Example of Short Answer Questions

There are six basic types of short-answer question:

• Definition questions.  

For these questions, you simply need to define a concept. 

• Example:  “What is a demand curve?”  
• Answer:  “It is a curve that shows the quantity demanded of a particular good or service at many different prices.”

• Explanation questions.

For these questions, you need to explain why something is true or how something works. 

• Example:  “Why is the demand curve downward-sloping for most goods?”  
• Answer:  “Because as the price of a good falls, people tend to buy more of it. When the price is lower, buying the good involves a smaller sacrifice in terms of other goods.”

• Example questions.  

For these questions, you need to state one or more specific, real-world instances of some concept.

• Example:  “Give two examples of pairs of goods that are complements.”  
• Answer:  “Cameras and camera film.  Peanut butter and jelly.”

• Relationship questions.  

For these questions, you need to state how two or more things relate to each other.  Are they opposites?  Are they the same thing?  Is one an example of the other?  How do they differ?  Etc.  These are usually the most difficult questions.

• Example:  “In a competitive market economy, what is the relationship between prices and scarcity?” 
• Answer:  “Prices usually reflect scarcity directly.  More scarce commodities have higher prices, while less scarce commodities have lower prices.”

• Example:  “What is the difference between demand and quantity demanded?”
• Answer:  “Quantity demanded is the amount of a good consumers will buy at a specific price, whereas demand shows the quantities demanded for many different prices.”

• Calculation questions.  

For these questions, you need to calculate a numerical answer or answers. 

• Example:  “If the demand for boxes of cereal is given by P = 100 – 0.1Q_d, and the supply is given by P = 20 + 0.1Q_s, what is the market equilibrium price and quantity?”  
• Answer:  “Q* = 400, P* = 60.”

• Graphing questions.  

For these questions, you need to respond with a simple graph.  Make sure you clearly label your axes and curves.  Unless the question specifically asks for an explanation, no explanation is necessary! 

• Example:  “Draw a diagram of a market with an effective price ceiling below the market price.  Mark the resulting shortage.”

Make sure you know what kind of question you’re answering!  Many students lose points by giving the wrong kind of answer.

• If it’s a definition question, don’t give an example instead. 
• Example:  “What is meant by economies of scale?”  
• Bad answer:  “Economies of scale is like when Ford Motors came up with the idea of assembly-line production of automobiles.”  
• Good answer:  “Economies of scale is when the long-run average cost of production falls as output rises.”
• If it’s an example question, don’t give a definition instead.
• Example:  “Give an example of substitute goods.”  
• Bad answer:  “A substitute good is one that you’ll buy more of when the price of a similar good goes up.”  
• Good answer:  “Butter and margarine.”
• If it’s an explanation question, don’t give a definition or an example.
• Example:  “Why do economies of scale occur?”  
• Bad answer:  “Economies of scale occur when the average cost of production goes down as output goes up.”  [This is a correct description of economies of scale, but it doesn’t say why the average cost goes down as output goes up.]  Another bad answer:  “Economies of scale happens because you can make more cars for cheaper by having an assembly line.”  [This answer is too specific, because economies of scale are a concept that applies to more than just cars.]  
• Good answer:  “Economies of scale usually occur because firms can make use of mass production techniques that involve greater specialization of both labor and capital.”
• If it’s relationship question, don’t just give two definitions (unless the wording of the definitions makes the relationship obvious).
• Example:  “For most goods, what is the relationship between price and quantity demanded?”  
• Bad answer:  “Price is the amount of money you have to pay for the good.  Quantity demanded is how much you buy.”  
• Good answer:  “As the price of a good rises, quantity demanded tends to fall.”

The point is, it’s not enough to say something correct.  You also have to say something that directly answers the question asked.

How to design a good Short Answer Questions?

1. Design short answer items which are appropriate assessment of the learning objective.
2. Make sure the content of the short answer question measure knowledge appropriate to the desired learning goal
3. Express the questions with clear wordings and language which are appropriate to the students population
4. Ensure there is only one clearly correct answer in each question
5. Ensure that the item clearly specifies how the question should be answered
6. Consider whether the positioning of the item blank promote efficient scoring
7. Write the instructions clearly so as to specify the desired knowledge and specificity of response
8. Set the questions explicitly and precisely
9. Direct questions are better than those which require completing the sentences
10. For numerical answers, let the students know if they will receive marks for showing partial work (process based) or only the results (product based), also indicated the importance of the units
11. Let the students know what your marking style is like, is bullet point format acceptable, or does it have to be an essay format?
12. Prepare a structured marking sheet; allocate marks or part-marks for acceptable answer
13. Be prepared to accept other equally acceptable answers, some of which you     may not have predicted.

