Multiple Choice

Multiple choice questions are composed of one question (stem) with multiple possible answers (choices), including the correct answer and several incorrect answers (distractors). Typically, students select the correct answer by circling the associated number or letter or filling in the associated circle on the machine-readable response sheet.

Students can generally respond to multiple-choice questions quite quickly. As a result, they are often used to test students’ knowledge of a broad range of content. Creating these questions can be time-consuming because it is often difficult to generate several plausible distractors. However, they can be marked very quickly.

Tips for writing good multiple-choice items:

Avoid

Do use

In the stem: Long / complex sentences Trivial material Negatives and double-negatives Ambiguity or indefinite terms, absolute statements Broad generalizations Extraneous material Item characteristics that provide a clue to the answer misconceptions In the choices: Statements too close to the correct answer Completely implausible responses “All of the above,” “none of the above” Overlapping responses (e.g., if “A” is true)

In the stem: Single, clearly formulated problems In the choices: Plausible and homogeneous distractors Statements based on common student misconceptions True statements that do not answer the questions Short options – and all same length Correct options evenly distributed over A, B, C, etc. Alternatives that are in logical or numerical (then “C” is also true) order At least 3 alternatives

Suggestion: After each lesson, jot down two or three multiple-choice questions based on the material for that lecture. Regularly taking a few minutes to compose questions, while the material is fresh in your mind, will allow you to develop a question bank that you can use to construct tests and exams quickly and easily.