# Short answer questions

> Ask for a word or a short phrase, list every answer you accept, and choose whether capital letters count. LearnWorkly marks it for you.

URL: https://learnworkly.com/help/question-types/short-answer · Updated 2026-11-11

A **Short answer** question asks students to type a word or a short phrase. You list the answers you accept, and LearnWorkly marks each answer automatically. Students have to recall the answer instead of recognising it, so it is a stronger check than multiple choice.

Use it for key terms, spellings, verb forms, short calculations with a word answer, or one-word answers to reading questions.

## Add a short answer question

1. **Choose the type** In the editor, click **Add question** and choose **Short answer**.
2. **Write the question** Type it in **Type your question…**, for example "What do we call the point where a line crosses the y-axis?"
3. **Add the accepted answers** Under **Accepted answers**, type an answer and press Enter. Repeat for every answer you accept, up to 20. Each one appears as a green tag; click its cross to remove it.
4. **Choose case sensitivity** Turn on **Case-sensitive** only when capital letters matter, for example for proper nouns or German nouns. It is off by default.
5. **Set the points and extras** Type the points in the **points** box (default 1), add skills, and open **Hint and explanation** if you want them.

*[Screenshot: The short answer editor with the question "What do we call the point where a line crosses the y-axis?" and accepted answers y-intercept, the y-intercept and y intercept as green tags]*

## What students see

Students see the question and one text box marked **Your answer**. They type their answer and can change it until they submit.

*[Screenshot: A student’s phone showing "What do we call the point where a line crosses the y-axis?" with a text box labelled Your answer]*

## How it is marked

An answer is right when it matches one of your accepted answers. Spaces at the start and end are ignored, and several spaces count as one. Capital letters are ignored unless **Case-sensitive** is on. Everything else must match: punctuation, hyphens and spelling. A right answer gets full points, any other answer 0.

If you add no accepted answers, the question is not marked automatically: you mark it yourself in the live view. You can also change any automatic score there, for example to accept a spelling you did not expect.

## List the variants you would accept

> **List the variants you would accept:** Students write the same idea in different ways. For the y-axis question, accept "y-intercept", "the y-intercept" and "y intercept". For an ESL contraction question, accept both "doesn’t" and "does not". If you notice another fair answer during the lesson, add it to the list for next time.

## Frequently asked questions

**Does a small typo count as wrong?**
Yes. Only exact matches (apart from spaces and, by default, capital letters) are marked right. Add common misspellings you want to accept, or change the score yourself in the live view.

**How long can an answer be?**
Students can type up to 1,000 characters. For longer written answers, use **Free response**, which you mark yourself.