One type of question available in Moodle that can be used for tests is the cloze test.

As this question type is not entirely self-explanatory and we also offer the ‘Cloze selection’ question type, we would like to briefly introduce this question type and its use here.

This question type allows you to complete a text with missing words. Here, it is possible to define text fields as gaps, in addition to drop-down lists. However, the gaps themselves must be inserted directly into the text using a specific syntax. We will explain how this works here.

If you decide to allow students more than one attempt at the question, you can specify in the ‘Multiple attempts’ section what percentage of the marks will be deducted for an incorrect answer. You can also provide feedback after students have submitted an incorrect answer.

To check how the question appears in the test at any point, you can click on ‘Save and continue editing’ at the bottom of the page. Then go to Preview (located to the right of Save and continue editing). You will then be shown the preliminary result that participants will see in the test. You can also take the test yourself to verify it.

On the page that now appears, start by filling in the required fields under the ‘General’ menu item. These are marked with a white exclamation mark inside a red circle.

Under ‘Question title’, give the question a name under which it will be listed in your question catalogue. Under ‘Question text’, write your cloze text. The gap is marked with a curly bracket and consists of three elements, separated by colons. Start your gap with an opening curly bracket.

Part 1: Marking

The mark for the question follows immediately after the brace. This consists of a whole number indicating the number of marks to be awarded for this gap. Later, the marks for all gaps are added together to give the total mark for the question. Then place a colon to specify the next element.

Part 2: Specifying the type of gap

The score is followed by the type of gap. There are three types of gaps to choose from.

MULTICHOICE: The Multichoice type allows students to select an answer from a menu of predefined options, of which only one is correct. The number of answer options is up to you.

SHORTANSWER: If you select the Shortanswer type, a blank text field appears in the gap text, into which students can type their answer themselves. Please note any variations in the spelling of the answer and, if necessary, provide several correct answer options with different spellings.

NUMERICAL: With the Numerical type, students are presented with an empty field for entering a number.

Please note that the gap types must be written in capital letters. Also place a colon after the gap type to specify the next element.

Part 3: Defining the answer options and indicating whether they are correct or incorrect

Once you have determined the type of gap, you can enter the answer options. List these one after the other and separate the different answers with a tilde (~). Mark a correct answer by placing an equal sign (=) before the answer. You can also enter partially correct answers. For these, place %50% before the answer.

You can also leave a comment on a specific answer. To do this, place a hashtag (#) after the relevant answer option and then write your feedback. The next answer option then starts again as normal with a tilde.

Don’t forget to add a closing curly bracket (}) at the end. This marks the end of the gap, and you can continue writing the text.

In summary, a gap could look like this: {1:SHORTANSWER:wrong#Feedback~=correct~%50%partially correct#Feedback}

To add the Cloze question type to a test, you must first have created the Test activity within the course.

To do this, switch to edit mode (Fig. 1).

Create the Test activity by first clicking on Create activity or resources (Fig. 2) and then selecting Test (Fig. 3). Then enter a name for the test and save.

Open the test and select Add question (Fig. 4). On the new page, select Add and New question (Fig. 5). You can now select a specific question type from the list. Here, select the question type Cloze. Confirm your selection by clicking the Add button (Fig. 6).