short answer questions meaning

What Is a Short Answer and How Is It Used?

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

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• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

In spoken English and informal writing, a short answer is a response made up of a subject and an auxiliary verb or modal . Short answers are brief but complete—they can answer "yes or no" questions or more complicated queries.

Conventionally, the verb in a short answer is in the same tense as the verb in the question asked. Also, the verb in the short answer should agree in person and number with its subject.

Examples of Short Answers

Short answers can appear in just about any context. The following examples are all from literature—study them to better understand how short answers look and sound in conversation.

An Equal Music: A Novel

"'How did she do in her exams?' Maria had already told me she had done quite well, but I was now flailing around to keep the conversation going.

'She passed.'

'She is all right, isn't she?'

' Yes, she is, ' he replied firmly," (Seth 2000).

"'The poor lass took quite a fall, didn't she?' Gelfrid remarked. 'Is she usually so clumsy?'

' No, she isn't ,' Judith answered," (Garwood 1992).

The Bean Trees

"You're asking yourself, Can I give this child the best possible upbringing and keep her out of harm's way her whole life long? The answer is no, you can't, " (Kingslover 1988).

Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2005

"Can we change? Yes, we can . Can they change? Yes, they can, " (Clarke 2004).

The Tea Rose

"'Will, you've been in love before, haven't you? I mean, with Anna, of course ... and your various ... well, you have , haven't you?'

Will looked into his glass. 'No. No, I haven't, '" (Donnelly 2007).

Anybody Out There?

"'What's up with him?'

'His stomach is sick. He's nervous about his speech.'

'He's got food poisoning!' Helen declared. 'Hasn't he?'

'No, he has not!'

'Yes, he has.'

'No, he has not'!'

'Yes, he has,'" (Keyes 2007).

Little Dorrit

"'No, I won't, Jeremiah—no I won't— no I won't!—I won't go, I'll stay here. I'll hear all I don't know and say all I know. I will, at last, if I die for it. I will, I will, I will, I will!'" (Dickens 1857).

Short Answer Patterns

The structure of a short answer is important. Without a subject and an auxiliary verb, a short answer is not a full answer. However, a short answer does not need to entirely restate a question. Because they often lack a main verb, they are technically not complete sentences. Writer and language expert Michael Swan explains this further in the following excerpt.

"Answers are often grammatically incomplete because they do not need to repeat words that have just been said. A typical ' short answer ' pattern is subject + auxiliary verb , together with whatever other words are really necessary.

Can he swim?

Yes, he can.

"This response is more natural than Yes, he can swim .

Has it stopped raining?

No, it hasn't.

Are you enjoying yourself?

I certainly am.

You'll be on holiday soon.

Yes, I will.

Don't forget to telephone.

I won't.

You didn't phone Debbie last night.

No, but I did this morning.

"Non-auxiliary verbs be and have are also used in short answers.

Is she happy?

I think she is.

Have you a light?

Yes, I have.

"We use do and did in answers to sentences that have neither an auxiliary verb nor non-auxiliary verbs be or have .

She likes cakes.

She really does.

That surprised you.

It certainly did.

"Short answers can be followed by tags .

Yes, it is, isn't it?

"Note that stressed , non-contracted forms are used in short answers," (Swan 2005).

Short Answers With So, Neither, and Nor

Another way to shorten an answer is to use a word like so in place of part of a statement. You have likely seen and heard this many times before. The book Active English Grammar offers a description of how such words are used in short answers.

"Sometimes a statement about one person also applies to another person. When this is the case, you can use a short answer with 'so' for positive statements, and with 'neither' or 'nor' for negative statements using the same verb that was used in the statement.

"You use 'so,' 'neither,' or 'nor' with an auxiliary, modal, or the main verb 'be.' The verb comes before the subject.

You were different then.— So were you. I don't normally drink at lunch.— Neither do I. I can't do it.— Nor can I.

"You can use 'not either' instead of 'neither,' in which case the verb comes after the subject .

He doesn't understand.— We don't either.

"You often use 'so' in short answers after verbs such as 'think,' 'hope,' 'expect,' 'imagine,' and 'suppose,' when you think that the answer to the question is 'yes.'

You'll be home at six?— I hope so . So it was worth doing?— I suppose so .

"You use 'I'm afraid so' when you are sorry that the answer is 'yes.'

Is it raining?— I'm afraid so .

"With 'suppose,' 'think,' 'imagine,' or 'expect' in short answers, you also form negatives with 'so.'

Will I see you again?— I don't suppose so. Is Barry Knight a golfer?— No, I don't think so .

