| name | make-quiz |
| description | Create comprehensive quiz questions in R/exams format for FMM course slide sets.
Use when the user asks to: create quiz questions, make Moodle quizzes, generate
R/exams questions, write exam questions for a slide set, or says "/make-quiz".
Produces schoice, mchoice, and num questions at mixed difficulty levels. Output
renders to Moodle XML via exams2moodle(). Questions are in German.
|
Make Quiz Questions (R/exams)
Create quiz questions in R/exams format for FMM lecture slide sets.
Workflow
1. Read and Analyze Slides
Read the .Rmd file in /slides/. Identify:
- Definitions and theorems
- Important properties and relationships
- Practical examples and calculations
- Common misconceptions or tricky points
2. Plan Question Coverage
Aim for 10-15 questions per slide set:
| Category | Difficulty | ~Share |
|---|
| Definitions (basic understanding) | Easy | 30-40% |
| Properties (conceptual understanding) | Easy/Medium | |
| Calculations (concrete computations) | Easy/Medium | 50-60% |
| Relationships (connections between concepts) | Medium | |
| Deep concepts (synthesis, advanced) | Medium/Hard | 0-10% |
3. Question Types
- num: Numerical calculations with tolerance. Parametrize with random values where sensible. Include step-by-step solutions.
- schoice: Single correct answer. 3-5 options. Good for definitions.
- mchoice: Multiple correct answers. 4-6 options. Mix true/false statements.
- NO cloze questions -- they don't work well in Moodle.
4. Question Template
```{r data generation, echo = FALSE, results = "hide"}
# Difficulty: Easy/Medium/Hard
library(exams) # if needed
# Generate parameters if applicable
# Calculate solution -- use calculated values in Answerlist and Solution
```
Question
========
[Clear, precise question text in German]
[Standard LaTeX only!]
Answerlist
----------
* [Option 1]
* [Option 2]
* [Option 3]
Solution
=========
[Detailed explanation in German]
[Step-by-step calculation if applicable]
Answerlist
----------
* [Richtig/Falsch. Explanation for option 1]
* [Richtig/Falsch. Explanation for option 2]
* [Richtig/Falsch. Explanation for option 3]
Meta-information
================
exname: [Short descriptive name]
extype: schoice/mchoice/num
exsolution: [solution string]
exshuffle: FALSE
extol: [tolerance for num type]
5. CRITICAL: Standard LaTeX Only
Quiz questions render in Moodle with standard MathJax. Custom macros will NOT work.
| NEVER use | ALWAYS use instead |
|---|
\bx, \by, \bA, \bX | \mathbf{x}, \mathbf{y}, \mathbf{A}, \mathbf{X} |
\bbeta, \btheta | \boldsymbol{\beta}, \boldsymbol{\theta} |
\R, \N, \C | \mathbb{R}, \mathbb{N}, \mathbb{C} |
\wh{x}, \wt{x} | \hat{x}, \tilde{x} |
\eps | \varepsilon or \epsilon |
6. Formatting Rules
- NO extra text after Answerlist in Solution section (no "Zusammenfassung:", "Bemerkung:" with bullets)
- Match exsolution length to answer count: schoice has exactly one "1"; mchoice has as many positions as options
- exshuffle: TRUE when order doesn't matter, FALSE when order is meaningful
7. File Organization
- Create subfolder:
/quiz/[chapter-name]/
- Descriptive filenames:
[concept]_[aspect]_[difficulty].Rmd
- One question per file
8. Review Checklist
For each question verify:
- Question makes sense and is clearly worded
- Solutions marked as correct are actually correct
- All correct solutions are marked
- Explanations use correct course terminology
- Numerical calculations are verified (run in R)
exsolution metadata matches the given solutions exactly
9. Test and Verify
library(exams)
questions <- list.files("[chapter-folder]", pattern = "\\.Rmd$", full.names = TRUE)
exams::exams2moodle(questions, n = 1, name = "test_quiz")
warnings()
Check: XML file created, no warnings, reasonable file size.
10. Clean Up and Render
Delete temporary files, then use the Makefile in /quiz:
make 04-lgs-quiz -B
Output Summary
After creating questions, provide:
- Summary table: filename, type, difficulty, brief description
- Coverage analysis: concepts covered, difficulty distribution, type distribution
- Test results: question count, export confirmation, warnings (should be none)
Examples
See references/examples.md for complete template questions — one per type
(num with parametrization, schoice conceptual, mchoice properties).
Bundled Scaffolding
This skill includes ready-to-use infrastructure for the quiz directory.
Setting up a new quiz directory
Copy these files into the quiz root (e.g., quiz/):
- assets/Makefile -- Auto-discovers chapter subdirs, renders to Moodle XML and HTML.
Usage:
make 04-lgs-quiz -B
- assets/.gitignore -- Ignores generated output files.
Scripts
- scripts/test_rendering.R -- Test all questions across all chapters.
Run from quiz root:
Rscript test_rendering.R [moodle|html].
Auto-discovers chapter directories matching [0-9]+-* pattern.
- scripts/fix_latex_macros.sh -- Batch-replace custom LaTeX macros
(
\bx, \R, etc.) with standard MathJax-compatible LaTeX in all .Rmd files.
Run from quiz root: bash fix_latex_macros.sh
Prerequisites
R packages: exams (CRAN). No other dependencies.
Common Pitfalls
- Using custom LaTeX macros (always use standard LaTeX)
- Extra text after Answerlist (causes exsolution/solutionlist mismatch)
- Creating cloze questions (split into separate questions instead)
- Too many hard questions (keep most Easy/Medium)
- Missing parametrization (add randomization for calculations)
- Wrong exshuffle (use FALSE when order matters)
