How to Write Good Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs)

We typically require about 12 MCQs for each online course. A couple within the main body of the course to reinforce learning as recap tasks and 10 MCQs at the end of the course for review purposes.

To ensure that quiz questions, test the users knowledge and not their reading ability, please use the following guidelines when drafting MCQs is as follows:

1. All content should be unbranded and written in the present active tense.
2. All multiple-choice questions are made up of a clear and valid question, 1 correct answer and 3 wrong answers. Indicate correct answers with an asterisk*
3. All questions should come from the relevant course manuscript.
4. All questions must be evenly distributed across the learning outcomes for each course. Please see the highlighted manuscript, for the areas upon which the question should be based. Please use the highlighted text area for the questions.
5. All questions should ideally less than 15 words long but maybe up to 25 words, and generally as concise as possible
6. All questions should be meaningful in themselves and should present a defined problem without the answers e.g. do not use question like “Which of the following statements is true”.
7. Do not use negative phrasing in the questions
8. Questions may be in the form of a direct question or a partial sentence with a blank. Direct questions are preferred.
9. Where a partial sentence is used, the blank elements is preferably at the end of the statement. See examples below. If your question asks the reader to fill in the missing word(s), ensure all given answers could make sense grammatically.
10. All answers should ideally be less than 4 words but maybe up to 20 words and generally as concise as possible.
11. All alternative answers should be plausible and come from the course manuscript
12. All alternative answers should not overlap each other e.g. the same answer shouldn't occur as part of another answer - 10, 0-20, etc.
13. All alternatives answers should be homogenous to the course manuscript, to avoid giving a cue to the delegate
14. All questions and alternative answers should be free from clues about which response is correct
15. Alternative answers such as “All of the above” and “None of the above” should not be used
16. Do not use complex multiple-choice answers e.g. “Answer A+B”
17. Ensure questions and answers are left aligned and indented, as per the example below

Example of partial sentence question and direct question

1. Value can be increased by providing which of the following?
   1. Increased functions for the same cost*

   2. Decreased functionality for the product 

   3. Increased contract time period 

   4. Finer tolerances in manufacture at increased cost
2. The total cost of ownership is made up of purchase price, cost of acquisition, cost of operation and ?
   1. Cost of payment* 

   2. Cost of disposal 

   3. Cost of transport
   4. Cost of packaging