TAKING ASSIGNMENTS IN MINDTAP
Contents
Introduction
2
Types of Assignments
3
Assignments on the Learning Path
3
Inline Assignments
4
Information about Assignments
4
Beginning an Assignment
6
Distinct Assignments
6
Inline Assignments
7
Answering Questions
8
Navigating through the Questions
Details about the Skidder
10
10
Doing an Assignment
11
Saving Your Work
14
Submitting the Assignment
15
Multiple Tries
16
Viewing Assignment Status and Scores
18
Assignment Options
20
Document Revision History
22
Version # 1.0
MindTap version 1.5.1
Last Edited: 5/8/2014
Introduction
A Course mode MindTap includes homework and assessments, called assignments in this guide. These
assignments test your knowledge of the course material. When you have completed work on all the
questions in an assignment, you click the Submit Activity button to have your answers graded
automatically. Your score displays after you submit an assignment. MindTap saves your answers, so you
can begin an assignment and complete and submit it later, assuming that the due date has not passed.
This guide covers these topics:

Types of Assignments

Navigation through Assignments

Taking Assignments

Saving your Work

Multiple Tries

Viewing Assignment Status and Scores
If you have specific questions about your assignments, talk to your instructor.
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Types of Assignments
Assignments display on the MindTap Learning Path and embedded in inline Reading Activities.
Regardless of where you see them, once you know how assignments work, you will know how to take
them wherever they appear.
Assignments on the Learning Path
Distinct assignments display on the MindTap Learning Path:
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Inline Assignments
Inline assignments are embedded inside Reading Activities:
Information about Assignments
An assignment can display the following information:

Due Date: The instructor can set a due date after which you cannot take the assignment.
IMPORTANT: MindTap may submit an activity on your behalf at the due date if you do not
explicitly submit it. The table that follows explains the circumstances under which this may
happen:
If…
Then…
You made your first
attempt at the
assignment and you
finished it before the
due date but did not
submit it for a grade
The assignment submits automatically at the
due date
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If…
Then…
You submitted an
assignment once and
attempted it again, but
did not submit the later
attempt
The later attempt DOES NOT submit
automatically after the due date
The instructor does not
The assignment submits automatically on the
set up a due date for the course end date
assignment

Whether the assignment is for practice or counts towards your grade:

Whether you submitted the assignment:

The number of attempts remaining:

No attempts remaining:

Your score (if you previously submitted an attempt)
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Beginning an Assignment
This section describes how to begin working on an assignment. This section explains how to start both
types of assignments: Distinct and Inline.
Distinct Assignments
A Distinct assignment displays on the Learning Path. Follow these steps to start your assignment:
Step
Action
1
Locate an assignment on the Learning Path.
2
Click to select the title of the assignment.
Result: A question displays for you to answer.
IMPORTANT: A question may include more than one item. Make sure you
complete them all.
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Inline Assignments
This table shows you how to begin working on an Inline assignment:
Step
Action
1
Go to an inline assignment inside a Reading Activity.
2
Click Start to begin the assignment. If you have taken this assignment before, a
Take Again button displays instead of Start.
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Step
2
(cont)
Action
Result: A question displays for you to answer.
IMPORTANT: A question may include more than one item. Make sure you do
all of them.
Answering Questions
Your MindTap may contain many different types of questions in an assignment, including multiple
choice and short answer, to name a couple. MindTap scores your answers.
NOTE: The Assignment Options section of this document explains the different ways an instructor can
configure an assignment and how it might affect your grade.
Some assignments include a Check Answer button with each question. When this button displays,
complete the question, then click Check Answer to receive a score for the question.
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Other assignments require you to complete every question in the assignment before displaying a score
for each item.
After you complete the entire assignment, make sure you click the Submit Activity button to have the
entire assignment graded.
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Navigating through the Questions
This section explains how to go through an assignment. You can navigate through the questions in an
assignment in a couple of different ways:

Linear: Do the questions in order, using the Next> and previous (left arrow) buttons to move
from one question to another.

Non-linear: Skip through questions by selecting the question number from the Skidder at the
bottom of the screen.
A scroll bar enables you to skip around when the exercise has many questions.
Details about the Skidder
The skidder tool displays at the bottom of the question screen. It helps you navigate through the
questions in your assignment and tells you the status of each question.
Skidder state
Meaning
Blank
The question is not completed or not scored
Gray shade
Indicates the question you are viewing
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Skidder state
Meaning
Blue dot
Indicates that you have completed the question
and clicked Check Answer to have it scored (Only
displays if the assignment is set up to show
feedback)
Doing an Assignment
The steps in the following table explain how to work through an assignment:
Step
1
Action
Provide an answer.
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Step
2
Action
Submit the answer if required.
If…
Then…
The Check Answer button
displays.
Click it to submit your answer.
There is no Check Answer
button.
The instructor did not configure
the assignment to provide
feedback for you.
 You cannot submit your
answer, so after you answer
the question, go on to
another question.
 MindTap saves your answer.
 When you submit the activity
MindTap scores every
question.
IMPORTANT: Once you click
Check Answer, you cannot go
back and change your answer.
However, you may be able to try
again, depending on the way the
instructor configured the
assignment.
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Step
2
(cont)
Action
Result:
If…
Then…
You clicked the Check Answer
button.
The Skidder displays a blue dot on the
question number at the bottom of the
screen, indicating that you clicked Check
Answer and had the question scored.
NOTE: You may also see the following,
depending on the way your instructor
configured the assignment. (Refer to
Assignment Options for details):
 Whether your answer is correct or
incorrect
 Your current score for the assignment
displayed on the bottom right of the
screen.
The correct response to the question
 A Try Again button, enabling you to
attempt the question again (for
instructor-configured homework
assignments only)

