Introduction

This website has some more sophisticated quiz pages than the simple word/definition ones described here. You are very welcome to submit content for such pages, but more care is needed in the preparation of the content data. In the sections below there is a detailed explanation of how to prepare content for the various quiz types.

All of the different kinds of vocabulary quiz pages can be generated from a simple text file which is written and saved in a specific format. If you are interested in creating some quiz pages based around a particular topic, you should proceed as follows:

• Write a file that contains a maximum of 20 word sets.
• Each word set contains the word itself, a definition and an example sentence containing the word.
• Each word set should be separated by a line of equal signs.

An example of a very short file with 3 word sets is below:

Important

Please note these further rules about setting out the data file:

• each item of the word group is on its own line: the word (line 1), its definition (line 2) and the gap sentence (line 3, or lines 3 and 4)
• the word may not contain more than 25 characters
• the definition must be contained within one line and may not have more than 75 characters
• the gapsentence must be contained within two lines and may not have a total of more than 160 characters
• the word in line 1 must appear somewhere in the gap sentence surrounded by *stars* (It can be an inflected form, e.g. the word in line 1 is steal and the starred word in the example sentence is stole.)
• the last line of the file is a row of equal signs
• there are no blank lines

You can write the data file in any word processor, but it is essential that the file is the file is saved as a text or ASCII file (with no formatting). For this reason, it is recommended that you use a simple text editor like Windows Notepad. Please give the file a name that is 8 characters or less, plus the suffix ".txt"; e.g. transport.txt, and let me know what title you would like the pages to have.

Data files which are not set out and saved exactly as shown here will not work correctly.

When the datafile is finished, please send it to me by attachment to an e-mail. Depending on the time of year, it should take about a week to generate the web pages and post them on the FIS server. All pages will be properly credited with you as the author.

Click for an example of the quizzes that can be produced from word sets as exemplified above.

This type of web page can have two forms: a single summary page or a series of linked pages as in the chapters of a book. In both types of page, you identify key words that the student can click on to get a definition and example sentence.

So that the web pages can be generated correctly, the summary text files must be set out as follows:

Single page

Write the text in a simple word processor and select the word or word groups that you want to link to. These words should be bounded by a *star* at the beginning and end. Then at the end of the text, write for each word a word set consisting of the word, plus definition and example sentence. For more information on how to write word sets, please read the instructions in the section at the top of this page.

It is essential that each of the starred words in the summary text appear in exactly the same form in the example sentence of the corresponding word set.

Below is an example of a short summary text about the French Revolution, followed by 3 word sets:

Linked pages

There is only one small difference in the way to write a file to generate a set of linked pages such as the chapters in a book. As described above, all the text should be in one file concluded by the word sets. But in this case each separate chapter or page should be delimited by the heading: chapter 1 or section 1 etc.

Below is an example of a linked pages text, followed by 2 word sets:

You can write the data file in any word processor, but it is essential that the file is the file is saved as a text or ASCII file (with no formatting). For this reason, it is recommended that you use a simple text editor like Windows Notepad. Please give the file a name that is 8 characters or less, plus the suffix ".txt"; e.g. transport.txt, and let me know what title you would like the page/s to have.

Data files which are not set out and saved exactly as shown here will not work correctly.

When the datafile is finished, please send it to me by attachment to an e-mail. Depending on the time of year, it should take about a week to generate the web pages and post them on the FIS server. All pages will be properly credited with you as the author.

Click for an example of a glossary text that can be produced from content as exemplified above.

This kind of web page is suitable for questions for which there is a short (one or two words) and unequivocal answer. If you wish to write a data file ready for conversion to a set of linked pages, you should proceed as follows:

• A question can be any number of lines long
• The correct answer should be on the following line, preceded by a # sign
• The next line contains a hint or clue to the answer. (The hint can be omitted but the line must then remain blank.)
• The last line is the comment that accompanies the correct answer. (The comment can also be omitted but the line must then remain blank.)
• The final line of each question set is a row of equal signs.

An example of a very short file with 3 questions is below:

You can write the data file in any word processor, but it is essential that the file is the file is saved as a text or ASCII file (with no formatting). For this reason, it is recommended that you use a simple text editor like Windows Notepad. It is also recommended that you turn off the word wrap to ensure that the hint and comment parts of the question sets remain on one line as shown above.

Please give the file a name that is 8 characters or less, plus the suffix ".txt"; e.g. transport.txt, and let me know what title you would like the pages to have.

Data files which are not set out and saved exactly as shown here will not work correctly.

When the datafile is finished, please send it to me by attachment to an e-mail. Depending on the time of year, it should take about a week to generate the web pages and post them on the FIS server. All pages will be properly credited with you as the author.

Click for an example of a subject that can be produced from content as set out above.

To write a multiple-choice grammar quiz, you should set out the data file as in the yellow box below. The example shows a file with only 1 question, but you can write as many questions as you want:

In writing the data file it is essential that you follow the instructions below:

• Use a simple text editor with the word wrap turned off.
• Write each question group on a separate lines as follows:
  • Start with the prompt; the gap to be filled is shown by a star.
  • The next line is the correct answer, followed by a comment.
  • The next three lines are the wrong answers (distractors), followed by a comment.
  • The last line is the number of the particular tense use the question is exemplifying. (See below!)
  • Each line ends with a ~ and the four answers and comments are separated by a ~.

Click for an example of a multiple-choice grammar quiz.

To write a Fill the Gap grammar quiz, you should set out the data file as in the yellow box below. The example shows a file with only 4 questions, but you can write as many questions as you want:

In writing the data file it is essential that you follow the instructions below:

• Use a simple text editor with the word wrap turned off.
• Write each question on a single line (do not leave spaces between the lines).
• Surround the text that is to be gapped out in the question with * * stars.
• Follow each question with information to show how the gap is to be filled.
• Separate each part of the question with a ~ and finish with the number of the particular tense use the question is exemplifying. (See below!)
• It is recommended that you write questions for which there is only one possible answer.

Present simple

1 - Repeated actions
2 - Simple statements of fact
3 - World truths
4 - With verbs of the senses and mental processes
5 - In jokes and storytelling
6 - For future scheduled events

Present continuous

7 - For actions happening now
8 - For future arrangements
9 - To express annoyance

Present perfect

10 - For past events with a connection to the present
11 - With expressions of unfinished time

Past simple

12 - For actions that happened in the past
13 - In reported speech
14 - In if (conditional) sentences

Past continuous

15 - For an action happening at some time in the past

Past perfect

16 - For actions that happened before a past event
17 - In reported speech
18 - In if (conditional) sentences

You can in fact write the data file in any word processor, but it is essential that the file is the file is saved as a text or ASCII file (with no formatting). For this reason, it is recommended that you use a simple text editor like Windows Notepad with the word wrap turned off. Please give the file a name that is 8 characters or less, plus the suffix ".txt"; e.g. transport.txt.

Data files which are not set out and saved exactly as shown here will not work correctly.

When the datafile is finished, please send it to me by attachment to an e-mail. Depending on the time of year, it should take about a week to generate the web pages and post them on the FIS server. All pages will be properly credited with you as the author.