"However, you say 'I hope not' and 'I'm afraid not.'

It isn't empty, is it?— I hope not, " ( Active English Grammar 2011).

• Active English Grammar (Collins COBUILD) . HarperCollins Publishers, 2011.
• Clarke, Oz. Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2005 . Harcourt, 2004.
• Dickens, Charles . Little Dorrit. Bradbury and Evans, 1857.
• Donnelly, Jennifer. The Tea Rose . 1st ed., St. Martin's Griffin, 2007.
• Garwood, Julie. The Secret . Pocket Books, 1992.
• Keyes, Marian. Anybody Out There? William Morrow Paperbacks, 2007.
• Kingsolver, Barbara. The Bean Trees. Harper, 1988.
• Seth, Vikram. An Equal Music: A Novel . 1st ed., Vintage, 2000.
• Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage. 3rd ed., Oxford University Press, 2005.
• Know your Auxiliary Verbs
• How to Use 'It Depends' in Conversation
• Rhetorical Questions for English Learners
• The Yes-No Question in English Grammar
• How to Ask Questions in English
• Italian Direct Object Pronouns With Passato Prossimo
• Direct Question in Grammar
• Definition and Examples of Negative Contractions
• How to Use the French Expression 'N'est-ce Pas' in Conversation
• What is a Question?
• Negative Structures
• Doch ...and Other Tricky German Words
• How to Teach the Present Simple
• What Are Auxiliary Verbs?
• Definition and Examples of Subject-Auxiliary Inversion
• ESL Lesson Plan: How to Use "Have"

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Short answer questions

Short answer questions (or SAQs) can be used in examinations or as part of assessment tasks.

They are generally questions that require students to construct a response. Short answer questions require a concise and focused response that may be factual, interpretive or a combination of the two.

SAQs can also be used in a non-examination situation. A series of SAQs can comprise a larger assessment task that is completed over time.

Advantages and limitations

• Limitations
• Questions can reveal a student’s ability to describe, explain, reason, create, analyse, synthesise, and evaluate.
• Gives opportunities for students to show higher level skills and knowledge.
• Allows students to elaborate on responses in a limited way.
• Provides an opportunity to assess a student’s writing ability.
• Can be less time consuming to prepare than other item types.
• Structured in a variety of ways that elicit a range of responses, from a few words to a paragraph.
• Can limit the range of content that can be assessed.
• Favours students who have good writing skills.
• Can potentially be difficult to moderate.
• Can be time consuming to assess.
• Need to be well written for the standard of answers to be able to be differentiated in terms of assessment.

Guidelines for constructing short answer questions

• Effective short answer questions should provide students with a focus (types of thinking and content) to use in their response.
• Avoid indeterminate, vague questions that are open to numerous and/or subjective interpretations.
• Select verbs that match the intended learning outcome and direct students in their thinking.
• If you use ‘discuss’ or ‘explain’, give specific instructions as to what points should be discussed/explained.
• Delimit the scope of the task to avoid students going off on an unrelated tangent.
• Know what a good response would look like and what it might include reference to.
• Practice writing a good response yourself so you have an exemplar and so you are aware of how long it may take to answer.
• Provide students with practice questions so they are familiar with question types and understand time limitations.
• Distribute marks based on the time required to answer.
• Does the question align with the learning outcome/s?
• Is the focus of the question clear?
• Is the scope specific and clear enough for students to be able to answer in the time allocated?
• Is there enough direction to guide the student to the expected response?

Examples of short answer questions

Your questions can access a range of cognitive skills/action verbs.

List/identify

This SAQ requires students to simply identify or list. The question may indicate the scope of requirements. e.g. List three, List the most important.

For example:

• “List the typical and atypical neuroleptics (anti-psychotics) used to treat schizophrenia.”

This question asks student to define a term or idea.

• “What is the capital gains tax?”
• “Define soundness as an element of reasoning”.

This is a question where students are asked to provide an explanation. The explanation may address what, how or why.

• “Why does the demand for luxury goods increase as the price increases?”
• “What are the important elements of a well-presented communication strategy?”
• “Why does an autoantibody binding to a post-synaptic receptor stop neuron communication?
• “Explain the purpose of scaffolding as a teaching strategy”.

Justify/support

A question that includes a requirement to justify or support can ask students to provide an example of one or several specific occurrences of an idea or concept.

• “Use 2 examples to show how scaffolding can be used to improve the efficacy of teaching and learning”.

For this kind of question, asks students to discuss how two or more concepts or objects are related. Is one different from the other? If so, how? Are they perfectly alike? Does one represent the other in some way?

