Multiple Choice Questions can be extremely powerful in the classroom and in remote teaching – and they can also be a complete disaster. Here are some tips about how to write MCQs effectively.
Suggested questions:
1.Is [this statement] true or false?
2.Which of the following is a true statement?
3.Which word best describes X in Chapter X?
4.Which word is the least appropriate description of X in Chapter X?
5.Which character is the best example of X?
6.Which character is this quotation about?
7.Which of the following lists best describes X?
8.How far do you agree with X? (Use the rating function – students rank their answer from 1-5 stars.)
9.Which of these analytical sentences is most effective? (Provide 4 sentences which include one example of precise analysis, and 3 which may include a vague phrase or an incorrect statement).
10.Which sentence best describes the plot of [the text]?
11._____________ is a key event in Chapter X. (Then the options are phrases which might fit in the blank.)
12.Select three words which best describe X?
Quiz on a section of text: click on the quiz title on Microsoft Forms and then “enter a description”. Add a snippet of text which will then provide the basis of the MCQs.
Free writing questions:
1.The definition is X – what is the word?
2.Quotation with one word missing.
3.List 3 words to describe X.
Other tips:
- Follow up questions: A is an incorrect answer. Why might someone pick that answer?
- Use free text boxes on Microsoft Forms to ask students to justify their responses.
- If providing alternatives, they must require a degree of thought and must all be plausible. E.g. include common misconceptions.
- Avoid “all of the above” and “none of the above”.
Reading:
Multiple-Choice Questioning as a Valuable Learning Opportunity – The Effortful Educator
Not Just MCQs and Knowledge Quizzes: Generating Learning with Microsoft Forms – codexterous (home.blog)
How I use multiple-choice quizzes to build memory | Matthew Connor Martin (wordpress.com)
Multiple choice quizzes | Reading all the Books
Carousel | Multiple choice vs. short answer? Which is better when? (carousel-learning.com)
Designing and using MCQs in the classroom – @msybibiblogs (wordpress.com)
Ranking Multiple-Choice Answers to Increase Cognition – The Effortful Educator
Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions | Center for Teaching | Vanderbilt University
Amy Smith Literature 