How to format an exam so it shuffles correctly
ExamShuffle reads the text of your Word or PDF file and works out where each question starts, which lines are its options, and what the answer is. Most exams need no changes at all. This guide shows the layout it reads best, the handful of layouts it gets wrong, and how to fix each one in a minute.
If you want to see a layout that reads cleanly before you change anything, download the sample exam and upload it yourself:
It has ten questions in four parts, one of each question type, and an answer key at the end. Every question and every answer is read on the first try.
Number every question at the start of its line
Each question needs a number at the very start of the line, followed by a full stop or a bracket:
1. What controls the cell?
2) Where does water boil at 100 °C?
Roman numerals work too (I., II.). Word’s own automatic numbering works as well, so you do not need to retype numbers that Word added for you.
What does not work is a word in front of the number. Q1., Question 1: and No. 1 are not recognised, and neither is a question with no number at all. If nothing is found, the review screen will say so. Delete the extra word and upload again.
A question can run over several lines. Everything up to the first option, or the next numbered question, is treated as one question.
Put each option on its own line
Start every option on a new line with a letter, in order:
A) Nucleus
B) Cell wall
C) Cytoplasm
D) All of the above
A., (A) and lowercase a) all work. You can have from two to eight options, lettered A to H.
The most common problem is options written on the same line as the question, or side by side across the page:
1. Closest planet? A) Venus B) Mars
That line is read as one long question with no options, so the choices would stay frozen in the same order on every version. Press Enter before each letter so every option has its own line. A table with one option in each cell also reads correctly.
Keep the letters in sequence. If an option is missing (A, C, D), the question is flagged on the review screen, because a skipped letter usually means an option was lost.
Write true or false as two options
A true-or-false question is recognised when its only two options are True and False:
5. Sound travels faster in water.
A) True
B) False
Writing (T/F) or True or False: inside the question is not enough. Those are read as a fill-in-the-blank or a short-answer question. You can either add the two options before uploading, or change the question type on the review screen.
Fill in the blank and short answer
A question with three or more underscores in it, like ______, becomes a fill-in-the-blank question. Any other question with no options becomes a short-answer question. On the answer key, short answers are marked for manual grading, with whatever model answer you give.
If a question has lettered parts that are questions themselves, such as a) What is the main idea? and b) Who is the narrator?, they are kept together with their question rather than read as options.
Mark parts and sections with a heading line
To split the exam into parts, put a short heading on its own line. Two kinds are recognised:
- A line that starts with Part or Section and a number or letter:
Part I,Section 2,Part B – True or False. - A short line in capitals with no full stop at the end:
MULTIPLE CHOICE.
Instructions written in capitals, such as ANSWER ALL QUESTIONS, are not mistaken for headings.
Questions are shuffled within their own part, so a question never moves out of its section. The order of the parts can change between versions.
Options that should not move
Some options only make sense in one position. All of the above, None of the above and Both of the above always stay where you put them, usually last.
An option that names other options by letter, like Both A and B or A, B and C, would be wrong after a shuffle, because A and B would no longer be the same options. When a question has one of these, its options are kept in their original order, and only the question itself moves. On the review screen these questions have Don’t shuffle these options switched on. You can switch it on for any other question whose options should stay in order, such as a list of dates from earliest to latest.
Give the answers so you do not have to retype them
There are two ways to include answers, and either one fills in the answer key for every version:
An answer key at the end. Put a line that says Answer Key or Answers on its own, then one answer per line:
ANSWER KEY
1. A
2. B
5. True
7. photosynthesis
You can also write them on one line: Answers: 1. A, 2. B, 3. C. The key is removed from the questions, so it never appears on the students’ papers.
Bold or underline the correct option. In Word or PDF, mark the correct choice in bold or with an underline and it is read as the answer. Italics are ignored, because many subjects use italics for names and terms.
Answers found this way are shown on the review screen as detected, so you can confirm each one before you generate the versions.
What cannot be read yet
A few things are outside what the reader can handle today:
- Scanned papers. A scan is a picture of a page with no text inside it. Upload the Word file it was printed from instead, or a PDF exported from Word or Google Docs.
- Pictures and diagrams. Only text is read. Add images back to the downloaded versions.
- Matching type. Two columns to match are read as separate short questions. Rewrite each pair as a multiple-choice question, or add the matching section by hand after downloading.
- Very large exams. Up to 200 questions and files up to 10 MB.
Your fonts and page layout are not copied either. Every version is laid out fresh as a clean, numbered paper, and you choose the paper size, font size and spacing when you download.
Check the review screen before you continue
Whatever the layout, every question is shown on the review screen before any version is made. Anything the reader was unsure about is flagged, and you can fix the text, change a question’s type, set the answer, or add a question it missed. A minute spent there is cheaper than finding a problem after the papers are printed.
When the review screen looks right, upload your own exam and shuffle it.