--- title: "Short answer question: examples and when to use it" description: "What a short answer question is, where a one-line text field beats a list of options, example wording and how the block behaves in an Askyo survey." url: https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/short-text lang: en last_modified: 2026-09-27 --- 1. [Home](https://askyo.ru/en) 2. [Question types](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types) 3. Short answer question Question type # Short answer question A short answer question is an open-ended question with a single-line text field. The respondent types a few words in their own phrasing: a name, a city, a job title, a product they use. It suits facts that fit on one line and would be awkward or impossible to list as options. Available on the free plan [Build a survey with this question ](https://app.askyo.ru/build)[Survey templates](https://askyo.ru/en/templates) ## Where a one-line field earns its place Use it when the set of possible answers is open but each answer is short. Company names are the classic case. You could never list every company, and people type theirs in two seconds. It also works as a follow-up. Someone rates a delivery two stars; the next screen asks «What went wrong, in a few words?». You get a phrase you can read at a glance, not an essay. Skip it when the answers repeat. If 80 people will write «Moscow», «moscow» and «Msk», a list of cities gives you clean counts; free text gives you cleanup work. ## Short answer examples that stay short - What is your job title? - Which tool do you use for this today? - One word that describes our service? The field size hints at the expected length. A one-line box tells people you want a phrase, so write the question to match. If you need a paragraph, the long answer block is the honest choice. ## Field settings and the view on a phone The block has two settings of its own: the hint shown inside the empty field and a maximum length. The length limit is enforced by the input itself, so a respondent simply cannot type past it. Without your own hint, the field shows «Your answer». On a phone it is a normal text input that opens the keyboard on tap. The question counts as answered once there is any text that is not just spaces. In quiz mode a short answer can be scored. The answer is trimmed and compared without regard to case by default, and you can accept several correct spellings. Results show the share of positive, neutral and negative answers, the average length, a word cloud and sample answers. What you can set - hint inside the empty field - answer length limit ## Templates that already use it - «What should we call you?» [Feedback form](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/feedback-form) [Feedback](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/feedback) - «What should we call you?» [Client questionnaire](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/anketa-client) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «What should we call you?» [Service booking](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/booking) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «First and last name» [B2B lead form](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/lead-b2b) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «Name» [Contact form](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/contact) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «Guest name» [Rental / booking for a period](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/booking-period) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «Site / address» [Work acceptance / site visit](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/field-inspection) [Leads and contacts](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/lead) - «First and last name» [Candidate questionnaire](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/anketa-candidate) [HR and team](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/hr) - «Child's first and last name» [First-grade parent questionnaire](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/parents-first-grade) [Education](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/education) - «Child's name and group» [Settling into kindergarten](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/kindergarten-adaptation) [Education](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/education) - «Full name» [Knowledge test with scoring](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/knowledge-check-test) [Education](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/education) - «Full name» [Staff assessment test with scoring](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/staff-certification) [Education](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/education) - «What is your name?» [Event registration](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/event-registration) [Events](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/event) - «First and last name» [Sign-up for an 18+ event](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/event-18plus) [Events](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/event) - «What should we call you?» [Lead-gen quiz for a landing page](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/quiz-leadgen) [Quizzes](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/quiz) - «Unit number» [Residents’ vote](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/voting-residents) [Voting](https://askyo.ru/en/templates/category/voting) Frequently asked questions ## Short answer question: common questions What is the difference between a short answer and a paragraph question? Only the size of the field and what it signals. A single line invites a word or a phrase, a multi-line box invites an explanation. Pick by the answer you expect, since people tend to trim their thoughts to the box they see. ## Neighbouring types - [Long answer question](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/long-text) - [Online quiz builder](https://askyo.ru/en/quiz) - [Consent](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/consent) - [Text block](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/statement) - [Long answer](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/long-text) - [Email](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/email) - [Multiple choice](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/multi-choice) - [Phone](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types/phone) - [All question types](https://askyo.ru/en/question-types) ## Build a survey with this question Add a one-line question where a list of options would never be complete. [Build a survey ](https://app.askyo.ru/build)[Survey templates](https://askyo.ru/en/templates)