A collection of methods to help you build exams!
- Keep a catalog of your questions in separate files!
- Add up the points automatically using
#points()andtotal_points()! - Count your questions automatically with
#num_questions()! - Do
#fill_in_blank()questions, with answer key - A regular
#blank()for names and stuff - A
#correct(content)method to highlight multiple choice - A
#solution()box that's blank on the student version and shows your solution in the answer key - Build your answer key by adding a
<show_solutions>label. - A
#choices()block for numbered lists - Questions don't break across pages because of
#question[]! - Questions take up the same amount of space as their solutions, so your page numbers remain the same when grading!
- A workflow that has worked for actual college exams for over a decade!
Inspired by LaTeX's exam.cls template and tutor
TBD...
#import "@local/exam:0.1.0": *
= Final Exam, #total_points() points and #num_questions() questions
<show_solutions> //comment out for student version
Name: #blank(4cm)
#question[
#points(2)
Hello, #fill_in_blank(3cm, [world!])
]
#question[
#points(3)
Speak friend and enter.
#solution(height: 0.5cm, [melloch])
]
#question[
#points(2)
#choices[
+ #correct[Right]
+ Wrong
]
]This example lives in examples/quick.
We recommend a file structure that looks like this.
├── example_exam.typ
├── example_exam_solutions.typ
└── questions
├── .gitignore
├── hello_world.typ
└── lorem_ipsum.typ
Your solutions file should just include your main file, and include the <show_solutions> label. Like this:
#include "example_exam.typ"
<show_solutions>And then your main file looks something like:
#import "@local/exam:0.1.0": *
#import "./questions/hello_world.typ" as hello_world
#hello_world
This allows you to automatically build two PDFs without a build system.
This example lives in examples/full.
blank(len)- draws a horizontal line for writing an answerchoices(content)- numbered lists in this method are separated a little and numbered like"A."correct(content)- places a rectangle around the content when solutions are on. Useful for multiple choice questions.cover_sheet(content)- centered content, headings are boldfill_in_blank(len, answer_content)- draws a horizontal line for writing an answer, or with solutions enabled, shows the answernum_questions()- counts the total number ofquestion()calls in the entire document.points(num)- assign points to a question and renders the string, with pluralization. Thetotal_points()adds up all instances of these throughout the documentquestion(content)- Separate numbering from headings. Group all your content for a given question here and it won't break across pages (i.e. include solutions and blanks).showing_solutions(location)- (internal use) Returns boolean of whether or not solutions are enabledsub_points(num)- renders the string, with pluralization(and does nothing else). Has no impact onpoints()andtotal_points().sub_question(content)- Restarts numbering within the question, and indents a little.total_points()- adds up allpoints()calls in the entire document.
Yes! I'm a college professor and I've used the exam.cls pacakge for over a decade now on hundreds and hundreds of paper exams. I have a massive library of questions, and I just include each file as needed for the exams - much like the "full" example above.
This approach works beautifully for a variety of reasons:
- I have my questions in one place so I can correct and improve them.
- I can have comments in the question file about how the question went (e.g.
// Fall 2023: a lot of people missed this!) - Being text-friendly I can put it all in version control
- It looks nice and professional.
The only problem is that I'm so very very sick of LaTeX. So now I'm trying out Typst!
- This package is not guaranteed to get you tenure
- You'll need to actually know the answers to the questions you ask