> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.timelygrader.ai/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.timelygrader.ai/d2l-support-articles/tutorials-oral-assessments-d2l-brightspace/oral-defense-setup.md).

# Setting up Oral Defense questions

Questions are written by AI from each student’s own submission. You decide how many, what kinds of thinking they test, and what they focus on.

<figure><img src="https://3711328535-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FVTk0635Lo8R5owJx3bPK%2Fuploads%2F2fxvIUk6kO5NV6YbNqZ3%2Farticle-banner.png?alt=media" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

*New · October 2026*

{% hint style="info" %}
Example questions are only examples. Each student’s real questions depend on their own submission.
{% endhint %}

## Before you start

* Students have submitted to the source assignment in your LMS.
* You know which parts of the work you want students to explain.
* You have a rubric in mind for the defense as a whole. One rubric covers every generated question.

## Steps

{% stepper %}
{% step %}

### Choose the source assignment

Pick the LMS assignment that holds the work being defended. Questions are generated from each student’s submission to it, including every file they attached. The count below shows how many students have submitted.

1. The LMS assignment the questions come from.
2. Students without a submission are asked to submit first.
   {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Set questions per student

Choose how many questions each student answers. The set is written before the student begins and stays the same for that student, including on retries. There are no follow-up questions during the defense.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Choose Bloom’s taxonomy levels

The levels are stacked from Create at the top down to Remember. Each one is described in plain language with an example. Questions are spread across the levels you select.

1. Higher-order thinking sits at the top.
   {% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Add focus areas and instructions

Focus areas name the concepts or parts of the submission questions should probe. Additional instructions say what to explore or avoid, such as “Don’t ask about formatting”.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Build the shared rubric

Click Add Rubric to build one rubric for the whole defense. It’s used to evaluate every generated question, and it shapes the formative feedback students get. Students never see scores in that feedback.
{% endstep %}

{% step %}

### Generate example questions

Pick a student and click Generate to see what they might be asked. A progress bar shows while their files are read. Once examples exist, Regenerate writes a new set for that student.

1. The student whose submission grounds the examples.
2. Generating reads that student’s files.
   {% endstep %}
   {% endstepper %}

## Troubleshooting

<details>

<summary>A student is missing from the example list.</summary>

They haven’t submitted to the source assignment yet. They’ll be asked to submit in your LMS before they can start.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Example questions feel generic.</summary>

Add focus areas, or select fewer Bloom’s levels so questions go deeper on each.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Examples disappeared.</summary>

They aren’t saved. Generate again; it doesn’t affect any student’s real questions.

</details>

## FAQ

<details>

<summary>Can students upload a different file?</summary>

No. Questions are based only on what they submitted in your LMS, so they can’t swap in easier work.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Do questions change if a student retries?</summary>

No. A student’s questions are fixed once written.

</details>

<details>

<summary>Is the defense grade combined with the work’s grade?</summary>

Not by default. The oral grade goes to its own destination assignment. Grading Settings has an option to grade the submission with the same rubric.

</details>

## Related articles

* [Grading and feedback settings for oral activities](/d2l-support-articles/tutorials-oral-assessments-d2l-brightspace/oral-grading-feedback.md)
* [Sending oral grades to your LMS](/d2l-support-articles/tutorials-oral-assessments-d2l-brightspace/oral-passback.md)
* [Trying an oral activity as a student](/d2l-support-articles/tutorials-oral-assessments-d2l-brightspace/try-as-student.md)