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10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions

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You are here: Home / eLearning Design / 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions

10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions by Connie Malamed

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This is a back-to-basics article about the undervalued and little-discussed multiple choice question. It’s not as exciting as discussing 3D virtual learning environments, but it might be just as important. If you need to use tests, then you want to reduce the errors that occur from poorly written items. The rules covered here make tests more accurate, so the questions are interpreted as intended and the answer options are clear and without hints. Just in case you’re not familiar with multiple choice terminology, it’s explained in the visual below.

Here are the ten rules. If you have any others, please add them through the Comments form below.

Rule #1: Test comprehension and critical thinking, not just recall http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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Multiple choice questions are criticized for testing the superficial recall of knowledge. You can go beyond this by asking learners to interpret facts, evaluate situations, explain cause and effect, make inferences, and predict results.

Rule #2: Use simple sentence structure and precise wording Write test questions in a simple structure that is easy to understand. And try to be as accurate as possible in your word choices. Words can have many meanings depending on colloquial usage and context.

Rule #3: Place most of the words in the question stem If you’re using a question stem, rather than an entire question, ensure that most of the words are in the stem. This way, the answer options can be short, making them less confusing and more legible.

Rule #4: Make all distractors plausible All of the wrong answer choices should be completely reasonable. This can be very hard to accomplish, but avoid throwing in those give-away distractors as it detracts from the test’s validity. If you’re really stuck, get help from your friendly SME. (BTW, this word can

also be spelled as “distracter.”)

Rule #5: Keep all answer choices the same length This can be difficult to achieve, but expert test-takers can use answer length as a hint to the correct answer. Often the longest answer is the correct one. When I can’t get all four answers to the same length, I use two short and two long.

Rule #6: Avoid double negatives No big news here, right? Don’t use combinations of these words in the same question: not, no, nor, the -un prefix, etc. For example, this type of question could confuse testtakers: ‘Which of the following comments would NOT be unwelcome in a work situation?’ Flip it around and write it in the positive form: ‘Which of the following comments are acceptable in a work situation?’

Rule #7: Mix up the order of the correct answers http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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Make sure that most of your correct answers aren’t in the “b” and “c” positions, which can often happen. Keep correct answers in random positions and don’t let them fall into a pattern that can be detected. When your test is written, go through and reorder where the correct answers are placed, if necessary.

Rule #8: Keep the number of options consistent Did you ever have to convince a SME that he or she can’t have answer choices that go to ‘h’ in one question and ‘c’ in the next? It’s something of a user interface issue. Making the number of options consistent from question to question helps learners know what to expect. Research doesn’t seem to agree on whether 3 or 4 or 5 options is best. Personally, I like to use 4 options. It feels fair.

Rule #9: Avoid tricking test-takers As faulty as they are, tests exist to measure knowledge. Never use questions or answer options that could trick a learner. If a question or its options can be interpreted in two ways or if the difference between options is too subtle, then find a way to rewrite it.

Rule #10: Use ‘All of the Above’ and ‘None of the Above’ with caution I hate this rule because when you run out of distractors, All of the Above and None of

the Above can come in handy. But they may not promote good instruction. Here’s why. All of the Above can be an obvious give-away answer when it’s not used consistently. Also, the All of the Above option can encourage guessing if the learner thinks one or two answers are correct. In addition, the downside to None of the Above is that you can’t tell if the learner really knew the correct answer. Related Articles: Writing Multiple Choice Questions for Higher Order Thinking Are Your Online Tests Reliable? Are Your Online Tests Valid? Tips for Writing Matching Format Test Items Get the latest articles, resources and freebies once a month plus my free eBook, Writing for Instructional Design.

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Comments Michael M says March 23, 2010 at 5:23 pm I’ve written some additional tips for ordering distrators and the key that do not contribute unnecessarily to the wrong things. Check out http://www.viral-notebook.com/wordpress/2009/05/06/increasing-cognitiveload-part-2/

Connie Malamed says March 23, 2010 at 7:47 pm Thanks for the link Michael. I like your article. Connie

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David Hopkins says March 25, 2010 at 6:14 am Excellent list, thanks for sharing this with us. Regards, David.