• “Why would a rise in the price of sugar lead to an increase in the sales of honey?”

Combination

Types of questions can be combined.

• “List the three subphyla of the Phylum Chordata. What features permit us to place them all within the same phylum? “
• “What benefits does territorial behaviour provide? Why do many animals display territorial behaviour?”
• “Will you include short answer questions on your next exam? Justify your decision with two to three sentences explaining the factors that have influenced your decision.”

Additional resources

Short Answer Questions- Assessment Resource Centre - University of Hong Kong

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Short Answer Questions

• What are Short Answer Questions?
• Structure of Short Answer Questions
• Advantages of Short Answer Questions
• Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions
• How to design a good Short Answer Question?
• Marking Rubrics
• Web References and Resources

What are Short Answer Questions? Short-answer questions are open-ended questions that require students to create an answer. They are commonly used in examinations to assess the basic knowledge and understanding (low cognitive levels) of a topic before more in-depth assessment questions are asked on the topic.

• MHz measures the _________________ of the computer.
• List the different types of plastic surgery procedures.
• In economics, state Gresham's Law.
• Short Answer Questions are relatively fast to mark and can be marked by different assessors, as long as the questions are set in such a way that all alternative answers can be considered by the assessors.
• Short Answer Questions are also relatively easy to set compared to many assessment methods.
• Short Answer Questions can be used as part of a formative and summative assessment, as the structure of short answer questions are very similar to examination questions, students are more familiar with the practice and feel less anxious.
• Unlike MCQs, there is no guessing on answers, students must supply an answer.
• Short Answer Questions (SAQ) are only suitable for questions that can be answered with short responses. It is very important that the assessor is very clear on the type of answers expected when setting the questions, because SAQ is an open-ended questions, students are free to answer any way they choose, short-answer questions can lead to difficulties in grading if the question is not worded carefully.
• Short Answer Questions are typically used for assessing knowledge only, students may often memorize Short Answer Questions with rote learning. If assessors wish to use Short Answer Questions to assess deeper learning, careful attention (and many practices) on appropriate questions are required.
• Accuracy of assessment may be influenced by handwriting/spelling skills
• There can be time management issues when answering Short Answer Questions
• Design short answer items which are appropriate assessment of the learning objective
• Make sure the content of the short answer question measures knowledge appropriate to the desired learning goal
• Express the questions with clear wordings and language which are appropriate to the student population
• Ensure there is only one clearly correct answer in each question
• Consider whether the positioning of the item blank promote efficient scoring
• Write the instructions clearly so as to specify the desired knowledge and specificity of response
• Set the questions explicitly and precisely.
• Direct questions are better than those which require completing the sentences.
• For numerical answers, let the students know if they will receive marks for showing partial work (process based) or only the results (product based), also indicated the importance of the units.
• Let the students know what your marking style is like, is bullet point format acceptable, or does it have to be an essay format?
• Prepare a structured marking sheet; allocate marks or part-marks for acceptable answer(s).
• Be prepared to accept other equally acceptable answers, some of which you may not have predicted.

Marking Rubrics Short answer questions tend to be short, and have more precise answers, thus, it is possible for each question to list out all the possible answers/points.

A simple Short Answer Questions Rubric:

For example, if there are 6 possible arguments to a question, and the student scores all 6 arguments, he will get full mark in that question. If he scores only 4 arguments, he will get a relative mark. You may also decide to be lenient, if there are 6 arguments in a question, and the student scores any 4 out of 6, he will get full mark, this would be an assessor decision, however, this decision must be clear and consistent.

If a more essay type of answer is requested, the following rubric maybe suitable: (From Rubric Studio, http://www.rcampus.com/rubricshowc.cfm?b=%25%2D%2B%3B2R%5D8%20%0A&sp=yes& )

Short Answer Questions Assessment

• Short Answer Questions, Division of Learning and Teaching, Charles Sturt University https://www.csu.edu.au/division/learning-teaching/assessments/assessment-types/exams/short-answer-questions
• Short-answer Questions, Institute for Interactive media and Learning, University of Technology Sydney http://www.iml.uts.edu.au/assessment/types/short_answer/index.html
• Short Answer Questions - Teacher Resources, Carleton University https://carleton.ca/tls/teachingresources/assessing-student-work/short-answer-questions/

Tips for Students answering SAQs

• Tips for Writing Short Answer Essay Exams, Michigan State University https://www.msu.edu/course/prr/320/web/tipsexam.html
• Short Answer Test Tips-Help, Test Taking Tips.Com http://www.testtakingtips.com/test/short.htm

Copy and paste the text below: Chan C.(2009) Assessment: Short Answer Questions, Assessment Resources@HKU, University of Hong Kong [http://ar.talic.hku.hk]: Available: Accessed: DATE

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Short Answer questions can be difficult for students. While not as lengthy as an essay question, you are still expected to cover enough material in the question to get full marks.

