diff --git a/question/type/shortanswer/questiontype.php b/question/type/shortanswer/questiontype.php
index 3145f8f37cb..0fb6ec7b805 100644
--- a/question/type/shortanswer/questiontype.php
+++ b/question/type/shortanswer/questiontype.php
@@ -142,7 +142,7 @@ class question_shortanswer_qtype extends default_questiontype {
 
         /// Print input controls
 
-        if (isset($state->responses[''])) {
+        if (isset($state->responses['']) && $state->responses['']!='' ) {
             $value = ' value="'.s($state->responses[''], true).'" ';
         } else {
             $value = ' value="" ';