Sarasota Joe says April 1, 2010 at 11:39 pm This is a helpful list, thanks. Many educators disagree with rule #8 though. Rule #4 takes precedence: sometimes it’s best to throw in a question with two or three distractors rather than come up with implausible distractors in the name of consistency. I haven’t seen anyone split the difference here, but I will be bold enough to come up with my own rule: Don’t have any questions with EXTRA distractors, but an occasional question with FEWER distractors is better than forcing implausible distractors into a question for the sake of uniformity. Studies show that having fewer distractors does not, oddly enough, improve performance based on chance. You can create excellent questions with two distractors.

Connie Malamed says April 2, 2010 at 6:56 am Hi Joe, I do agree, it would be better to have an inconsistent number of distractors rather than an implausible one. You know how rules are … Thanks for sharing your insight! Connie

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Ganesh Maharjan says October 23, 2010 at 10:30 am Thanks for sharing this helpful list…….

pradeep kulkarni says December 6, 2010 at 10:38 pm good tips

ARG says December 10, 2010 at 8:32 am Very informative article. Thanks for sharing it

Manuel says May 29, 2011 at 11:03 pm Merci. Votre travaille c’ést très bon.

Sucharita says December 15, 2011 at 7:02 pm http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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Hey Connie, Thank you for sharing these rules. These will surely help me in my work!

Sue Lund says January 16, 2012 at 8:39 am Hi Connie, I love your 10 rules! I will shortly be teaching colleagues enrolled on our staff development course how to improve their question writing skills. I wonder if you would mind if I use your ideas as a resource (with reference to you, of course) as a basis for discussion in one of my face to face sessions? This would involve printing off copies to use as a paper and pen exercise. Colleagues will then use the rules to help them design their own computer based quizzes. Many thanks for a great resource.

Connie Malamed says January 18, 2012 at 7:26 am Hi Sue, Of course you can use the list. It’s there to help people. I hope your class goes well! Connie

Ann Wederspahn says June 21, 2012 at 7:06 pm http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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An additional rule: Ensure that your question is at the correct level of difficulty. A SME should be able to answer it with ease; naive learners should not be able to guess it consistently. (I am currently reviewing an e-learning module done by a reputable company and have been horrified at the exercise questions. Some are so obtuse no SME could produce the answer, while others are at a level my nine-year-old could figure out!)

Connie Malamed says June 21, 2012 at 10:29 pm Hi Ann, Great advice! It’s readers like you that add so much to this site. Thanks. Best, Connie

Bob Hagearty says October 17, 2012 at 1:49 pm Agree with #10. Lack of credible distractors leads you to AOTA. I feel you need some questions with AOTA as a distractor. But one study showed that actually caused more correct answers!

Connie Malamed says October 17, 2012 at 2:14 pm

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In my opinion, tt does seem that if you use All of the above, you’d need to use it pretty often. Otherwise, it’s obviously the correct answer in many cases. Better to use a multiple selection multiple choice question, if your audience can handle that type of interaction.

Alice Peterson says October 23, 2012 at 7:39 am Great pointers! Here’s my favorite. When considering which questions will be on the test, refer back to your class objectives. If they were written according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, then precise wording, appropriate skill level, and critical thinking will be that much easier to build into your questions.

Connie Malamed says October 23, 2012 at 7:58 am Hi Alice, Thanks, for reiterating an important point! Please come back and continue to add to the conversation. Connie

Bryan says March 5, 2015 at 3:28 pm Both reliability and validity are put into question if you don’t have the same amount of options/distractors for each one. More distractors make it more difficult, fewer make it

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easier. There can be no argument about that-there must be consistency, otherwise what is the point of testing?

Connie Malamed says March 5, 2015 at 9:06 pm Good points, Bryan.

Joseph O. Fehintola says September 18, 2015 at 11:42 pm Thanks, those points are actually germane and relevant to MCQ test.

Sarah clarke says March 19, 2016 at 4:43 pm Kahoot or socrative are good for creating multiple choice. I’m not keen on them as a learning tool but AQA use multiple choice in A level business and economics papers. So tend to use to prepare learners.

