16 question types and when to use each one — Tips

QuizMachine supports 16 question types, from knowledge checks to coding tasks, diagram reviews, and hierarchy graphs. This guide helps you choose the right format.

1. Single Choice — Radio

What: One correct answer from a vertical radio-button list.

• Best for: Knowledge checks, true/false variants, any question with one definitively correct answer.

Tip: keep distractors plausible but unambiguous.

2. Single Choice — Dropdown

What: Same as radio, presented as a dropdown selector.

• Best for: Long option lists (e.g. "Select a country") where radio buttons would crowd the page.

Tip: good for form-style questions in a larger quiz flow.

3. Multiple Choice

What: One or more correct answers from a checkbox list.

• Best for: Checking understanding of a concept with several correct facets; "select all that apply" scenarios.

Tip: award partial credit by assigning points per option.

4. Picture Choice

What: Options are images rather than text.

• Best for: Brand recognition, visual design quizzes, geography (flag identification), equipment identification.

Tip: keep images consistent in size and style to avoid visual bias.

5. Fill in the Blanks

What: Taker types answers into one or more inline blanks within a sentence.

• Best for: Vocabulary, grammar, formula recall, exact-term memorisation.

Tip: mark blanks with [a], [b], and so on. Enter accepted answers without brackets and separate alternatives with a pipe.

6. Matching

What: Connect items in column A to their matches in column B.

• Best for: Definitions ↔ terms, capitals ↔ countries, symptoms ↔ conditions.

Tip: add one extra distractor to reduce process-of-elimination guessing.

7. Matching Text

What: Like Matching but the taker types the match rather than selecting from a list.

• Best for: Open-ended recall where exact spelling matters less than understanding.

Tip: use Fill in the Blanks when you need strict accepted-answer lists.

Add a short hint when the answer box needs context. The hint guides the participant but is never graded.

8. Free Text

What: Open-ended text box; graded manually or by AI evaluation.

• Best for: Essay questions, short-answer explanations, reflective prompts.

Tip: enable AI grading for suggested scores and always review before applying.

9. File Upload

What: Taker submits a file (PDF, image, Word, Excel, etc.).

• Best for: Portfolio submissions, coursework uploads, design reviews.

Tip: enable manual grading for file uploads; downloaded files appear in Analyze.

10. Code Premium & Enterprise

What: Taker writes code in a browser-based editor (Python, JavaScript, C#, SQL).

• Best for: Technical hiring, programming courses, algorithm challenges.

Tip: provide starter code and a model answer so AI can suggest a score automatically.

11. Diagram Upload Premium+

What: Taker uploads a photo or image of a hand-drawn diagram, which a multimodal AI grades against a model-answer description.

• Best for: Whiteboard sketches, ER/data models, circuit schematics, architecture diagrams.

Tip: write a detailed model-answer description; AI grading relies on it to judge the image.

12. Hierarchy Graph

What: Taker drags nodes into a pyramid of up to four layers, draws the directed edges that describe the hierarchy, and explains their reasoning. Auto-graded against the author's correct edges or a min/max-heap rule.

• Best for: Structures like min/max heaps, organisational charts, or system hierarchies (e.g. TPS → DSS → MIS → EIS).

Tip: Use min-heap or max-heap mode with numeric nodes when several arrangements are valid; use Custom edges when specific parent-child links must be present. Available on every plan.

13. Math

What: Numbers are parsed with the selected format. Compatible units are converted before exact, absolute, relative, or significant-figure tolerance is applied. This deterministic result sets the score.

• Best for: Science, engineering, finance, statistics, conversions, and other numeric assessment.

Test realistic number formats and equivalent units in the grading preview before publishing. Why math answers need more than string matching.

14. Random from Topic

What: Each new attempt receives one eligible enabled question carrying this Topic. The selected question stays fixed for that attempt.

• Best for: Reusable assessment pools, retakes, practice quizzes, and reducing answer memorization.

Use a focused Topic and questions with comparable difficulty and points. Create varied quizzes with Random from Topic questions.

15. 🧒 Child Picture Choice Paid plans

What: Two to five large picture cards, each with a short visible label. Exactly one card is correct.

• Best for: Low-reading audiences, picture vocabulary and guided practice with retries.

Keep labels short. Use Guided practice for learning and Assessment for checking. Read more in Picture-first question types: Child Picture Choice and Tiles.

16. Tiles Paid plans

What: A sliding picture puzzle on a 2×2, 3×3 or 4×4 board. The server replays the learner's moves to grade it.

• Best for: Picture-based problem solving and short, playful checks.

Start with a 2×2 or 3×3 board and a small shuffle depth. Read more in Picture-first question types: Child Picture Choice and Tiles.

Quick reference

Next steps

New to QuizMachine? Start with "How to create your first quiz in 5 minutes". Hiring engineers? See how teams combine code questions and time limits in "Using QuizMachine for technical screening".