The Question

A well-written multiple-choice question will stump the best of us.  Such a question will provide one correct answer, but also a set of plausible distractors.

Sometimes, a question will include distractors which are partially correct or might actually be correct, but are not as fully correct as the answer sought.  Such a question will have the phrase “choose the best answer” tagged at the end of the stem.

I have never been a good test taker.  I am a second-guesser.  I grind away and over-think.  I sweat profusely.

Following is my nightmare (unanswerable) question:

Which of the following accurately describes you?  (Choose the best answer)

1.     ____ Inability to cruise the potato chip aisle without making a purchase   

2.     ____ Can speak Pig Latin fluently

3.     ____ Desire to hypnotize hamsters and force them to do dance on YouTube

4.     ____ Dislike of “squishy” foods

—Mitchell Hegman