How to write good MCQ questions (with examples)

Write the stem as a complete question

The stem should be answerable before the student reads the options. Avoid negatives such as 'which of the following is NOT…' unless the exam uses them, and never bury the question inside a long scenario when two sentences will do.

• Good: 'Which organelle produces most of a cell's ATP?'
• Weak: 'Which of the following statements about the cell is true?' — this tests four unrelated facts at once.
• Keep the stem free of clues such as 'always', 'never' or grammatical hints that point at one option.

Use four options and keep them parallel

Four options is the sweet spot: enough to cut lucky guessing to 25%, few enough to read quickly. Keep every option the same length, grammar and level of detail — a longer, more precise option is almost always the answer, and students learn that.

• Order options logically — numerically or alphabetically — rather than at random.
• Avoid 'all of the above' and 'none of the above'; both can be solved by elimination.
• Never repeat words from the stem in only the correct option.

Build distractors from real mistakes

The best wrong answers are the errors your students actually make: a sign flip, a unit conversion missed, a definition confused with a neighbouring one. Distractors invented at random are obviously wrong and turn a four-option item into a two-option one.

After the first run, check the per-question analytics. A distractor nobody picks is dead weight; replace it. An item everybody gets wrong is either badly worded or genuinely untaught — both worth knowing.

Lock down the answer key and the explanation

Every item needs exactly one defensible answer and a one-line explanation. The explanation costs a few seconds to write and saves the argument after the test; it also turns the score report into a revision sheet.

Using AI for a first draft

AI is good at producing volume and bad at guaranteeing correctness. Generate in the import format, then check every answer key yourself. The prompt assistant produces questions already laid out in the Excel/CSV columns the importer expects, so the review step is the only manual work.

Final checklist

• The stem is answerable without reading the options.
• All four options are plausible and similar in length.
• Exactly one option is correct, and you can cite why.
• No grammatical or length clues give it away.
• Marks, negative marks and the explanation are filled in.