices provided by the instructor, the question will be marked correct.

  Type: F Title: Who invented television? 5. __________ is known as the "father of television"? Type: F Title Who invented television? 5.  __________ is known as the "father of television"? a. Zworykin b. Vladimir Zworykin c. Vladimir K. Zworykin d. Vladimir Kosma Zworykin

• Answers can also be placed at the end of the file using a format similar to multiple choice and true-false questions. The only difference is that you can enter multiple forms of an answer by repeating the question number.

Matching

The first line of formatting must begin with “Type: MT”. This is followed by the title (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording. Each answer consists of both parts of a correct match and must begin with a letter (A-T) followed by a period “.” or a right parentheses “)”. The two parts of the match must be separated with an “=” symbol and there should not be any hard returns or blank lines within either parts of the answer.

References

For additional information using Respondus 4.0 Exam Author visit the following resources:

• Creating and Formatting Questions (video)
• Importing Questions with Respondus 4
• Respondus 4.0 Exam Author User Guide
• Respondus 4.0 Resource

To request help related to this article, please see our Service Catalog.