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New Quizzes

Create Different Types of New Quiz Questions

Last updated on September 30, 2024

Canvas provides a multitude of assessment tools that allow for feedback on both the student and instructor end. One of these tools is the New Quizzes function which allows you to create multiple-choice, true/false, and essay questions, among several others. The inclusion of many different question types allows for the demonstration of more nuanced knowledge and skills, as well as more varied feedback.

Note: This tutorial covers New Quizzes only. To work with a Classic Quiz, refer to the “Create Different Types of Classic Quiz Questions.”

Directions

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Creating New Quiz Questions

  1. Click Quizzes in the course navigation menu at left.
  2. Click the Name of the New Quiz.
  3. Click the blue + Button in the center of the screen.
  4. Select the Question Type you wish to use.
  5. Type a Title into the Question Title box.
  6. Type the Question/Prompt into the larger Rich Content Editor textbox.
  7. Adjust Options, as desired.
  8. Add to Item Bank, if desired. Refer to Use Item Banks, below, for details.
  9. Adjust the number of Points the question is worth.
    • Note: This determines the value of the question relative to other questions in the quiz. It does not affect the total points the quiz is worth in the Gradebook.
  10. To add feedback, if desired:
    1. Click the Speech Bubble Icon in the lower-left corner.
    2. Add Feedback for correct, incorrect, and/or all answers.
    3. Click Done.
  11. Click Done.
  12. Repeat Steps 3-10 to add additional questions.
  13. Click Return when the quiz is complete.

Types of New Quiz Questions

  1. Select from the list populated by clicking the + Button in step 3 above.

Categorization

This question type requires students to place answers in the correct categories you determine. Students must place all items correctly to earn the points, as there is no partial credit for this question.

  1. Title the Question. Students will not see the title of the question.
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Title Category 1.
  4. Title Category 2.
    • Note: You can add more categories by clicking + Category.
  5. Add answers by clicking + Answer under each category.
  6. Click + Distractor to add distractors, which will appear with the answers but not belong to any category.
  7. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, options, etc.).
  8. Click Done.

File Upload

This question type serves a very similar function to an essay question, except that it allows students to submit a file as an answer. To create this question type, complete the following steps:  

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Click Options and review:
    1. Select Limit File Number if you wish to only allow students a limited number of uploads.
    2. SelectRestrict File Types if you wish to determine what file types can be uploaded by students.
      • Type in the File Extensions, separated by commas, that you will allow.
  4. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  5. Click Done.

Formula

This question type requires students to type in a correct numerical answer. They will be presented with a randomly selected set of variables filled in and will need to provide the correct answer.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or formula your students are responding to.
    • Note: To define variables, surround the name with backticks: What is 5 plus `x`? A backtick is located to the left of the number 1 key at the top of your keyboard.
  3. Add variable Answers.
    1. Define each variable by specifying the Minimum and Maximum values for the variable.
      • Note: The variables will appear as they are defined in the question stem. If you do not see any variables, double-check your question stem and the placement of the backticks.
    2. Select the number of Decimal places by increasing or decreasing the number with the arrows.
  4. Add Formula Definition.
    1. Type the Formula Definition in the text box. Make sure the formula uses the same variable listed in the question stem and does not contain any brackets or equal signs.
      • Note: The Formula Definition supports the following operators: + (add), – (subtract), * (multiply), / (divide), and ^ (power).
  5. Generate Possible Solutions.
    1. Select the Number of Solutions you want to generate.
    2. Select the number of Decimal Places required.
    3. Select the Margin Type.
    4. Select the +/- Margin of Error acceptable for student answers.
    5. Select whether answers should display as Scientific Notation.
    6. Click Generate.
  6. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  7. Click Done.

Matching

This type of question requires students to match answers from a drop-down menu with a list of questions. Students must get all matches correct to earn full points, as there is no ability to award partial credit with this question.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Add Question/Answer Pairs.
    1. Type Question and Answer Pair. They appear on the same line.
      • Note: The default number of questions/answers is four. To add more, click + Question/Answer Pair. To reduce the number, click on the Trashcan Icon next to the pair.
  4. Click + Distractor to add distractors, which will appear with the answers but not belong to any category.
  5. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, shuffle questions, etc.).
  6. Click Done.

