General Guidelines of Writing Multiple-Choice Items

1. Write items that deal with significant facts or concepts, not trivial questions or overly specific details.
2. Write items that have a definite answer. Students may be asked to select either the correct answer or the best answer. The former instruction is usually more suitable for items dealing with factual knowledge, where the correct answer is a matter of record. For items dealing with interpretation, understanding, or inference, instruction to select the best answer is usually preferred.
3. Communicate clearly. The wording and presentation of the items should not present obstacles to the students’ ability to demonstrate what they know. The item should be written in clear language with vocabulary, other than the vocabulary being tested that is as simple and precise as possible.
4. Don’t give away the answer by including irrelevant cues in the item
5. Don’t write items that require skills or knowledge irrelevant to what you are trying to measure.
6. Don’t use language that may be offensive to some groups
7. Have items reviewed by knowledgeable persons other than the composer of the question if possible.