> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs2.ahaslides.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# How to Create and Score a Type Answer Quiz Slide

> Set up a scored quiz question where participants type their answer, define accepted alternatives, and manually accept edge-case responses on the fly.

The Type Answer slide is an open quiz question with no options to pick from. Instead of choosing, participants *type* their answer — which must match one of the answers you accept to score points. With no multiple choice to guess from, it's a much truer test of what your audience actually knows.

<Note>
  The Type Answer slide is also referred to as the **Short Answer** slide in some places — they are the same quiz slide type.
</Note>

## How It Works

Type Answer is a quiz question type — for leaderboard, team play, and the full quiz walkthrough, see [Quiz](/slides/quiz).

When you present a Type Answer slide, every player sees the question and a text box on their device. They type their answer and submit before the timer runs out. An answer scores points if it matches the **correct answer to display** or any of the **other accepted answers** you've listed.

Because there are no options to choose from, guessing is much harder than on a [Pick Answer](/slides/pick-answer) slide — which makes Type Answer a more accurate reflection of your participants' subject knowledge.

## Setting Up a Type Answer Slide

<Steps>
  <Step title="Add the slide">
    In the editor, create a new slide and select **Type Answer** from the **Quiz** section of the slide type picker.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Write your question">
    Type your question in the **Your question** field in the right-hand column.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add the correct answer to display">
    This is the main answer you accept, and the only one shown on screen when the timer is up. If a player types something that matches one of your other accepted answers instead, it still counts as correct and scores points — it just won't be the answer displayed on the results screen.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add other accepted answers">
    Add any alternatives besides the "correct answer to display" that you also want to mark correct and award points for.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Adjust the settings">
    Set the time, points, and other settings (see below).
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Tip>
  If you want to accept misspellings, add as many likely misspellings of the answer as you can think of into the **other accepted answers** field. Type Answer matches against the exact answers you list, so spelling variants you don't add won't be counted automatically.
</Tip>

## Settings

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Points">
    The maximum and minimum points possible for the question. With **Faster answers get more points** off, every correct answer receives the maximum.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Faster Answers Get More Points">
    Toggle on to reward players who answer sooner.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Time Limit">
    The number of seconds each player has to type their answer.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Leaderboard">
    Toggle on to add a leaderboard slide automatically after this question.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

<Note>
  Because players type free text, the Type Answer slide is eligible for the profanity filter setting, which blocks banned words entered by audience members.
</Note>

## The Results Display

After your participants have submitted their answers and the correct answer is revealed, the results screen shows:

1. The **correct answer to display**.
2. **Incorrect answers**: if there are 4 or fewer different incorrect answers, each one is displayed; if there are 5 or more, three incorrect answers are displayed along with an **other answers** entry that groups together every remaining incorrect answer.

## Manually Accepting Answers

Sometimes a player types an answer that doesn't exactly match any of your accepted answers, but you still consider it correct (a synonym, an abbreviation, a typo you didn't anticipate). You can accept these on the fly.

Once the question results are shown, an **Accept more answers** button appears at the bottom of the slide. Click it to bring up every answer players submitted for that question.

* **Click the circle** in the top-right corner of any answer box to accept that answer and award its points.
* Answers are grouped when identical and arranged by how many players wrote them, so the most common "technically incorrect" answers — the ones you're most likely to accept — appear first. You can also see who entered each answer.

When you've accepted everything you want, click **See full results**.

## Previewing and Presenting

Click **Preview** in the top header to rehearse the slide from both the presenter and player view before going live. When you're ready, click **Present** — players join at the access code, enter their name, and type their answers on their phones.

<Tip>
  For the full walkthrough of building and hosting a quiz — joining, the lobby, team play, and more — see [Quiz](/slides/quiz).
</Tip>

## How to Create a Good Type Answer Slide

<Tip>
  * **Ask for a short, specific answer** — a single word, name, number, or short phrase works best when players are typing on a phone.
  * **List every reasonable accepted answer** — synonyms, abbreviations, and common misspellings — so you don't have to accept them manually under time pressure.
  * **Avoid questions with many valid phrasings** — "Name a benefit of exercise" has too many right answers; "What organ pumps blood?" has one.
  * **Use it where guessing would undermine the quiz** — vocabulary, capitals, formulas, dates, and definitions are ideal.
</Tip>

## Common Use Cases

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Classroom Recall" icon="graduation-cap">
    Spelling, vocabulary, capitals, dates, and formulas where you want genuine recall, not recognition.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Corporate Training" icon="briefcase">
    Confirm trainees can produce a key term or figure from memory, not just recognise it in a list.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Trivia Nights" icon="trophy">
    Make rounds harder and more rewarding by removing the multiple-choice safety net.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Brand and Product Knowledge" icon="tag">
    Check that staff can name a value, feature, or policy unprompted.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>
