A few tricks for multiple choice questions

  1. Responses that use absolute words, such as "always" or "never" are less likely to be correct than ones that use conditional words like "usually" or "probably."
  2. "Funny" responses are usually wrong.
  3. "All of the above" is often a correct response. If you can verify that more than one of the other responses is probably correct, then choose "all of the above."
  4. "None of the above" is usually an incorrect response, but this is less reliable than the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by double negatives.
  5. Look for grammatical clues. If the stem ends with the indefinite article "an," for example, then the correct response probably begins with a vowel.
  6. The longest response is often the correct one, because the instructor tends to load it with qualifying adjectives or phrases.
  7. Look for verbal associations. A response that repeats key words that are in the stem is likely to be correct.
  8. Play the old Sesame Street game "Which of these things is not like the other?" Sometimes the distracters will be very similar to trick students into thinking the choice is between one or the other. The answer will be something unrelated.

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