A Passage is a feature that you can insert into your Advanced Assessment items. Features are like the "extras" you can add to your items. For more information on questions vs features, click here.

➡️ Need help getting started with Advanced Assessment first? Click here

This feature allows you to embed a passage to be used in conjunction with another question type.

Example:

This example has a passage with a multiple-choice question.

Article Table of Contents

How to Add the Passage
- Add the Feature
Add Passage Content
- Formatting Options
  - Numbered Paragraphs
  - Paginated Content
Layout Adjustments
- Two-Columns (passage and question(s) side by side)
- Move Within the Item
Learnosity Resources
FAQ

How to Add a Passage to Your Advanced Assessment

💡 Tip from the Otus Team: Rather than adding a passage to an empty item, we recommend building the question first, then adding the passage. If you haven't built the question yet, that's ok too, you can just add it later.

➡️ The example below shows how to add a passage to an item that contains a multiple-choice question. A passage can be added to any item at any time.

Step 1: Add the Feature

While in the item you wish to add the passage to, select the + symbol to add a new feature.

Select the Features tab and choose Passage

Step 2: Add Passage Content

Add the content of the passage. Add an optional title in the Heading section.

You have many formatting options from the Rich Text toolbar, including changing the font size, adding tables, using math symbols, adding images, and more! Click here for more information on the different functions of the Rich Text toolbar.
If you'd like to add an additional reference tool or resource for your students, such as the Periodic Table of the Elements, you can use the Resource icon in the toolbar to add a file that students can download directly to their devices for reference.

➡️ Formatting Options

Numbered Paragraphs
Do you need the paragraphs to be numbered? Follow these steps.
- Step 1: Highlight (select) the entirety of the text you need to be numbered.
- Step 2: Choose Numbered Paragraph from the style dropdown menu.
Paginated Content
Paginated content is helpful when using longer passages, or when you want to include multiple passages. It allows for the passages to be separated into "pages" that can be clicked through.
- Step 1: Expand the More Options menu.
- Step 2: Check Enable Paginated Content.
- Step 3: Select the blue + Add button to add a "page"
- Step 4: Add content to that page.
- Step 5: Add additional pages as needed.

See an example of paginated content below:

💡 Tip from the Otus Team

We recommend hitting the Save button periodically, especially while building passages with long content. This will ensure you don't lose any work as you continue building.

Step 3: Layout Adjustments

➡️ Two-Column (passage and questions side by side)

If you want to have your passage next to the questions it corresponds to, follow the directions below:

Step 1: While in the item, select Settings (if you haven't already, select Save while building your passage to return to the item).
Step 2: Choose which column ratio you prefer.
Step 3: Select Apply.

For more information on other layout options, check out this article.

➡️ Move Within the Item

If you need to move either the passage or the question(s), you can do so by using the drag handle, as shown in the example below.

Learnosity Resources

Learnosity Author Guide: Passages

FAQ

Can Otus read the passage aloud for students? Yes, there are two ways this can be done. You can enable TextHelpSpeechstream, which has a read aloud tool. The other way is to record yourself (or use previously recorded audio) reading the passage, and embed the recording directly into the item with the passage.

Can students highlight, underline, or use any other markup tools on a passage? Yes, there are two ways this can be done. You can enable TextHelpSpeechstream, which has a highlighting tool. The other option is to enable the Annotations option, which has a highlighter and a drawing tool.

What if my passage is a PDF, and I can't copy/paste or type it out? We recommend taking screenshots of the PDF and adding the screenshots into the passage. Use the Image button on the Rich Text toolbar to add images to your passage. See Step 2 for more details on how to use the Rich Text toolbar.

Can I use the passage in multiple items? Yes. You can duplicate an item that currently has the passage. This will allow you to build additional items with the same passage.

Otus Live

Below is a video from our Otus Live series on how to add a passage or calculator feature to your advanced assessments.

Next Steps

Advanced Assessment Item Features

Advanced Assessment: Item Layouts

Advanced Assessment Item Feature: Passage