Unlike multiple choice and true/false questions, short answer questions have no possible answers written down for you—you have to recall and summarize ideas in your own words.

Despite the added difficulty, there are still some tricks you can use when writing responses to short answer questions.

Keyword Clues in Short Answer Questions

Here are some typical words (instructions) you might find in a short-answer test and their meaning. Understanding the question ensures that you respond to it fully—and earn full marks!

Short Answer Quick Tips

• Read the questions carefully : Take your time to make sure you fully understand what is being asked of you.
• Do not over analyze : Go with your first instinct on your answer.
• Don't leave the answer blank! You can still get partial marks for having some of the answer.
• Make sure you answer the entire question : That's why reading the question carefully is so important.
• Check how many marks each question is worth : Each point you write down will be worth one mark in your final grade. For example, if the short answer question is worth five (5) marks, write down five (5) points in your answer.
• Last Updated: Aug 24, 2023 3:30 PM
• URL: https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/studyingandtesttaking

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Exam Questions: Types, Characteristics, and Suggestions

Examinations are a very common assessment and evaluation tool in universities and there are many types of examination questions. This tips sheet contains a brief description of seven types of examination questions, as well as tips for using each of them: 1) multiple choice, 2) true/false, 3) matching, 4) short answer, 5) essay, 6) oral, and 7) computational. Remember that some exams can be conducted effectively in a secure online environment in a proctored computer lab or assigned as paper based or online “take home” exams.

Multiple choice

Multiple choice questions are composed of one question (stem) with multiple possible answers (choices), including the correct answer and several incorrect answers (distractors). Typically, students select the correct answer by circling the associated number or letter, or filling in the associated circle on the machine-readable response sheet.

Example : Distractors are:

A) Elements of the exam layout that distract attention from the questions B) Incorrect but plausible choices used in multiple choice questions C) Unnecessary clauses included in the stem of multiple choice questions Answer: B

Students can generally respond to these type of questions quite quickly. As a result, they are often used to test student’s knowledge of a broad range of content. Creating these questions can be time consuming because it is often difficult to generate several plausible distractors. However, they can be marked very quickly.

Tips for writing good multiple choice items:

Suggestion : After each lecture during the term, jot down two or three multiple choice questions based on the material for that lecture. Regularly taking a few minutes to compose questions, while the material is fresh in your mind, will allow you to develop a question bank that you can use to construct tests and exams quickly and easily.

True/false questions are only composed of a statement. Students respond to the questions by indicating whether the statement is true or false. For example: True/false questions have only two possible answers (Answer: True).

Like multiple choice questions, true/false questions:

• Are most often used to assess familiarity with course content and to check for popular misconceptions
• Allow students to respond quickly so exams can use a large number of them to test knowledge of a broad range of content
• Are easy and quick to grade but time consuming to create

True/false questions provide students with a 50% chance of guessing the right answer. For this reason, multiple choice questions are often used instead of true/false questions.

Tips for writing good true/false items:

Suggestion : You can increase the usefulness of true/false questions by asking students to correct false statements.

Students respond to matching questions by pairing each of a set of stems (e.g., definitions) with one of the choices provided on the exam. These questions are often used to assess recognition and recall and so are most often used in courses where acquisition of detailed knowledge is an important goal. They are generally quick and easy to create and mark, but students require more time to respond to these questions than a similar number of multiple choice or true/false items.

Example: Match each question type with one attribute:

• Multiple Choice a) Only two possible answers
• True/False b) Equal number of stems and choices
• Matching c) Only one correct answer but at least three choices

Tips for writing good matching items:

Suggestion:  You can use some choices more than once in the same matching exercise. It reduces the effects of guessing.

Short answer

Short answer questions are typically composed of a brief prompt that demands a written answer that varies in length from one or two words to a few sentences. They are most often used to test basic knowledge of key facts and terms. An example this kind of short answer question follows:

“What do you call an exam format in which students must uniquely associate a set of prompts with a set of options?” Answer: Matching questions

Alternatively, this could be written as a fill-in-the-blank short answer question:

“An exam question in which students must uniquely associate prompts and options is called a ___________ question.” Answer: Matching.

Short answer questions can also be used to test higher thinking skills, including analysis or evaluation. For example:

“Will you include short answer questions on your next exam? Please justify your decision with two to three sentences explaining the factors that have influenced your decision.”

