Travel Trivia: Fill-In-The-Blank Questions To Spark Wanderlust

Fill-in-the-blank questions are a common type of question used in assessments and tests. They are considered objective because there is only one possible correct answer. These questions are used to measure a wide variety of skills and specific knowledge, such as knowledge of principles, methods, or procedures, knowledge of specific facts, and simple interpretation of data. They are also effective in reducing guessing by students and forcing them to supply the answer. This allows teachers to get a real feel for what their students know.

Keep it simple

When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it's important to keep them simple and clear. The question should be written in a way that elicits the idea you want without being clouded by complex concepts. The goal is to assess whether your learners can produce the term, not whether they can simplify complexity to arrive at the answer.

• Use simple language: Avoid confusing learners with complex words and sentences. Keep the language straightforward and easy to understand.
• Provide clear instructions: Clearly state what you are looking for in the answer. Mention the topic or process you are referring to, so learners don't have to guess.
• Make sure the sentence makes sense: The sentence should be understandable even without the term that fills the blank. This helps learners derive the correct answer from the context provided.
• Keep answers concise: Limit answers to a single word or a couple of words representing a single concept. This ensures that learners focus on recalling the specific term rather than constructing a complex response.
• Limit the number of blanks: Each question should have one or, at most, two blanks. Adding too many blanks can make the sentence confusing and difficult to answer.
• Avoid giving clues: Don't vary the length of the blanks based on the length of the answers. Learners may try to find terms that match the length of the blank, which can turn the exercise into a search task rather than a knowledge assessment.

By following these guidelines, you can create effective fill-in-the-blank questions that accurately assess your learners' knowledge and understanding.

Use the blank wisely

When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it is important to use the blank space wisely. Here are some tips to keep in mind:

Make Sure the Sentence Makes Sense

The sentence you write should make sense even without the term that is supposed to fill the blank. This will ensure that learners can derive the correct answer from the context of the sentence. For example, consider the following sentence: "I am the Canterbury Tales pilgrim who was married five times. _____." Learners with knowledge of the text will be able to identify the character based on this sentence, even without the character's name being explicitly mentioned.

Leave Out Keywords

When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it is generally advisable to leave out keywords as the blank space. This ensures that learners are testing their knowledge of key concepts and terms. For example, in the sentence "The atomic number of Oxygen is _____.", the blank space represents a key piece of information that students should know if they have a basic understanding of the topic.

Avoid Giving Clues

One way to avoid giving clues to the correct answer is to keep the length of the blank spaces consistent throughout the question. If the length of the blank varies based on the length of the answer, learners may be able to guess the answer by searching for terms of a similar length. For example, if the blank is long, students may assume that a multi-word answer is required, narrowing down the possibilities.

Keep Answers Brief

It is generally recommended to keep the answers to fill-in-the-blank questions brief, typically limited to a single word or a short phrase. This helps to ensure that learners are testing their knowledge of specific facts or concepts rather than their ability to recognize or synthesize information. For example, in the question "-12 + 7 = _____", the answer should be a single number, testing the learner's basic mathematical knowledge.

Limit the Number of Blanks

It is important to limit the number of blank spaces in each question, with most sources recommending no more than one or two blanks per question. This helps to ensure that the sentence remains understandable and that learners are not overly confused or frustrated. For example, in the sentence "J'ai _____ (hungry)", learners are expected to fill in a single word, "faim", to complete the thought.

Keep answers concise

Fill-in-the-blank questions are a great way to test learners' knowledge and assess whether they have learned basic concepts. They are also useful for measuring specific knowledge and reducing guessing by the students. When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it is important to keep the following guidelines in mind:

When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it is important to keep the answers concise and brief. This will make it easier for the learner to provide the correct answer. Limit the responses to a single word or a couple of words representing a single concept. For example, instead of asking "The capital of France is ________", a more concise question would be "The capital of France is ______". This way, the learner is more likely to provide the correct answer, "Paris", without having to worry about including additional words or details.

Additionally, it is recommended to limit the number of blanks per question to one or two. This will make the question less confusing and easier to answer. For example, instead of asking "The square root of 4 is ____ or ______", a more concise question would be "The square root of 4 is _____". This way, the learner can provide the answer "2" without having to worry about including an extra blank or providing additional information.

Keeping the answers concise also helps with automatic grading. By limiting the responses to a single word or a short phrase, you can avoid issues with extra spaces or word order that might cause a correct answer to be scored as incorrect. This makes the grading process more accurate and efficient.

Other Tips for Creating Effective Fill-in-the-Blank Questions

• Keep the questions simple and clear: Avoid confusing the learners with complex words and sentences. Make sure the question sentence is written in a way that elicits the intended idea clearly.
• Ensure there is only one correct answer: Similar concepts might also fit into the blank, so it's important to review and refine the question accordingly.
• Use the blank wisely: Make sure the sentence makes sense without the term in the blank, and that the intended term can be easily derived from the context provided.
• Don't give out clues: Keep the length of the blanks consistent to avoid giving away the length of the expected response.
• Test your questions: Have someone familiar with the content take the assessment to identify any areas that need improvement or clarification.

Avoid giving clues

When creating fill-in-the-blank questions, it is important to avoid giving clues to the correct answer. One way to do this is to keep the length of the blanks consistent. If the length of the blank corresponds to the length of the answer, learners will be able to guess the answer by simply looking for a word or phrase of that length. This will defeat the purpose of testing their knowledge.

Another way to avoid giving clues is to put the blanks near the end of the sentence or phrase. This makes it less likely that learners will be able to predict the answer based on the context.

Additionally, it is important to use the blank space wisely. The sentence or phrase should make sense even without the missing word or phrase. This will help learners understand the context and derive the correct answer.

It is also crucial to keep the answers brief. The responses should be limited to a single word or a couple of words representing a single concept. This will make it more challenging for learners to guess the correct answer.

Finally, it is recommended to have only one or two blanks per question. Having too many blanks can make the question confusing and difficult to answer.

By following these guidelines, you can create effective fill-in-the-blank questions that truly test the learner's knowledge without giving away any clues.

Test your questions

• I'm blown away by how many posts start with "do not book with" or "so-and-so are crooks." So my question is, do people find ... bargains with non-airline booking sites? I use ... to get an idea of which airline might ... my schedule or fare, but then I book directly with the airline. Except for consolidators (who may not have the flight I want), why do so many people book outside of airline sites?
• We are a family of 4 going to Dubai from 13-18 Feb. Please see the below itinerary and ... suggestions. We have purchased an entertainer book, so please provide options if they are present in the book.

13-16 staying at Sheraton Deira 16-17 Hyatt Abu Dhabi 17-18 JZS going back at 11 at night on the 18th

13th- Desert safari (confused between Arabian Nights and Desert Rangers)

14th- Dubai city, museum, souks... for the night Al Mansour dhow (suggest if good, else can change)

15th Dubai Mall Burj Khalifa (help with the timing) 16th Abu Dhabi 17th beach area and Wild Wadi

18th Mall of the Emirates.

For dining, I want to go to Beachcombers and Kaleidoscope and AlBayt for afternoon tea (suggest what day I can do these, according to distance). I also want to do sky diving (what day can I do that)?

Frequently asked questions