Connie Malamed says March 20, 2016 at 8:50 am

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Thanks for sharing this information, Sarah. Best, Connie

Jeremy Curtis says November 2, 2016 at 12:23 pm Good afternoon! We are seeking your permission to include your 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions in a project we are undertaking. The project is to develop and support implementation of a new qualification for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Kosovo. The qualification is Level 5 Certificate for Teaching Assistants for Special Needs Children. We would acknowledge the resource materials, with web references for further detail and information. It would be really helpful to have your e-mail confirmation that we can use and reference materials from your website if that is acceptable to you. We look forward to hearing from you!

Connie Malamed says November 2, 2016 at 6:37 pm Of course, Jeremy. Thanks for asking and good luck on your project! It sounds very important. Will send as an email too. Connie

ranjini says December 27, 2016 at 5:24 am

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hi mam, good article, but mam lot of another guide lines related to multiple choice questions. i prepared a document about it. pls research your document.

Connie Malamed says December 31, 2016 at 9:16 am Hi Ranjini, Yes, there are many other guidelines too. These were, in my estimation, the top ten. And they were researched Best, Connie

ranjini says January 2, 2017 at 12:49 am Hi Madam, No offence meant. My only opinion was that this article needs to be validated. Wishing you a good day and a happy new year. Ranjini.

Mohammad says May 22, 2017 at 7:33 am Connie, your article is good, but could be great if you would provide at least one couple of examples for each rule. One poor and one better examples. Think about it. http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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Connie Malamed says June 1, 2017 at 7:24 pm You’re right, Mohammad. I’m starting to write an eBook on this topic that will have lots of examples. Thanks for your input. Connie

Karen Canete says September 3, 2017 at 11:17 am May I ask you a question? We have this task to create question under creating level of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Now my question is, is it possible to create a multiple choice questions in creating level? I’m really having a hard time trying to look for any sample multiple choice questions under creating level.

Connie Malamed says September 3, 2017 at 10:29 pm Hi Karen, In the real world, it does seem that a multiple choice question for “creating” is a bad fit so I do not think the assignment is particularly meaningful. That said, the best I can suggest is to simulate creation via a multiple choice question. For example, if the LO is to create an innovative title for an article, you could say, “You must create a title for an online magazine article. Select the title that stands out as one that will grab attention.” Or if the LO is to create a design with effective use of white space, you could show three designs, each with a rationale for why it is effective. Then the learner must select one. http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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Also, see if this article about writing multiple choice questions for higher order thinking gives you any ideas. Good luck! Connie

James Kennedy says March 18, 2018 at 1:58 pm I am looking at a “quiz qualifier” for some multiple choice tests where students can explain a few of the answers they selected. This way, I can better assess their knowledge. Any input on that? I have tried on a few quizzes and the students really appreciate the opportunity.

Connie Malamed says March 18, 2018 at 9:41 pm That sounds awesome. I can see why students would like that. Since our goal is to help learners gain mastery and competence, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a good strategy. Best, Connie

Julie Wong says April 26, 2018 at 10:14 pm 1. Do you put a “full stop” at the end of each option? I have been putting one at the end of options which are complete sentences, but not when they are single words/phrases. Is that correct? http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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2. Do you use upper or lower case used for single word/phrase options, e.g. a. Seventy b. Seventy-five etc or a. seventy b. seventy-five

Connie Malamed says May 1, 2018 at 9:31 am Julie – I answered this a few days ago but I guess it didn’t save. It would be interesting to ask these questions to a professional editor. I keep things consistent in punctuation and within the options for each test, course, organization. Like you, I place a period at the end of sentences. I also place a period at the end of the answer options for options that are intended to complete a sentence. As to your #2, I typically use lower case for the answer choices. I see that in SAT sample questions, they also use lower case. But I work for many different clients and if their standard is upper case, I do that. I hope this helps. Good question!