Multiple Choice

This type of question allows for you to ask questions, and provide possible answers, as well as indicate the correct answer and provide feedback. You do have the ability to designate partial credit for answers.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Type an Answer into each answer box.
    1. If desired, click on the Message Bubble Icon to provide automated feedback for that answer.
    2. Type in your Feedback.
    3. Click Done.
      1. Note: By default, there are four possible answer boxes. To remove a box, click on the Trashcan Icon to the right of the box.
  4. Select the Radio Button next to the answer box to indicate the correct answer.
  5. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, shuffle questions, etc.).
    • Note: This question allows for point to vary based on the answer provided by the student:
      • Select Vary Points by Answer. Point values will appear next to the answer boxes above.
      • Click the Up or Down Arrows to assign a point value to each answer.
  6. Click Done.

Ordering

This question type asks students to place answers in a specific order. Students muse answer all items correctly to earn points, as there is no ability to earn partial credit with this question.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Add Top Label. This will appear to students at the top of the list of answers they are ordering.
  4. Add Bottom Label. This will appear to students at the bottom of the list.
  5. Add Answers in answer boxes.
    • Note: By default, there are four possible answer boxes. To remove a box, click on the Trashcan Icon to the right of the box.
  6. Click and drag Answer Boxes to move answers into another order, if necessary. You can also click on the options (eight dots) icon to move the box up or down.
  7. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  8. Click Done.

Essay

This question type allows for text based responses from your students, and serves much the same as an essay assignment in an in-person setting.   

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.). Important features to consider within Options include:
    1. Rich Content Editor: This is selected by default because it is the textbox that students can type their answer into. It will allow them to upload media and much more. Refer to the “Rich Content Editor” tutorial for more information.
    2. Spell Check
    3. Show Word Count
    4. Set Word Limit: You can designate a minimum and a maximum number of words.
  4. Click Done.

Fill In The Blank

This type of question allows you to type a fill in the blank question using text or media, then allows you to define all possible answers. There may be multiple possible answers. Each blank space is given a point value calculated by dividing the total points possible by the number of blank spaces. Correct answer choices are awarded this point value and no points are subtracted for incorrect answers.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain instructions or a scenario, but not include the question or statement with blanks,
  3. Type your Statement in the Type a statement line beneath the question stem box.
  4. Highlight/select the Word(s) that you wish to appear blank to the student.
  5. Click the Create Blank Space button or press Enter.
  6. RepeatSteps 4 and 5 as many times as necessary to create additional blanks.
    1. Note: To remove a word from the blanks, click on the “x” in the corner of the rectangle around that word.
  7. SelectAnswer Type for each word selected as a blank. From the drop-down menu, select one of the following:
    1. Open Entry: This produces a text box for the student to type any answer.
    1. Drop-Down: this produces a list of words for students to select from in a dropdown format.
    2. Word Bank: this produces a list of words for students to select from at the bottom of the question. They will need to drag and drop answers into the correct position.
  8. SelectAnswer Criteria for each question, according to the type selected in Step 7.
    1. OpenEntry Yields Text Match options:
      1. Contains: This allows for the text to exist anywhere in student responses.
      2. Close Enough: Uses Levenshtein Distance to determine if the response is close enough to the correct answer. Levenshtein Distance is the number of single-character edits needed to change one word to another. You can choose to ignore case.
      3. Exact Match: Requires case and spelling to match exactly.
      4. Specify Correct Answers: Specifies that each acceptable response uses regular expressions for a custom match.
      5. Regular Expression Match: Requires using specialized text strings that describe search patterns. Not recommended for beginners.
    2. Drop-Down and Word Bank YieldPossible Choices:
      1. Type in Possible Answers into text boxes.
      2. Select Radio Button next to correct answer.
  9. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  10. Click Done.

