Long Answer

A Long Answer question gives candidates a large text area to write an extended response — a paragraph, an essay, a structured analysis, or any open-ended written answer. Two input styles are available: plain text area (multi-line text) and rich text editor (formatted text with headings, lists, and inline styling).

Writing the Question

Write your question prompt using the content editor. Use sidebar layout to display a reading passage, case study, or reference material alongside the response field. See Content Editor and Layout.

Input Style

• Text area — a plain multi-line input. Simpler for candidates and easier to read for reviewers. Best for most open-ended questions.
• Rich text editor — candidates can format their response with headings, bold/italic, lists, and more. Best for structured written tasks where formatting matters (e.g. reports, proposals).

Area Settings

In the question editor, go to Answer → Input and click the gear icon next to Area Settings. In Configure, adjust Label, Placeholder, Hint, Prefix, Suffix, Character counter, Text Alignment, Width, and No of Rows to control the appearance and size of the answer area. Review the question preview, then click Save.

Input Validation

Under Answer → Input, click the + beside Input Validation to configure a validation rule. Input validation checks the response format; it is separate from evaluation and does not assign a score. Configure the available rule and error message, then save it.

Virtual Keyboard

Under Answer → Input → Keyboard, select an on-screen keyboard if candidates need special characters. Available options include language keyboards such as English, Turkish, Russian, Arabic (Beta), French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Hebrew (Beta), as well as specialized keypads for Spanish-only characters, 0–9 and comma, and 0–9 and point. Choose No keyboard when no additional keyboard is needed.

AI Evaluation

Enable AI evaluation to automatically score extended responses. Provide a grading prompt that describes what a good answer looks like, what key points to look for, and how to handle partial responses. The AI returns a score and feedback. See AI Evaluation.

Rubric Scoring

Attach a rubric to evaluate responses against multiple criteria consistently across all candidates. Particularly valuable for essay-style questions where different reviewers might otherwise apply different standards. See Rubric Scoring.

For high-stakes written assessments, combining AI evaluation (for speed) with a rubric (for structured human review) gives you the best of both worlds.

Tip

Scoring

Set the point value using the positive multiplier and assign dimensions for competency-based reporting. See Scoring.

Common Features

Long Answer questions also support Hint, Answer Explanations, Question Metadata, and Preview & Simulation. In the question editor shown here, use Save to save your changes or Save & Close to save and leave the editor.