Do’s and Don’ts of Writing Multiple Choice Exams
by UWO Student Development Centre’s Learning Skills Services
For “conceptual” multiple-choice questions, typically found in a whole range of disciplines:
- If the question is “conceptual”, i.e., if the answer it seeks is a statement, begin by covering the alternatives with a ruler or piece of paper. Then, carefully read and understand the stem of the question before looking at the alternatives. Circle or underline key words in the stem, paying special attention to qualifying words such as “always,” “major,” “increase,” etc.
- Use your knowledge of headings to think about where in your text, lecture notes, lab, etc. that question is drawn from. Recall a few salient points about the information. If necessary, jot down any relevant facts you need to process the alternatives. This does not have to take much time but this recall is an essential step!
- Predict an answer, if possible.
- Uncover all of the alternatives and check the format of the question. Is only one of the alternatives correct, or can several or all of the alternatives be correct?
- Read each alternative carefully for understanding – NOT JUST FOR RECOGNITION. Again, pay careful attention to qualifying words. Keeping the stem of the question in mind, respond to each alternative with a yes, no, or maybe/not sure.
- If you know the answer, carefully mark the correct answer on your answer sheet.
- If you do not know the answer, re-check the stem of the question.Narrow your choices, by eliminating any alternative that you know is incorrect. If two options still look equally appealing, compare each to the stem of the question, making sure that the one you eventually choose answers what is asked.
- If you are still not sure, make an educated guess (if there is no penalty for wrong answers).
- If you were unable to make a choice and need to spend more time with the question, or you answered the question but are not at all sure that you made the correct choice, put a big question mark beside that question, and move on to the next.
Avoid getting bogged down on one question part of the way through the exam. It is much better to move on and finish all of those questions that you can answer and then to come back later to process the problematic questions. - If necessary, when looking over the questions again, change an answer ONLY if you can logically justify the change.
For problem-solving questions, typical of science and engineering courses:
- If the question is a problem that requires calculations, think about what procedure you need to follow to produce a solution. At this point, with some types of questions, it might be possible to make a rough estimate of the scale of possible answer you are seeking.
- Solve the problem. Be tidy with your calculations; many errors are made through untidy writing.
- Compare your answer to the options given. If you are satisfied, fill in the answer on the answer sheet.
- If the answer that you have calculated, is not one of the given options,check your procedure again, making any necessary changes, and recalculate your answer.
- If you still do not arrive at one of the given options, put a big question mark by that question, and go on to the next. When you get to the end of the exam, go back to any questions that you did not answer the first time through.
Don’ts for Answering Multiple-Choice Questions
- Don’t select an alternative just because you remember learning the information in the course; it may be a “true” statement in its own right, but you have to make sure that it is the “correct” answer to the question.
- Don’t pick an answer just because it seems to make sense. You are answering from your knowledge of the course content, not just from your general knowledge and logic.
- Don’t dismiss an alternative because it seems too obvious and simple an answer. If you are well prepared for the exam, some of the questions will appear very straight forward to you.
- Don’t be wowed by fancy terms in the question, i.e., don’t say to yourself, “That sounds impressive, so it must be the right answer!”
- Don’t pick “c” every time you are unsure of the answer. You could end up picking “c” far too many times.
- Don’t pick your answer based on a pattern of responses, i.e., don’t say to yourself, “This can’t be another “b” answer as we have just had three in a row.”
This article was produced originally by Student Development Centre’sLearning Skills Services, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Reprinted with permission.