Trackbacks uberVU - social comments says: March 18, 2010 at 11:25 pm Social comments and analytics for this post… This post was mentioned on Twitter by r20_blogroll: eLCoach: 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions: Join in on the excitement of writing multiple choice test… http://bit.ly/a0cWf5…

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O essencial sobre questões de escolha múltipla | Selma Vedor - e-learning says: April 7, 2010 at 5:43 pm […] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions – este artigo de blog “The elearning coach” aborda as “regras de ouro” dos questionários de escolha múltipla. É de leitura obrigatória, mesmo para quem já trabalha há muito com estes questionários, pois ajuda a arrumar ideias. […]

10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions | Listaurus says: May 27, 2010 at 10:17 am […] Read more… […]

When a Test Really Test You | StarCast Blog says: November 9, 2010 at 3:29 pm […] an excellent article about how to best design a test at the end of a training course: http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/ This entry was posted in Interesting Links, Online Training Tips, Rachelle's Columns and tagged […]

Welcome to the StarCast Online Training Blog | StarCast Blog says: November 9, 2010 at 5:35 pm […] • Stories from the eLearning community […]

perguntas de escolha múltipla « aprendendo aos solavancos says: March 14, 2011 at 9:47 am

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[…] aqui uma sistematização das algumas regras para a construção de perguntas de escolha múltipla. […]

Writing Multiple Choice Questions | HRD Online Training Blog says: June 23, 2011 at 12:47 pm […] something that we all struggle with. The eLearning Coach knows this and they did an article on 10 Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Questions. Click on the link to read more! This entry was posted in Blog Posts. Bookmark the permalink. […]

10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions: The eLearning Coach | Les 1, 2, 3 ... de la pédagogie universitaire avec TIC ou pas | Scoop.it says: October 14, 2011 at 5:50 pm […] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions: The eLearning Coach This is a backto-basics article about the undervalued and little-discussed multiple choice question. It’s not as exciting as discussing 3D virtual learning environments, but it might be just as important. If you need to use tests, then you want to reduce the errors that occur from poorly written items. Source: theelearningcoach.com […]

The Thing About Multiple-Choice Tests … by Mike Dickinson « « DediCommDediComm says: March 12, 2012 at 9:43 pm […] Malamed, Connie. Ten rules for writing multiple-choice questions. Downloaded Sept. 30, 2011 from: http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiplechoice-questions/ […]

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Writing Multiple Choice Questions For Higher Order Thinking: Instructional Design and eLearning says: October 15, 2012 at 6:40 am […] to measure higher-order thinking in multiple choice questions, please share them below. Also see 10 Rules for Writing Multiple Choice Questions for ways to make your tests more accurate and […]

Writing multiple choice questions for higher order thinking [Malamed] says: October 19, 2012 at 9:51 am […] 10 rules for writing multiple choice questions — from theelearningcoach.com by Connie Malamed If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Tagged with: elearning • instructional design  […]

Tips for developing and administering multiple-choice tests | Strategies for Successful Teaching says: December 12, 2012 at 11:04 am […] tests For more comprehensive lists and further information on multiple choice tests, please visit The Learning Coach and refer to the University of Florida’s teaching assistant handbook. Antionette Rollins is a […]

Assessment | Pearltrees says: February 4, 2013 at 9:24 am […] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions […]

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Learning | Pearltrees says: May 14, 2013 at 11:37 am […] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions […]

Exams | Koehler Center for Teaching Excellence says: September 12, 2013 at 11:18 am […] resources about creating multiple-choice tests. First, from the eLearning Coach Connie Malamed, 10 rules for writing multiple choice exams. I’m generally rule-averse, but I do think that these are wise guidelines. I’m not as […]

Neting Elearning | Hogyan írjunk jó teszt kérdéseket? says: October 6, 2013 at 9:32 am […] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions […]

30 Rules for Creating Good Multiple-Choice Questions says: June 9, 2014 at 9:30 am […] 10 Rules for Writing Multiple-Choice Questions Writing Multiple Choice Questions Writing Multiple-Choice Questions Good tips from Vanderbilt University […]

Top 5 Rules for Great Multiple Choice Questions | TRIFORCE STUDIO says: January 16, 2016 at 12:20 am […] great article for learning about different rules can be seen here – 10 rules for writing multiple choice questions. There is also a useful resource with examples on the University of Texas website. And if you […] http://theelearningcoach.com/elearning_design/rules-for-multiple-choice-questions/

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