Overview of Part 4

This is Part 4 of the course Thinking about test questions (and choosing interactions) according to task type, which introduces a task-based approach to deciding which interactions would best suit the test questions you are trying to create.

As a quick recap, Part 1 introduced the task-based model with its four task types (as well as suggesting factors other than task type which are potentially relevant to your choice of interaction). Part 2 discussed the first of the four task types - IDENTIFY – and the interactions associated with it. Part 3 discussed the second of the four task types – CONNECT - and the interactions associated with it.

Part 4 will discuss the third of the four task types – COMPLETE. Here's a reminder from Part 1 of what we already know about COMPLETE:  in this task type, candidates are asked to complete a given structure – a text, for example - in which some parts are missing (or in some cases to confirm its completeness). A typical example of the COMPLETE task is a gap-fill exercise, though it is not limited to this.

In the following sections of Part 4 we'll look in more detail at the task COMPLETE and its sub-types, and at some typical test scenarios associated with them. For each sub-type, we'll explore the various interactions which can be used in test questions based on these tasks. Then we'll establish the differences between the interactions available for each sub-type, where there is more than one, and look at the reasons which might motivate you to select one over the others for your particular test scenario.