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Anatomy of a Multiple Choice Question |
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In a multiple choice question, the initial question or partial statement that prompts students to choose the correct answer is called the stem. Answer options other than the correct answer are called distractors. |
Treat exam writing as a process, with drafting and revising stages. Don’t try to write more than a few MCQs in a single day. One tactic is drafting one or two questions after you craft a lesson or teach a class, when your sense of what you are teaching is strongest. Later on, revise these questions together. Check to make sure that each has a clear correct answer and that other options are clearly wrong. Decide whether any question yields the answer to another too easily.
Reusing MCQs is practical, but draft a few new MCQs each time you teach a course, so to be able to swap out questions in the active question bank, and occasionally retire a few questions.
The general instructions for the multiple choice questions should be explicit, both within the exam itself, and your discussion of the exam in class: Read the questions carefully. Choose the best answer, the one for which no room for quibbling or reasoned debate exists.
If you find yourself repeating a phrase across answer options, include it in the question stem, for efficiency.
For example, if I want students to choose the correct definition of Historiography, the stem should be “Historiography is the study of,” instead of including “is the study of” in each answer option.
Answer options should not quote sources. Appropriately rephrase them away from textbook language or favorite ways you say things in class. If you have specific reasons to use key terms, phrases, or ways of wording things, consider adding such clues in both correct and incorrect answers throughout the exam.
include at least three wrong answer options or “distractors” that are clearly incorrect to prepared students, but plausible nonetheless. Silly answers don’t help assess student comprehension. If you're really struggling to find a fourth distractor for a question, consider jargon (even invented) that sounds plausible only to the unprepared.
Negative question stems should be used sparingly. If you must, highlight the negative modifier for clarity: “Which of the following was NOT true concerning 1964 Presidential candidate Barry Goldwater?” “Margaret Sanger advocated all of the following except:” Avoid double negatives.
Be consistent in grammar, spelling, capitalization, syntax, and formatting. Carefully edit your questions to eliminate typos. If you copy and paste parts of questions between computer programs, be sure that font style and size, spacing, and other attributes are consistent. Any inconsistently can otherwise genuinely or misleadingly hint at a right or wrong answer.
Considerations for Online Exams
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