Exam Class

29 Aug 2022 by Murat Kahveci
LaTeX Tweaks

Introduction

LaTeX has long been my main typesetting environment. This post has some handy dandy codes that I daily use.

Exam Template

Below is the template I developed over time based on the Exam class. It is quite flexible and functional.

\documentclass[
% answers 
,addpoints]{exam}

\newcommand{\class}{CHEM 173}
\def\day{1}  % exam / quiz / worksheet #
\def\topic{} % title

\pagestyle{head} % head (for printing); empty (for embedding)

\input{_preamble}
\begin{document}
\input{_instructions} 

\begin{questions}	
	
\question[10] 	
		
\end{questions}

\end{document}

\input{_preamble} file codes:

\runningheader{\class}{Lab \day\ Worksheet}{Page \thepage\ of \numpages}
\runningheadrule
%\framedsolutions
\unframedsolutions

\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
\usepackage[margin=1in]{geometry}
\usepackage{amsmath,amssymb}
\usepackage{multicol} % Multi column environment 
\usepackage{siunitx} % Format scientific units
\usepackage{chemformula} % Format Chemical Formulae
\usepackage{adjustbox}
\usepackage{tabularx}

%% MoveQuestionNextPage
\newcommand{\MoveQuestionNextPage}{
  \ifprintanswers \else 
     \clearpage
  \fi
}%

%% Color settings
\definecolor{blue-violet}{rgb}{0.54, 0.17, 0.89}
\SolutionEmphasis{\color{blue-violet}}
\CorrectChoiceEmphasis{\color{blue-violet}\bfseries}

\input{_instructions} file codes:

\ifprintanswers 
\firstpageheader{\class}{Lab \day\ Worksheet}{\examdate}
\firstpageheadrule
\begin{center}
	{\color{blue-violet}{\large{\textbf{KEY}}}}
\end{center}

\else

\noindent
\begin{tabular*}{\textwidth}{@{}l @{\extracolsep{\fill}} r @{\extracolsep{5pt}} l@{}}
\textbf{\class\ - Worksheet} & \textbf{Name:} & \fillin \fillin \\
\textbf{Lab \day. \topic} &\textbf{Date:} & \fillin \fillin \\
\textbf{Section: \fillin} &\textbf{TA:} & \fillin \fillin \\
\end{tabular*}\\
\rule[1ex]{\textwidth}{2pt}

%This worksheet contains \numpages\ pages and \numquestions\ questions. Please add all the names of  "contributing group members." 
%
%\begin{center}
%
%Grade Table (for teacher use only)\\
%\addpoints
%\resizebox{\textwidth}{!}{
%\gradetable[h][questions]
%}
%\end{center}
%
%\noindent
%\rule[1ex]{\textwidth}{2pt} 
\fi

Add a Question with Solution Box

\question

\begin{solutionorbox}[\fill] 
\end{solutionorbox}

Add a Multiple Choice Question

One line:

\begin{oneparchoices}
    \choice
\end{oneparchoices}

Multiple lines:

\begin{choices}
    \choice
\end{choices}

Add a Multipart Question

\question

\begin{parts}
    \part
    \begin{solutionorbox}[\fill] 
    \end{solutionorbox}
    
    \part
    \begin{solutionorbox}[\fill] 
    \end{solutionorbox}    
\end{parts}

Add a Two-Column Question (Layout)

\begin{minipage}{0.6\textwidth}
    \question 

\begin{oneparchoices}
	\choice	  
	\CorrectChoice	  
\end{oneparchoices}	

    \begin{solution} 
    \end{solution}
    
\end{minipage}
\begin{minipage}{0.4\textwidth}
    \fbox{\includegraphics[width=.94\textwidth]{}}
\end{minipage}

Add Bonus Questions/Parts

\bonusquestion[5]

\bonuspart[5]

Move Question to Next Page

Move question/part to the next page to satisfy space requirements. \MoveQuestionNextPage is omitted while Exam Key is generated because key does not need any answer space for data entry.

\MoveQuestionNextPage

Command in preamble:

\newcommand{\MoveQuestionNextPage}{
    \ifprintanswers \else 
        \clearpage
    \fi
}

Checkboxes

\begin{checkboxes}
    \choice
\end{checkboxes}

Changing checkbox style locally:

{
\checkboxchar{$\Box$}
\begin{checkboxes}
    \choice 
\end{checkboxes}
}

Changing choice items style locally:

{
\renewcommand*\thechoice{\arabic{choice}}
\renewcommand*\choicelabel{\thechoice)}
\question[2] 

\begin{multicols}{2}
\begin{choices}
    \choice
\end{choices}
\end{multicols}
}

Make Formatted Textareas

Empty box:

\makeemptybox{1.5in}
\makeemptybox{\fill}

Fill with lines:

\fillwithlines{\fill}

Fill with dotted lines:

\fillwithdottedlines{8em}