There was no Check Answer
button to click.
3
Navigate to another question and answer it.
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Step
4
Action
Continue this procedure until you complete every question.
Result: You are ready to submit the assignment.
Saving Your Work
MindTap automatically saves your work every 30 seconds and displays the last time it saved. Anytime
you navigate between questions or click a Check Answer button, MindTap saves.
IMPORTANT: When you need to leave your MindTap session, click the Save link to ensure that
MindTap saves your most recent work.
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Submitting the Assignment
When you complete all of the questions and are ready to submit your assignment, take these steps:
Step
1
Action
Click Submit Activity.
Result: The Submit Activity confirm page displays.
NOTE: If you click Next> after completing the last question in the assignment, the
Submit Activity confirm page also displays.
2
Select Submit For Grading.
(You can click Cancel if you are not ready to submit the assignment for grading.)
Result: Once you click Submit for Grading, the assignment receives a score.
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Step
3
Action
Review your answers.
After you submit the assignment for grading, Review mode displays, enabling you
to review your answers. You cannot edit answers here. You may be able to see
feedback on your answers if your instructor set up the assignment to display it.
Multiple Tries
You can attempt some question multiple times, depending on the way your instructor set up the
assignment. If you see a Try Again button, you know you have another chance to attempt the question.
A Try Again button does not display the first time you attempt a question; it displays on subsequent
attempts at the bottom right of the screen.
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NOTES:

The Try Again button displays whether or not your answer is correct. You do not have to try the
question again.

The number that displays in parentheses next to Try Again shows the number of tries you have
left for the question. The number decreases every time you attempt the question.
Viewing Assignment Status and Scores
Some assignments are configured to allow you to attempt them multiple times. (This is different from
Try Again, which enables you to take a question over again.)
After you submit an assignment for grading, the score displays:
You can choose to take the assignment again to raise your grade, assuming there are attempts
remaining.
To see all your scores including previous attempts, click the score and a popup displays your previous
scores (up to ten.)
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Icons display the status of your assignments:
Icon
State of activity
None
You have not started the assignment
Blue with pencil
You have work in progress on an assignment.
MindTap saves your work so you can resume later without losing any
of the answers you submitted previously.
Green check
You have submitted the assignment.
Overdue
The assignment is past due.
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Assignment Options
This section can help you understand why you might receive a particular score on an assignment. As
you know, instructors can configure many different options for student assignments. This section
details the choices your instructor may make when setting up an assignment.

Grading Type
— Counts Towards Grade
— Practice

Activity Type
— Assessment
— Homework

Possible score: Number of points for which the activity counts

Assignment Submissions: The number of times you may submit an assignment

Scoring Strategy: Relates to your score on the entire assignment if you are allowed multiple
takes:
— Best Score
— Average
— Last Score

Item Scoring Strategy: For questions that allow more than one try, the instructor can decide
how to count each try
— Average
— Best
— Last Score
— Do No Harm
NOTES:
— If only one try is allowed, whatever score you received on that try is the score that counts.
— If it takes you more than one try to get a correct answer, you may not receive full credit
unless the instructor configured the question for Best or Last Score.
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
Feedback to Student: Feedback during assignment (Determining, among other things, whether
you see a Check Answer button on questions and how much detail displays on Review pages)
— Always
— Never

Show Correct Answer
—
Always
— Never

Number of “Try Again” Clicks Allowed: (For questions that allow multiple tries)
— Unlimited
—1
—2
—3
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Document Revision History
Date
Version
Description
Author/Editor
12/29/2011
.1
Initial draft of document written with
assistance from Kiran Rana from QA
team
Cindy Bailen
1/3/2012
.2
Making corrections and adding more
screen captures
Cindy Bailen/Kiran
Rana
1/4/2012
.3
Making corrections and adding more
screen captures
Cindy Bailen/Amy
Entler
1/6/2012
.4
Making corrections and adding more
screen captures
Cindy Bailen
11/12/2012
.5
Integrating PO comments
Cindy Bailen/Amy
Entler
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