Create your AMC exam

Use the current EPFL AMC template provided on the VDI. CePro support applies to the standard template and supported features.

Use a current template

For a new exam, start from the template provided on the AMC VDI rather than an old local copy. If you are reusing an older AMC project, copy the questions into a fresh current template. This reduces incompatibilities with anonymization, printing and automatic correction.

Create the project

1. Launch AMC on the VDI.

Start from the AMC project interface on the VDI.

1. Choose New project.
2. Name the project using the course code.
3. Select Template.
4. Choose the appropriate EPFL template (English or French).

Select the supported EPFL exam template.

1. Apply the template.
2. Open Edit source file to edit the LaTeX sources.

The exam content is maintained in the AMC/LaTeX source files.

Edit and compile the exam sources before generating student copies.

The template is designed to compile with PDFLaTeX.

warning

Fix all compilation errors before continuing. An exam that does not compile correctly may not be processable by AMC after the exam.

Layout requirements

The template has been tested for automatic processing. Avoid changing structural layout parameters unless you know they are supported.

• CePro recommends booklet printing.
• The exam page count should be a multiple of 4.
• Leave at least 1.5 cm margin, because papers are cut before scanning.
• Do not rely on additional loose pages: they are not recognized by AMC.
• Provide enough space for open-question answers inside the AMC document itself.

Questions and sections

Questions are stored in section_X.tex files and section headers in header_section_X.tex files.

Every question must have a unique ID. The EPFL template uses these prefixes:

Type	Prefix
Single correct answer	SCQ-
Multiple correct answers	MCQ-
True/False	TF-
Open question	OPEN-

Single and Multiple Choice Questions example:

\element{section_1}{
\begin{question}{SCQ-01}
 Here is your question with one correct answer.
 \begin{choices}
 \bonne{correct answer}
 \mauvaise{wrong answer}
 \mauvaise{wrong answer}
 \mauvaise{wrong answer}
 \end{choices}
\end{question}
}
 

\element{section_1}{
\begin{questionmult}{MCQ-02}
 Question with several correct answers.
\begin{choices}
  \bonne{correct answer}
  \bonne{other correct answer}
  \mauvaise{wrong choice}
  \mauvaise{wrong choice}
  \mauvaise{wrong choice}
\end{choices}
\end{questionmult}
}

\setgroupmode{section_1}{withoutreplacement} %withoutreplacement=shuffled, fixed=noshuffle (for questions)

Open questions

Open questions use corrector boxes so points can be entered in a machine-readable way after the exam. The template provides commands for full-point and half-point scales.

Corrector boxes allow points for open questions to be captured in the AMC workflow.

Example of an answer area generated by the EPFL AMC template.

Example:

\element{section_3}{
\begin{description}
\item[Question~\theAMCquestionaff :] \textit{Cette question est notée sur 8 points.}
\end{description}
\correctorEight{OPEN-A}{~}
\correctorStop

\noindent
On rappelle que ...

Déterminez ...

\OpenGrid{19cm}
\FullPageOpenGrid
}

\setgroupmode{section_3}{fixed}  %withoutreplacement=shuffled, fixed=noshuffle (for questions)

It also provides answer-area commands such as:

\OpenBox{10cm}
\OpenGrid{8cm}
\FullPageOpenGrid
\FullPageOpenBox

Choose an answer area large enough for the expected response.

Media

Store images in the project's media directory and reference that directory explicitly, for example:

\includegraphics[width=0.5\textwidth]{media/image_mc02.jpg}

Configuration files

Use the template files for their intended purpose:

• exam.tex: main document and section imports;
• exam_conf.tex / exam_config.tex: exam metadata and default marking rules;
• first_page.tex: exam instructions;
• packages.tex: additional LaTeX packages;
• commands.tex: additional commands.

Before moving on

Compile the exam and inspect the generated PDF. Then continue with Configure grading.

Next step

Once the exam compiles cleanly and the PDF has been reviewed, configure the grading rules.