Marking Rubrics

Short answer questions tend to be short, and have more precise answers, thus, it is possible for each question to list out all the possible answers/points.

For example, if there are 6 possible arguments to a question, and the student scores all 6 arguments, he will get full mark in that question. If he scores only 4 arguments, he will get a relative mark. You may also decide to be lenient, if there are 6 arguments in a question, and the student scores any 4 out of 6, he will get full mark, this would be an assessor decision, however, this decision must be clear and consistent.

Constructing Short Answer Questions

Short Answer content

1. Design for recall of specific names, facts, and basic knowledge
2. Focus the question so there are limited number of possible correct responses (or one only) in order to discriminate achievement
3. Make sure that question provides enough information so that students know what constitutes a correct response.

Short answer protocol

1. Make sure that the answer will require only a few words
2. If a list is expected, limit the number of items to be listed to 6 or so
3. Write the stem in your own words; that is, don’t use wording directly from a text or reading assignments
4. Make the stem complete enough so that the meaning is clear
5. When the stem is an incomplete statement, place the “blank” for the correct choice at the end of the statement
6. When a negative item is used, emphasize the negative word or phrase, that is, underline, capitalize or italicize, for example, “DOES NOT”
7. Avoid clues to the correct answer such as “a” or “an” as the last word of the stem   or plural verbs that match plural choices.

Short-answer exam questions generally require you to remember and reproduce knowledge, e.g. "Define the term fuzzy logic". You may also be required to demonstrate your understanding of knowledge in questions such as "discuss the role of...".

Understanding what type of response the examiner wants requires that you read and analyse the question carefully. To analyse and interpret the question accurately requires a good knowledge of the meaning of direction words.

Direction words	Response required
List...	You are asked to briefly note or state specific information in a list format. For example: "List the three major components of the CPU."
Explain...	You are asked to clarify, interpret, and elaborate on the material presented, to give reasons for differences of opinion or results, and to try to analyse causes. For example: "Explain the basic operation of the CPU as it processes instructions in memory."
Compare...	You are asked to identify characteristics or qualities that resemble each other; to emphasise similiarities and also mention differences where appropriate. For example: "Compare optic fibre and coaxial cable as data transmission media."
Describe...	You are asked to state the most noticeable qualitites or features. For example: "Describe the operation of the CSMA/CD medium access protocol."
Name...	You are asked to give the appropriate (discipline-specific) term by which something is known. For example: "Name the three types of modulation which can be used to encode digital data on an analog wave."
Discuss...	You are asked to point out the important features and express some form of critical judgement. For example: "Discuss the role of cache memory within the memory hierarchy."

Disadvantages of Short Answer Questions

1. Short Answer Questions are only suitable for questions that can be answered with short responses. It is very important that the assessor is very clear on the type of answers expected when setting the questions, because short answer questions in an open-ended question, students are free to answer any way they choose, short-answer questions can lead to difficulties in grading if the question is not worded carefully.
2. Short answer questions are typically used for assessing knowledge only; students may often memorize short answer questions with rote learning. If assessors wish to use short answer questions to assess deeper learning, careful attention (and many practice) on appropriate questions are required.
3. Accuracy of assessment may be influenced by handwriting/spelling skills.There can be time management issues when answering short answer questions

Advantages of Short Answer Questions

1. Short answer questions are relatively fast to mark and can be marked by different assessors, as long as the questions are set in such a way that all alternative answers can be considered by the assessors.
2. Short answer questions are also relatively easy to set compared to many assessment methods
3. Short answer questions can be used as part of a formative and summative assessment, as the structure of short answer questions are very similar to examination questions, students are more familiar with the practice and feel less anxious
4. Unlike MCQs, there is no guessing on answers, students must supply an answer.

SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS

Short answer questions are open-ended questions that require students to create an answer. They are commonly used in examinations to assess the basic knowledge and understanding (low cognitive levels) of a topic before more in-depth assessment questions are asked on the topic.

Short Answer Questions do not have a generic structure. Questions may require answers such as complete the sentence, supply the missing word, short descriptive or qualitative answers, diagrams with explanations etc. The answer is usually short, from one word to a few lines. Often students may answer in bullet form.