Short answer: how to write one

The same task goes by several names: open question, write your answer, open-ended question, free writing prompt. They all describe the exercise below, and this page uses short answer throughout.

The question

Personal, answerable in two sentences, and impossible to answer with yes.

The constraint

The language you require: two sentences, in the past simple, using three words from the lesson.

The model answer

What a good answer looks like at this level. Not the only right answer — a yardstick.

Works well at A1–C1. Reach for it when:

• You want to know whether they can use the form, not just recognise it.
• The lesson finishes with something personal: your weekend, your town, your opinion.
• You are setting homework you will actually read.

Choose something else when:

• You want instant feedback for a class of thirty. Nothing here marks itself.
• The class cannot yet produce the form at all. Controlled practice comes first.

1. Step 1: 1

   Ask something with a real answer

   What did you do last weekend beats Write three sentences in the past simple. Students write more when there is something to say.

2. Step 2: 2

   Name the language you want back

   Two sentences in the past simple, using two of today's verbs. Without the constraint you get present simple answers to a past simple lesson.

3. Step 3: 3

   Write the model answer at their level

   If your model uses language they have not met, it reads as a correction rather than a target.

4. Step 4: 4

   Keep it to two sentences

   Short answers get read and get feedback. Paragraphs get collected and returned three days later.

5. Step 5: 5

   Say how it will be judged

   Content, or accuracy on one form. Students write differently depending on the answer, and they deserve to know.

• Not thisDid you have a good weekend?

  BetterWhat did you do last weekend? Write two sentences.

  A yes / no question gets a yes. Open it with a question word.

• Not thisWrite about your holiday.

  BetterWrite two sentences about your last holiday, using the past simple.

  No length and no target language means the strong students write six lines and the weak ones write none.

• Not thisModel answer: I had a truly splendid time gallivanting around the coast.

  BetterModel answer: On Saturday I went to the beach with my cousins. It was very hot.

  A model above their level demotivates instead of showing the target.

Real items, not screenshots. Answers are checked in your browser and never sent to us, so you can share this page with a class exactly as it is.

Sentence starter given

Begin the answer for them: Last weekend I… Lowers the barrier at A1 without removing the production.

Answer then compare

Students write, check the model, then rewrite. The second draft is where the learning shows.

Peer answer

Students answer each other's questions rather than yours. More writing, and better questions.

• Past simpleA2 · explanation and exercises
• There is / there areA1 · explanation and exercises
• First conditionalA2 · explanation and exercises
• Present perfectB1 · explanation and exercises

Pick Two Activity is independent and not affiliated with Cambridge University Press & Assessment. These pages describe the level you are teaching towards; always check the official site for the current format.

• B1 PreliminaryB1 · practice ideas
• B2 FirstB2 · practice ideas

• True or falsetrue false quiz
• Key word transformationsentence transformation
• Teaching A1A1 (beginner)
• Teaching A2A2 (elementary)
• All exercise types12 tasks, and when to use each