Below is a shortened guide on formatting text files for use with Respondus. See the full User Guide for Respondus on the company's website. Choose the guide meant for Blackboard. 

Standard Format for Importing Questions

Respondus will import multiple choice, true-false, essay, fill in the blank, and multiple answer questions into Blackboard. The plain text, rich-text, or MS Word file must be organized in a "Standard Format" before it can be imported into Respondus. The Standard Format for multiple choice questions has required elements and optional elements, each of which is described below. This section is followed by an explanation of the formatting required for true/false, essay, fill in the blank, and multiple answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

Required Elements
Each question must begin with a question number, followed by either a period "." or a parentheses ")".

Example: 3) Example: 3. The question wording must follow the question number. (Note: at least one space should be between the question number and the question wording.) Example: 3) Who determined the exact speed of light? Example: 3. Who determined the exact speed of light? Type: MT 4) Match the correct name to the discovery or theory. a. Michelson-Morely = Speed of light b. Einstein = Theory of Relativity c. Marconi = radio waves

Each answer must begin with a letter (A-T) followed by a period "." or a parentheses ")".

Example:

3) Who determined the exact speed of light?
a. Albert Einstein
b. Albert Michelson
c. Thomas Edison
d. Guglielmo Marconi

Optional Elements
A "title" can be imported with each question. If a title is not provided for a question, the first 20 characters from the question wording will be used as the question title. Titles must be placed at the beginning of a question and begin with "Title:" followed by the actual text for the title. If the title exceeds 20 characters, the remaining characters will be dropped during the import.
 
Example:

Title: Speed of Light
3) Who determined the exact speed of light?
 a. Albert Einstein
b. Albert Michelson
c. Thomas Edison
d. Guglielmo Marconi

Answers
For imports into an exam file, correct answers can be indicated in two ways. First, you may place an asterisk (*) directly in front of the answer choice (do not put a space between the asterisk and the answer choice).
 
Example:

Title: Speed of Light
3) Who determined the exact speed of light?
a. Albert Einstein
*b) Albert Michelson
c) Thomas Edison
d. Guglielmo Marconi

 
The second option is to place a list of correct answers at the end of the file. The list must begin with the word "Answers:" and must be positioned at the end of the file. (Note: Any text after the answer list will be ignored.)
 
Example:

Answers:
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. B

If neither method is used to select a correct answer, Respondus will automatically select the letter "A" as the correct answer. Don’t worry, you will be warned if a question does not have an answer selected for it prior to completing the import. (Note that survey files should not have "correct answers" indicated. If you are importing questions into a survey file, any correct answer designations will be ignored.)

Multiple Answers Questions

The logic for importing questions that have multiple answers is similar to what is described above for importing multiple choice questions. (Multiple Answers questions are, essentially, multiple choice questions in which more than one correct answer can -- and generally should -- be selected by the student). The primary difference is that the first line of the formatting must begin with "Type: MA". This is followed by the "Title" (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording. Correct answers are designated with an asterisk.
 
Example:

Type: MA
3) Which of the following individuals are credited with determining the exact speed of light?
a. Albert Einstein
*b. Albert Michelson
c. Thomas Edison
*d. Edward Williams Morley

Answers:

1. B D

2. B, D

3. B,D

True/False Questions

The process of importing "true and false" questions is similar to that used for importing multiple choice questions (see above). Both of the following examples are valid ways to format a true and false question for importing purposes.
 
Example:

3) Albert Michelson determined the exact speed of light?
 *a) True
b) False

 
Example:

3) Albert Michelson determined the exact speed of light?
*a. T
b. F

 
It’s important to note that the "True" (or "T") answer choice must be listed prior to the "False" (or "F") answer choice in order for Respondus to recognize it as a true and false question type. (If "False" appears first in the list, the question will be imported as a "multiple choice" question).

