The task of designing good MCQs may be simplified by referring to past student work such as tutorials, class tests and examination answers, as these are rich sources of the type of errors and misconceptions which students frequently expose. MCQs designed with this material at hand will be relevant to the subject area and will be taken seriously by the students.
"How many permutations are possible in a bridge hand?"
A student who knows how to calculate permutations and combinations (which is assumed to be the skill which is tested for in the context of an elementary Statistics course) will not be able to answer this question if he/she has never played cards, let alone bridge!
A group of islands is called an
a. peninsula
b. archipelago
c. moraine
d. polder
Here, there is a grammatical clue linking the stem to the correct answer
b) in that the "an" at the end of the stem is the only article acceptable
for the word "archipelago". Rather end the stem with "a/an".
Which one of the following publications is considered
to be a prime source for research articles on
achievement testing?
a. Journal of Educational psychology
b. Journal of Educational Measurement
c. Journal of Clinical Psychology
d. Review of Educational Research
The correct answer d) is the only alternative to include the word "research", which is also found in the stem. In addition, it differs from the distractors in that it is not a "Journal", but a "Review".
Return to Contents of this Chapter
"Which one of the following is NOT an inert gas?"
Return to Contents of this Chapter
The internal friction due to molecular cohesion in
fluids is called
a. surface tension
c. viscosity
b. fluidity
d. ductility
e. absorbance
Alternative d) has nothing to do with fluids and so can be eliminated by a student who is otherwise uninformed.
Return to Contents of this Chapter