Canvas LMS Instructor Guide

How do I create an Essay question in New Quizzes?

When creating a quiz, you can create an Essay question in New Quizzes. In an Essay question, students are required to enter a text response. You can also add word count, word limit, spell-check, and Rich Content Editor options for students’ essay responses.

You can also add grading notes to an Essay question. Grading notes will display next to the question as a reference to help you grade student responses.

You can also duplicate Essay questions to create a new question.

Note: Students can still submit their quiz attempt even if the essay questions minimum and/or maximum word limit is not met.

00:10: To create a question, click the Add button anywhere in the quiz.

00:15: Click the Add Essay button.

00:17: In the Question Title field, add a question title. Question titles

00:22: are optional and are not visible to students.

00:25: In the Question Stem field, add the question for the Essay question.

00:29: You can use the Rich Content Editor or the HTML view to format

00:33: and add content to your prompt.

00:36: To allow students to use an on-screen calculator, click the show on screen calculator.

00:40: Checkbox, when you select this option, you can choose either a basic or

00:44: scientific calculator, the basic calculator displays numbers, and basic

00:49: math functions, such as add subtract, multiply and divide,

00:53: the scientific calculator, displays more options for advanced calculations.

00:59: The Rich Content Editor is enabled for students by default. To disable

01:03: the Rich Content Editor, click the Rich Content Editor checkbox.

01:08: To enable spell-check, click the Spell-check checkbox.

01:12: To enable word count tracking, click the Show Word Count checkbox.

01:17: To set a word limit for the Essay question, click the Set Word Limit checkbox.

01:21: You can set a minimum and maximum word limit for student answers.

01:26: To add grading notes, click the Grading Notes tab and enter your notes in the

01:30: text field.

01:32: To align the question to an outcome, click anywhere in the Align to Outcomes section.

01:38: To add the question to an item bank,

01:40: click the Add to Bank link.

01:43: To customize the point value for the question, type the point value in the Points

01:47: field or use the arrows to increase or decrease the point value.

01:52: To leave feedback for students, click the Feedback icon.

Add Question

To create a question, click the Add button anywhere in the quiz.

Add Essay Question

Click the Add Essay button.

Add Question Title and Stem

In the Question Title field [1], add a question title. Question titles are optional and are not visible to students.

In the QuestionStem field [2], add the question for the Essay question. You can use the Rich Content Editor or the HTML view to format and add content to your prompt.

Set Question Options

You can enable various tools for students to use when answering an Essay question. To allow students to use an on-screen calculator, click the Show on-screen calculator checkbox [1]. When you select this option, you can choose either a basic or a scientific calculator [2]. The basic calculator displays numbers and basic math functions (add, subtract, multiply, divide). The scientific calculator displays more options for advanced calculations.

The Rich Content Editor is enabled for students by default. To disable the Rich Content Editor, click the Rich Content Editor checkbox [3].

To enable spell-check, click the Spell-check checkbox [4]. To enable word count tracking, click the Show Word Count checkbox [5].

To set a word limit for the Essay question, click the Set Word Limit checkbox [6]. You can set a minimum and maximum word limit for student answers [7].

Notes:

The on-screen calculator option is intended to be used while displaying one question at a time. If the quiz does not display one question at a time, students may be able to use the calculator for all questions.
If enabled at both the individual question level and in the Quiz Settings, the on-screen calculator will display within the question instead of at the top of the page.

Add Grading Notes

To add grading notes, click the Grading Notes tab [1] and enter your notes in the text field [2].

Align to Outcome

To align the question to an outcome, click anywhere in the Align to Outcomes section.

Add to Item Bank

To add the question to an item bank, click the Add to Bank link.

Note: After a question has been added to an item bank, it can only be edited in the item bank. You can still set unique point values and options in the quiz for an item bank question.

Add Point Value and Feedback

To customize the point value for the question, type the point value in the Points field [1] or use the arrows to increase or decrease the point value [2].

To leave feedback for students, click the Feedback icon [3].

Save Question

To save the question, click the Done button.

Canvas LMS Instructor Guide

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