Short answer questions have many advantages. Many instructors report that they are relatively easy to construct and can be constructed faster than multiple choice questions. Unlike matching, true/false, and multiple choice questions, short answer questions make it difficult for students to guess the answer. Short answer questions provide students with more flexibility to explain their understanding and demonstrate creativity than they would have with multiple choice questions; this also means that scoring is relatively laborious and can be quite subjective. Short answer questions provide more structure than essay questions and thus are often easy and faster to mark and often test a broader range of the course content than full essay questions.

Tips for writing good short answer items:

Suggestion : When using short answer questions to test student knowledge of definitions consider having a mix of questions, some that supply the term and require the students to provide the definition, and other questions that supply the definition and require that students provide the term. The latter sort of questions can be structured as fill-in-the-blank questions. This mix of formats will better test student knowledge because it doesn’t rely solely on recognition or recall of the term.

Essay questions provide a complex prompt that requires written responses, which can vary in length from a couple of paragraphs to many pages. Like short answer questions, they provide students with an opportunity to explain their understanding and demonstrate creativity, but make it hard for students to arrive at an acceptable answer by bluffing. They can be constructed reasonably quickly and easily but marking these questions can be time-consuming and grader agreement can be difficult.

Essay questions differ from short answer questions in that the essay questions are less structured. This openness allows students to demonstrate that they can integrate the course material in creative ways. As a result, essays are a favoured approach to test higher levels of cognition including analysis, synthesis and evaluation. However, the requirement that the students provide most of the structure increases the amount of work required to respond effectively. Students often take longer to compose a five paragraph essay than they would take to compose five one paragraph answers to short answer questions. This increased workload limits the number of essay questions that can be posed on a single exam and thus can restrict the overall scope of an exam to a few topics or areas. To ensure that this doesn’t cause students to panic or blank out, consider giving the option of answering one of two or more questions.

Tips for writing good essay items:

Suggestions : Distribute possible essay questions before the exam and make your marking criteria slightly stricter. This gives all students an equal chance to prepare and should improve the quality of the answers – and the quality of learning – without making the exam any easier.

Oral examinations allow students to respond directly to the instructor’s questions and/or to present prepared statements. These exams are especially popular in language courses that demand ‘speaking’ but they can be used to assess understanding in almost any course by following the guidelines for the composition of short answer questions. Some of the principle advantages to oral exams are that they provide nearly immediate feedback and so allow the student to learn as they are tested. There are two main drawbacks to oral exams: the amount of time required and the problem of record-keeping. Oral exams typically take at least ten to fifteen minutes per student, even for a midterm exam. As a result, they are rarely used for large classes. Furthermore, unlike written exams, oral exams don’t automatically generate a written record. To ensure that students have access to written feedback, it is recommended that instructors take notes during oral exams using a rubric and/or checklist and provide a photocopy of the notes to the students.

In many departments, oral exams are rare. Students may have difficulty adapting to this new style of assessment. In this situation, consider making the oral exam optional. While it can take more time to prepare two tests, having both options allows students to choose the one which suits them and their learning style best.

Computational

Computational questions require that students perform calculations in order to solve for an answer. Computational questions can be used to assess student’s memory of solution techniques and their ability to apply those techniques to solve both questions they have attempted before and questions that stretch their abilities by requiring that they combine and use solution techniques in novel ways.

Effective computational questions should:

• Be solvable using knowledge of the key concepts and techniques from the course. Before the exam solve them yourself or get a teaching assistant to attempt the questions.
• Indicate the mark breakdown to reinforce the expectations developed in in-class examples for the amount of detail, etc. required for the solution.

To prepare students to do computational questions on exams, make sure to describe and model in class the correct format for the calculations and answer including:

• How students should report their assumptions and justify their choices
• The units and degree of precision expected in the answer

Suggestion : Have students divide their answer sheets into two columns: calculations in one, and a list of assumptions, description of process and justification of choices in the other. This ensures that the marker can distinguish between a simple mathematical mistake and a profound conceptual error and give feedback accordingly.

If you would like support applying these tips to your own teaching, CTE staff members are here to help.  View the  CTE Support  page to find the most relevant staff member to contact.

• Cunningham, G.K. (1998). Assessment in the Classroom. Bristol, PA: Falmer Press.
• Ward, A.W., & Murray-Ward, M. (1999). Assessment in the Classroom. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.

This Creative Commons license  lets others remix, tweak, and build upon our work non-commercially, as long as they credit us and indicate if changes were made. Use this citation format:  Exam questions: types, characteristics and suggestions . Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo .

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