A second way to designate a correct answer for a true and false question is to place it in a list of correct answers at the end of the file. The list must begin with the word "Answers:" and must be positioned at the end of the file. (Note: Any text after the answer list will be ignored.) The correct answer for a true and false question can be designated in three ways: (1) the complete word "True" or "False," (2) the letter "T" or "F," or (3) the alphabetical letter "A" (for true) or "B" (for false). For example, the formatting of each of the following answers is acceptable for true and false questions in which all of the answers are "true":
 
Example:

Answers:
1. True
2. T
3. A

Essay Questions

The logic for importing essay questions is similar to what is described above for Multiple Choice and True & False questions. The primary difference is that the first line of formatting must begin with "Type: E". This is followed by the "Title" (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording.
 
Example:

Type: E
4. How is the Michelson-Morley experiment related to Albert Einstein's theory of relativity?

Fill in the Blank Questions

Fill in the blank questions may be imported by starting the first line of formatting with "Type: F". This is followed by the "Title" (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording.
 
Example:

Type: F
5. Who is known as the "father of television"?

 
Respondus allows only one correct answer per question, but it does permit you to enter multiple forms of that answer.
 
Example:

Type: F
5. Who is known as the "father of television"? 
a. Zworykin
b. Vladimir Zworykin
c. Vladimir Kosma Zworykin

       
Answers can also be placed at the end of the file, using a format similar to multiple choice questions. The only difference is that you can enter multiple forms of an answer by repeating the question number.
 
Example:

Answers:
1. A
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. Zworykin
5. Vladimir Zworykin
5. Vladimir Kosma Zworykin
6. B

Multiple Fill in the Blank Questions

Fill in multiple blanks questions may be imported by starting the first line of formatting with "Type: FMB". This is followed by the "Title" (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording with the words to be filled in provided in [square brackets]. The wording can include up to 10 [words] to be filled in, each of which can have up to 20 correct answers.
 
Example: 

Type: FMB
5. A [rose] by any other [name] would smell as [sweet].

Respondus allows multiple correct answers per blank to be specified by separating each correct answer inside the brackets with commas.
 
 Example: 

Type: FMB
5. A [rose, red flower] by any other [name] would  smell as [sweet, good].

Matching Questions

The process of importing a "matching" question is similar to what is described above for importing multiple choice questions, but there are some key differences. The first line of formatting must begin with "Type: MT". This is followed by the "title" (which is optional), the question number, and the question wording.
 
Each answer (which consists of both parts of a correct match) must begin with a letter (a-t) followed by a period "." or a parentheses ")". The two parts of the match must be separated with an "=" symbol and there should not be any hard returns or blank lines within either parts of the answer.

Example:

Type: MT
4) Match the correct name to the discovery or theory.
a. Michelson-Morely = Speed of light
b. Einstein = Theory of Relativity
c. Marconi = radio waves

Order Questions

Ordering questions may be imported by starting the first line of formatting with "Type: ORD". This is followed by the "Title" (which is optional), the question number, the question wording, and the answer choices which must be in the correct order.   
Example:

Type: ORD
5. Put the following presidents in order of  service?
a. George Washington
b. John Adams
c. Thomas Jefferson
d. James Madison
e. James Monroe    

Each answer (which must be in the correct order) must begin with a letter (a-t) followed by a period "." or a parentheses ")". e.g.: a., b., c. or a), b), c)

Save your File

Save your file as a Word document (.doc, .docx), as a Rich Text file (.rtf), or as a Plain Text file (.txt). Any other format will not work in Respondus. A Plain Text file (.txt) is the cleanest file. Microsoft Word will occasionally revert back to a Numbered List and will eliminate an asterisk placed in front of the answer. To avoid this, save the file as a Plain Text file (.txt) file or put the answers at the end of the document.

For full details and optional feedback information:

1. From Respondus, click on Import Questions button.
   
   
   
   
2. Click on the Help button.
   
   
   
   
3. Click on The Standard Format for Importing Documents link in the instructions.