8.2 Multiple-Choice Questions

A multiple-choice question presents mutually exclusive choices, with only one correct response available. To write a similar question with more than one correct answer, see section 8.3, Multiple-Select Questions.

8.2.1 Creating a multiple-choice question

To write a multiple-choice question, choose Create from the Questions menu and perform the following steps:

1. Enter a name for the question.

2. Select Multiple-choice as the Mode of the question.

3. Enter the question text in the Question field.

4. Enter the correct answer to your question on the first line of the box marked Answer and press return.

5. Enter distracters—incorrect answers that you would like to include as choices—on the lines below the correct answer, with one on each line.

The question editor contains a soft-wrap feature, for your convenience. WebAssign will not read any text moved to another line without a carriage return as starting a separate line. This allows you to enter longer answers or distracters, while easily viewing the entire entry.

6. Click Redisplay to update the display as it will appear to the students. You may continue to make changes and click Redisplay at any point to see an updated display of your question. Note that the order of the choices has been scrambled in this display. Multiple-choice answers are by default scrambled in WebAssign, so that each student receives a different ordering of choices. The students will not see the green circle(o) marking the correct answer unless they are viewing the key.

The correct answer and the distracters for a multiple choice question each need to occupy a single line in the answer field. Do not enter any line returns within an answer.

7. When you have finished editing, click Save to add the new question to the database. This will also assign a unique question ID number to the question.

The recommended procedure for developing a question is to click Redisplay or Test/Preview, check that the question redisplays properly, and then click Save. Always clickRedisplay or Test/Preview right before you click Save.

8.2.2 Ordered multiple-choice questions

WebAssign scrambles the order of the choices in a multiple-choice question by default. If you do not want WebAssign to randomize the placement of multiple-choice options, you need to tell WebAssign this. When creating this type of multiple-choice question, enter the choices in the order you wish them to appear. Then you will tell WebAssign which answer is correct by setting the variable $ORDERED equal to the location of the correct answer in your list of choices. For example, if the third choice in your list is correct, you will set $ORDERED = 3.

To write an ordered multiple-choice question with the third answer as the correct choice, choose Create from the Questions menu and perform the following steps:

1. Enter a name for the question.

2. Select Multiple-choice as the Mode of the question.

3. Enter the question text in the Question field.

4. Type the following into the Answer field:

followed by the first distracter.

The correct answer and the distracters for a multiple choice question each need to occupy a single line in the answer field. Do not enter any line returns within an answer.

5. Continue entering a distracter on the second line.

6. Enter the correct answer on the third line.

7. Continue entering distracters if there are more.

8. Click Redisplay to update the display as it will appear to the students. Note that the choices now appear in the order you have listed them, and the choice that you have indicated as correct is marked with the green circle (o). The students will not see the green circle(o) unless they are viewing the key.

9. When you have finished editing, click Save to add the new question to the database. This will also assign a unique question ID number to the question.

8.2.3 True or false questions

A true or false question is a simple form of a multiple-choice question. Just enter the correct answer, True or False, first, followed by the incorrect answer. It is also possible to keep the choices in the same order by entering either of the following expressions on the first line of the Answer field:

where the value of the $ORDERED variable is the position of the correct answer and the choices are not rearranged in the student view of the question. (See section 8.2.2 for more information about ordered multiple-choice.)

8.2.4 Multiple-choice pulldown menus

Occasionally it is desirable to have a multiple-choice question for matching type questions in which the choices are in a pulldown menu. This allows you to write questions that are more compact. In fact, you can have the pulldown menu in the middle of a sentence, if you like.

Note: You cannot use HTML, images, or other special characters in a pulldown menu. Browsers will not display them properly.

To write a multiple-choice question with a pulldown menu, choose Create from the Questions menu and perform the following steps:

1. Enter a name for the question and select Multiple-choice as the Mode of the question

2. Enter the question text in the Question field

3. Type the tag for an answer box, <_>, in the Question field where you want the pulldown menu to appear. (The keystroke combination for the answer box is less-than, underscore, greater-than.)

4. Type <eqn $PULLDOWN = 1;$ORDERED = 3;""> in the first line of the Answer field. The $ORDERED variable is not necessary for a pulldown menu, but it can be used if you want to control the order of the choices, rather than let WebAssign randomize the order within the pulldown menu.

5. Type the first answer choice, followed by a return. On the next line type the next choice, and so forth. In this example and in the following figure, the correct answer is on line 3. Continue entering as many choices as you wish, one per line.

6. The first choice that is displayed to the student in the pulldown menu is '--Select--.' If you want to use something else for this initial text, use $Select_Option = "new text" For example,

This can be handy, for example, if you are using a pulldown menu in the middle of a sentence, with choices of < and >, and do not want the box to be very large. In this case, use something similar to “—“ or “??” as the initial text to be displayed.

The eqn tags above take up more than one line, but there should never be a line return in an eqn tag in the Answer field. The text will wrap, but never enter a line return.

7. Click Redisplay to update the display as it will appear to the students. Note that the choices now appear in the order you have listed them in a pulldown menu, and the choice that you have indicated as correct is shown in green. The students will not see the word(s) in green unless they are viewing the key.

8. When you have finished editing, click Save to add the new question to the database and assign a question id number to the question.

8.2.5 Controlling the position of radio buttons

When you need to specify the position of multiple-choice radio buttons so you can include an image or footnote below the choices, use $SET_POSITION.

Set the $SET_POSITION flag to 1 in the Answer field at the start of the set of answers for which you need to specify the position. In the Question field, insert an answer box <_> where you want these radio buttons to appear. In the following example, the author wanted the image below the choices. Without the $SET_POSITION flag, the image would have been between the question and the choices.