Hot Spot

Hot Spot questions allow you to upload images and have students identify a specific area in that image. This question type is not considered accessible, which means your students may have difficulty participating with or answering

Note: The following image types can be used for Hot Spot questions: BMP, GIF, JPG/JPEG, PNG.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Click Browse to locate an image on your computer to upload.
  4. Click on the Circle, Square, or Teardrop Shapes to draw around the desired hot spot on the image.
    • Note: There can only be one shape or hot spot on the image. Clicking anywhere inside the shape will be correct and yield full credit.
  5. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  6. Click Done.

Multiple Answers

This question type functions similarly to the multiple-choice option, except students must choose all correct answers for full credit. Partial credit can be awarded as a penalty within the options of this question.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Type Possible Answers into the Type an Answer Box.
    • Note: By default, there are four possible answer boxes. To remove a box, click on the Trashcan Icon to the right of the box. To add an answer, click + Answer.
  4. Click the Box next to the answer to indicate the correct answers.
  5. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
    1. Under Options, you can find these important settings:
      1. Shuffle Choices: By default, all answers are shown unlocked (allows shuffling) to the right of the answer box. To keep answers in order, make sure the lock icon is locked.
      2. Partial Credit with Penalty: This setting allows you to designate partial credit by deducting erroneous answers from correct answers.
  6. Click Done.

Numeric

This question type allows students to submit a numerical answer and allows you to set a margin of error for answers. If the answer provided is in non-numeric format, the question will not be auto-graded.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Select the Requirement from the dropdown menu:
    1. Exact Response: students must match the answer exactly.
    2. Margin of Error: student answers will be marked correct if they fall within the margin above or below the answer.
    3. Within a Range: Students will be marked correct if they are greater than or equal to the range start and less than or equal to the range end.
    4. Precise Response: Students will be marked as correct if they match the answer to the given number of significant digits or decimal places.
  4. Type the correct Answer and Parameters:
    1. Exact Answer:
      1. Enter the Answer in numeric form.
        • Note: If the number requires notation, enter them with arrows (ex: 1.234*10^5). The answer field only accepts numbers, periods, commas, asterisks, and carets.
    2. Margin of Error:
      1. Enter the Answer in numeric form.
      2. Add the +/- Margin number.
      3. Select the Type of Margin from the drop-down menu (percent or absolute).
        • Note: The Answer and Margin fields only accept numbers, periods, and commas.
    3. Within a Range:
      1. Enter the Range Start.
      2. Enter the Range End.
        • Note: Range inputs can be in scientific notation (accepted format: 1.234*10^5) and only accept numbers, periods, commas, asterisks, and carets.
    4. Precise Response:
      1. Enter the Answer in numeric form.
        • Note: Precise response fields do not accept entries written in scientific notation. The answers field only accepts numbers, periods, and commas.
      2. Enter the Precision value. This should be a number.
        • Note: The Precision field only accepts whole numbers greater than 1.
      3. Select the Type from a drop-down menu:
        1. Significant digits
        2. Decimal places
  5. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  6. Click Done.

True or False

This question type allows you to query whether a student can identify information presented as true or false.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question.)
  2. Add a Question Stem. This should contain the question or statement students are responding to.
  3. Select the Radio Button to the left of the correct answer (true or false).
  4. Modify any Further Settings (points, feedback, etc.).
  5. Click Done.

Stimulus

This question type allows you to provide content to students (a URL, excerpt of a reading, image, etc.) and then ask questions about that content.

  1. Title the Question. (Students will not see the title of the question and it is required.)
  2. Type Instructions. Though optional, it would be a good idea to give your students an understanding of how this part of the quiz will function.
  3. Provide Content in the Rich Content Editor box. This should be the information or content you will be asking multiple questions about; it should not include the question(s) itself.
    1. Note: For more information on what you can do with this feature, rever to the “Rich Content Editor Box tutorial.”
  4. Add Source URL, if desired. This will not be visible to students during the quiz.
  5. Click Add Stimulus. The question will shift to the left.
  6. Click Attach Question.
  7. Select the Type of Question you wish to attach to this content item.
  8. Follow the Instructions above for that type of question. You will be building that question on the right side of the screen, next to the stimulus provided.
  9. Click Done.
  10. Repeat Steps 6-9 as many times as desired to create questions associated with that stimulus.

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