A quiz host can read a question aloud and watch a table groan because the wording gave the answer away, or because two options looked equally right. Two training guides, one from the University of Waterloo and one from Berkeley Lab, set out how to avoid those problems when writing multiple-choice questions. Neither page is about pub quizzes: both are written for teachers and trainers who assess learners. What follows treats their advice as a checklist that a quiz writer can adapt, and says where the two pages differ.
What are the parts of a multiple-choice question?
Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence describes a stem that identifies the question or problem, plus a set of alternatives made up of a key, which is the best answer, and distractors, which are plausible but incorrect answers. Berkeley Lab’s training page uses the same vocabulary, calling the stem the part that poses the question and the distractors the options that are not correct. Waterloo also notes that questions of this kind are easy to mark and can even be scored by a computer, which makes them attractive for large classes.
How much should the question say?
Both pages push towards a stem that carries one clear problem. Waterloo suggests a test: could someone answer the question without looking at the options? It also advises putting all relevant material in the stem instead of repeating it in each option, and cutting excessive wording. Its worked example takes a stem that wanders through several kinds of book written about the university before asking for one title, and shortens it to a single direct question about the book by “Simon the Troll”.
Berkeley Lab agrees that a stem should be meaningful by itself, should present a definite problem and should be a question rather than a sentence with a blank to complete. It says wordy items end up assessing reading ability instead of the learning objective. Its example of a weak stem is “Which of the following statements are true?”, followed by four near-identical statements.
What makes a wrong answer worth considering?
Waterloo’s page says distractors should be appealing and plausible, because farfetched ones let people find the key with little knowledge. It contrasts a question about the university’s counselling services whose wrong options are cooking skills and hockey refereeing with a rewrite whose options are preparing for marriage and psychotherapy research. Berkeley Lab says implausible alternatives do not work as functional distractors and calls “funny” options poor practice.
On how many options to offer, Waterloo recommends between three and five, and says research shows three-choice items are about as effective as four or five, mainly because plausible distractors are hard to invent. Waterloo also advises making sure there is only one best answer, and suggests telling people to choose the “best answer” rather than the “correct answer”, because distractors may contain an element of truth and the wording discourages arguments.
Which accidental clues give the answer away?
- Grammar and form: both pages say the options should fit the stem grammatically, and Waterloo suggests reading the stem and each option aloud. Berkeley Lab adds that options should be parallel in structure and similar in length, and says the longest option is often the correct one.
- Shared wording: Waterloo warns that a key reusing words from the stem is more likely to be picked.
- Absolute words: Waterloo advises avoiding “always”, “never”, “all” and “none”, because few things are universally true or false.
- Order and position: Waterloo suggests placing choices in numerical, chronological or conceptual order, with an example of four overlapping year ranges listed in sequence, and spreading correct answers across a, b, c and d.
Which phrasings do both pages warn against?
Negative wording is flagged on both pages. Waterloo says students often fail to notice it and that people who know the material make mistakes on negatively worded questions; if one is used, it advises emphasising the key word. Berkeley Lab gives the same advice and cites research on learners’ difficulty with negative phrasing.
Both pages also caution against “all of the above”. Waterloo explains that someone who knows two options are correct can infer the answer, and Berkeley Lab says partial knowledge is enough to reach the right choice. Waterloo extends the warning to “none of the above”, and separately asks writers to avoid trick questions, meaning wording designed to lead people astray.
Where the two pages disagree
True/false is the clearest split. Berkeley Lab tells writers to change true/false questions to multiple choice or multiple correct, saying they measure a 50% chance of guessing correctly. Waterloo, by contrast, says a vague “Which of the following statements is correct?” question is better presented as true/false questions. A host can weigh both views against their own round.
For research on what answering questions does to memory, see this site’s guide to the testing effect and where the evidence stops.
The bottom line
The Waterloo and Berkeley Lab pages share most of their advice: one clear problem in the stem, plausible wrong answers, no accidental clues, and caution with negatives and “all of the above”. They differ on true/false, and both were written for assessing learners instead of entertaining a room, so a quiz writer applies them with that in mind.
Sources
- Designing Multiple-Choice Questions, Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo, read 27 October 2026 (uwaterloo.ca)
- Writing multiple choice questions, Berkeley Lab Training, Instructor Resources, read 27 October 2026 (training.lbl.gov)
Leave a Reply