Poorly worded questions can adversely affect the quality of assessment results. Here are a few tips to keep in mind when you write and review questions:

1. Keep stems and statements as short as possible and use clear, concise language.
2. Use questions whenever possible (What, Who, When, Where, Why and How).
3. Maintain grammatical consistency to avoide cueing.
4. List choices in a logical order.
5. Avoid negatives, especially double negatives.
6. Avoid unnecessary modifiers, especially absolutes (e.g. always, never, etc.).
7. Avoid "All of the above" and use "None of the above" with caution.
8. Avoid vauge pronouns (e.g. it, they).
9. Avoid conflicting alternatives.
10. Avoid syllogistic reasoning choices (e.g. "both a and b are correct") unless absolutely necessary.
11. Avoid providing cues to correct answer in the stem.
12. Avoid providing clues to the answer of one question in another question.

You can find more information about best practices at the Questionmark Learning Cafe:

http://www.questionmark.com/go/learningcafe

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