# Fill-in-the-blank

## Overview

Fill-in-the-blank questions require students to enter words or numbers into one or more blank fields embedded within the question text. Unlike multiple-choice or matching formats, this question type calls for exact (or closely matched) student input.

### Why Use It

This question type tests not only recall but also precision. It strengthens the neural connections to new knowledge by leveraging active retrieval.

* Harder for AI-cheating systems to answer correctly.
* Encourages precision in terminology and spelling.
* Useful for testing comprehension, key formulas, or critical facts.
* Can easily adapt to various layouts, including sentences, paragraphs, and tables.

### Use Cases

* **Data Interpretation:** Present a table and require students to fill in missing data points.
* **Cementing Connections**: Help students make connections between different concepts within the learning material.

## Create and Configure

{% hint style="info" %}
EXAMIND is currently developing a new editor which will greatly enhance the capabilities with this question type. Until then, we highly suggest leveraging our support team to assist in the development of high-quality autograded questions that use fill-in-the-blank features.
{% endhint %}

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

#### Add Fill-in-the-blank Block

<figure><img src="/files/6uKt8Eln0R0gntFLL4w6" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Write your Question Stem

<figure><img src="/files/71LtP0JiqJY1GDSUlGGF" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Select Text and Insert Blank

<figure><img src="/files/nXru08KKixR3ZSuvGA6H" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Configure Settings

{% hint style="info" %}
Remember to click **Update** to save your settings.
{% endhint %}

<figure><img src="/files/tMeaAooQfdHJvqICviJk" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

**Acceptable Answers (1 per line):** Add correct answers here with each correct answer on a new line.

{% hint style="info" %}
Use {{mustache brackets}} to add variables from the Dynamic Engine as acceptable answers or distractors.
{% endhint %}

**Type:**

* **Text:** Used for text-based answers.
* **Number:** Used for number-based answers.
* **Dropdown:** Used for creating a dropdown selection.

**Text Options:**

* **Case Sensitive:** Check this to force answers to be case sensitive.
* **Error Tolerance (# of characters)**: Used to mitigate spelling mistakes.

**Number Options:**

* **Min. Decimals Required:** Specify the number of decimals in the answer.
* **Error Tolerance (%)**: Used to mitigate rounding errors in calculations.

**Dropdown Options:**

* **Distractors (1 per line):** Add distractors into your dropdown question.
  {% endstep %}

{% step %}

#### Review and Test Autograder

<figure><img src="/files/w4fgwl3ULguoQL7R340o" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

The review tab provides a real-time autograder to help you see how points are awarded.

{% hint style="info" %}
We encourage you to review how points and error tolerance are treated with the autograder.
{% endhint %}
{% endstep %}
{% endstepper %}

## Instructor Tips

### Ensuring Academic Integrity

* **Dynamic Questions:** Use a combination of independent and dependent variables.
* **Limited Time Windows:** Give students a set amount of time to complete the question.
* **Variety of Answers:** For content that is easily guessable, consider using synonyms or less obvious blanks.

### Integrity Statement

It's common to ask students to acknowledge an integrity statement by entering their name and student ID. You may even want to award points when a student completes the acknowledgment. To configure the fill-in-the-blank grader to accept any value entered into the textbox, select the `Use Regex` option and enter `.+` in the `Acceptable Answers` box:

<figure><img src="/files/uA3jA6lOD2wiVsy3Kwuv" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Common Issues

* Students may have trouble spelling words. You can leverage error tolerance to catch spelling mistakes.
* If multiple correct answers are possible (e.g., “AR” vs. “Accounts Receivable”), include all acceptable variations.

### Best Practices

* Provide context so students know what form of answer you expect (a name, a number, a short phrase).
* For numerical answers, specify units or format (e.g., “Enter your answer as a whole number.”).


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# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://examind.gitbook.io/v1/build/question-builder/question-types/fill-in-the-blank.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.