---
title: "Formatting Word Documents for Respondus"
canonical: "https://kb.uconn.edu/space/TL/26024247323/Formatting%20Word%20Documents%20for%20Respondus"
format: markdown
---
This article is intended for instructors looking to create Word Documents to import into Respondus.
## General Formatting
- Each question must begin with a number followed by either a period or parenthesis
- There must be at least one space between the question number and question wording
- Titles can be added to questions by typing “Title:” above the question followed by the desire title
```plaintext
Title: Question 1
1. Question Text
```
- Instructors can also download a [Respondus Word Sample File](https://www.respondus.com/downloads/Respondus-DOCX-Sample-File.docx) for more information
## Multiple Choice Questions
> ⚠️ This assumes you have disabled auto-numbering in Word to allow you to place the asterisk at the beginning of the answer. Instructors should refer to [https://uconn.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TL/pages/10787029138](https://uconn.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/TL/pages/10787029138) for assistance with configuring Word.
- Multiple Choice questions must follow all of the formatting rules above
- Answers should be lettered *a* to *t*, followed by either a period or parenthesis
- Correct answers can be designated either by placing an asterisk (“*”) before the letter with no space in between, or by placing a answer list at the end of the file
- For True/False Questions, the answer True must come first for the system to import the question as True/False, otherwise it will be imported as a multiple choice question
- Further information on formatting Multiple Choice questions, along with examples can be found the in Respondus Documentation of the [standard format for Multiple Choice Questions](#).
## Other Question Types
- For all other question types, instructors must specify the type of question using the keyword “Type:” followed by a space and the type designation from the table below before the question title.
- Further information on formatting questions, along with additional examples can be found in the Respondus documentation on the [standard format for other question types](#).
| **Question Type** | **Respondus Type Designation** |
| --- | --- |
| Essay | E |
| Multiple Answer | MA |
| Fill in the Blank | F |
| Multiple Fill in the Blank | FMB |
| Matching | MT |
| Ordering | ORD |
| Jumbled Sentence | JUM |
Essay Questions
- Essay questions must follow all the general formatting rules
- Instructors can place an answer following the question by typing “a.” or “a)” followed by at least one space and the answer
Multiple Answer Questions
- Multiple Answer Question must follow all the general formatting rules
- Multiple Answer questions should be formatted in the same manner a multiple choice questions, except the instruction must use the type designation “Type: MA” to allow students to select multiple answers, and mark multiple answers as correct
Fill in the Blank
- Fill in the Blank question must follow all the general formatting rules
- Instructors can only specify one answer for a Fill in the Blank, but can specify multiple forms of that answer
Multiple Fill in the Blank
- Multiple Fill in the Blank Questions must follow all the general formatting rules
- The question text must including the wording and the words to be filled in located in square brackets
- There can be a maximum of 10 words to be filled in
- Each can have a maximum of 20 answers
Matching
- Matching Question must follow all the general formatting rules
- Each answer to a matching question is a pair, with each part of the correct match joined by a equal sign
- Similar to multiple choice, the answers should be lettered *a* to *t* followed by a period or parenthesis
Ordering
- Ordering Questions must follow all the general formatting rules
- The formatting of ordering questions is similar to multiple choice, except that answers are not designated by the asterisk (“*”), but rather the answers should be added in the correct order
- Like Multiple Choice, the answers must be lettered *a* to *t*, and followed by either a period or parenthesis
Jumbled Sentance
- Jumbled Sentence Questions must follow the general formatting rules
- Similar to Multiple Fill in the Blank, the question text for Jumbled Sentences should include the question wording, along with the words to be jumbled in square brackets.
## Providing Feedback for Answers
Instructors can provide general feedback within the Word Document.
- Feedback should be placed after the question text, and before the answers
- Feedback for correct answers is designed with the tilde (“~”) character
- Feedback for incorrect answers is designed with the “@” character
- There must be at least one space between the tilde or “@” character and the question feedback
> ℹ️ Instructors seeking assistance using Respondus 4.0 should contact Education Technologies at [edtech@uconn.edu](mailto:edtech@uconn.edu) or by phone at (860) 486-5052 between Monday and Friday, 9 am to 4 pm.