Inline Choice Tool

The Inline Choice question type allows you to place drop-down selections directly within a sentence or text passage. Students choose the correct option in context, and the item is automatically graded for instant feedback.

Inline Choice works especially well for reading passages, vocabulary, grammar, and context-based questions, but it can be used in any subject.

Create an Inline Choice Question

To create a question from scratch:

• In the Tool Box, click Advanced.
• Select Inline Choice.

Your cursor will turn into crosshairs. Click once to place the question, or click and drag to set the size.

The Edit Inline Choice window will open.

Build Your Sentence

In the editor window, type your sentence or passage. Place your cursor where you want a drop-down menu to appear, then click Add Dropdown.

For example:

Once upon a time, there was a princess named Cinderella.

You could insert a dropdown for the word “time” and another for “Cinderella.”

Add Answer Choices

After inserting a dropdown:

• Type each answer choice.
• Select the correct answer using the circle next to it.
• Use Shuffle if you would like the answer order randomized.
• Remove choices using the trash icon.

In the Selection Prompt field, you can customize what students see before selecting an answer, or leave it as Select….

Helpful Editing Tools

• Use the caret to collapse answer choices for more screen space.
• Use the delete icon to remove an entire dropdown.

What Students See

When students begin the Assignment, they will see dropdown menus within the sentence. They select an answer for each dropdown.

Students must answer all dropdowns correctly to receive full credit for the item.

When to Use Inline Choice

Inline Choice is ideal when students need to select words or phrases within the context of a sentence or passage. It helps assess comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, and precise understanding of content.

Start by typing, “Once upon a” into the box that says, Write Text here and then choose, Add Dropdown. The Add Dropdown button will create a new drop-down wherever the typing cursor happens to be.

At the bottom of the pop-up, you will now see the option to add dropdown choices:

Type in your answer choices and be sure to mark the correct answer by selecting the circle to the left of the box. Here’s a Classwork.com PRO Tip for you: Type the correct answer first, since that’s selected as correct by default, then use the Shuffle button above to randomly reorder the choices.

You can remove any choice by clicking the red trash can to the far right of the answer.

Continue the sentence by typing, “there was a princess named” then add a dropdown for “Cinderella.” Add whichever other words you want as options along with Cinderella.

In the Selection Prompt, you can choose to add your own instructions or leave it as, Select… That is what the student will see in the sentence before they’ve selected an answer choice.

This toolbar is helpful when editing an Inline Choice item:

• Click the caret (^) next to the Dropdown label to hide the answer choices if you need more room on your screen.

• Click the x to delete the entire drop down.

Click Save. Your Inline Choice item will look like this. The drop downs are automatically sized to accommodate the longest answer.

When the student begins the Assignment, they will see this:

To answer the question, the student will click each Select… box and choose their answer from the dropdown. The Select… prompt will be replaced by their selection.

Students must answer all dropdown menus correctly to receive the points for the question.

Inline Choice is the item to use whenever you need students to select words or phrases in the middle of a passage. You’ll find so many uses for it!