Anatomy of a Multiple-Choice Quiz

Now that you've taken what is probably your first college quiz, this is a good time to think about where quiz and test items come from, and how you can be ready for them. (This discussion will be most relevant to multiple-choice items in this course, but some of it will also apply to other courses and test question types.)

The "content" of tests

It shouldn't come as a great surprise that test items usually reflect what the instructor thinks is important for you to know and remember. In courses like "Traditions and Cultures,"  (T&C) the important content usually consists of

• facts, including people, what they did, and when they did it
• concepts, such as "literacy", or "university", and
• principles, such as "major changes in technology lead to societal change"

So, in T&C, for example, it's a pretty good bet that in the fact category, you will need to know that Gutenberg invented the printing press in the 1400s, or that the IU library organizes materials according to the Library of Congress classification system.

What is a concept?

Concepts are not facts, like people's names or the dates of important events; instead they are labels that we give to sets of things. Concepts can be presented either with a definition, some examples, or both. Some concepts are very concrete, and can be given a formal definition. For example, a square might be formally defined as a closed, four-sided figure with equal sides and equal angles. But in this course, and most of the courses you will take at IU, you're more likely to encounter abstract concepts that cannot be so readily defined. In T&C, for example, we're presented with the concept of a "university", partially defined in one place as a store of knowledge, and further described elsewhere as an institution that is dependent on the availability of printed texts, with the core value of civil debate of ideas. Nowhere is a neat, dictionary-like definition presented for the concept of a university; instead you have to devise your own definition based on the various ways it is described. Other concepts will be defined for you in a more straightforward way.

What is a principle?

Principles usually contain two or more concepts, linked in some kind of cause-and-effect relationship. In T&C we encounter principles such as, "The 'fixity of text' makes it possible for anyone to consult the words and ideas of past authorities." In this case the concept of fixity of text can be thought of as the cause and the ability to consult the words of past authorities is the effect. Or, we learn the principle that "Subject-matter classification systems must be continually revised to account for new categories of knowledge." Here "new categories of knowledge" is the cause and revision of classification systems is the resulting effect.

Three types of multiple choice questions

Okay, so facts, concepts and principles are the things that test items are usually about, at least in this course. But these things can be tested in a variety of ways. One way to categorize test items is by the kind of thinking they require in order to answer. Most multiple-choice questions in T&C will require either recognition, comprehension, or reasoning.
Recognition items

Recognition items are those that you can generally answer if you have memorized important facts and definitions. Okay, memorization is an ugly word, and we hope that you won't have to spend too much time doing that, but sometimes there's just no getting around the need to commit certain items to memory. Here's an example of a recognition test item:

Where is the Gutenberg Bible on the IU campus?

• Lilly Library

• Mathers Museum

• Indiana Memorial Union

• Department of Religious Studies

The information you need to answer this question is presented on the first screen of this unit (although not exactly in these words), so if you remember it you can get this item right without much thought.

Recognition items can also be created by giving you a term or concept and requiring you to choose the appropriate definition. Example:

What is "fixity of the text"?

• Durability of the printed word

• When a book finds its final place

• The process of multiple editions until all errors are corrected

• An obsession with books

You won't find this term defined in language that matches any of the answer options exactly, but one comes close enough to make this a recognition item. (Notice, too, that items such as this can usually be presented in a reversed format, where you are presented with the definition, and must choose the appropriate term from a list.)

Comprehension items

Comprehension items are those that require you to go beyond just memorizing words; instead, you have to show some actual understanding of the terms or concepts involved. Two common kinds of comprehension items might be called "paraphrase" and "new example" items.

"Paraphrase" items are similar to term-definition items, except that the language used is in paraphrased form, roughly equivalent to the definition you were taught. For example, the "fixity of the text" item above could be changed to a paraphrase item by rewording the correct answer option in language that was not used in the text, but means about the same thing. So, the first answer option above might be changed to something like, "The fact that documents in print remain unchanged for future readers." Admittedly, that may not take much more thought than the original, but at least you couldn't respond to it solely on the basis of mindless memorization. You would have to understand what the words mean.

"New example" items can be a bit more challenging. Here you are asked to demonstrate your understanding of a concept by deciding whether something is or is not a good example of that concept. For instance, consider this item:

Which of the following best illustrates the concept of "fixity of the text"?

• The Indiana history archive of the Monroe County Public Library

• Email messages you send to friends and family members

• Graffiti sprayed on the wall of a subway station

• Advertising banner trailed behind a airplane flying over the football stadium

You might argue that any of these could be examples of the fixity of text, but one is pretty clearly the best example.

Reasoning items

Reasoning items, like comprehension items, require more than just memorizing information. With reasoning items you need to carry out some kind of mental process in order to determine the best answer. For example, consider this item:

Herman B Wells called the Book Nook “a remarkably fertile cultural and political breeding place in the manner of the famous English coffee houses." In terms of their social function, 18th century coffee houses seem most like which of these modern phenomena?

• Internet discussion forums

• Suburban shopping malls

• Public libraries

• Fast-food restaurants

Answering this item requires some reasoning. First, you have to think about the social function served by 18^th century coffee houses. Then, you have to imagine the social functions that might be met by each of the options listed. Finally, you must choose the option that most closely matches the "coffee house" function.

Here is another reasoning item:

Which of the following is not a strong similarity between the "technological revolution" of Gutenberg's time and our own:

• Opposition by religious leaders

• Skepticism about authorship and authority 

• Issues of intellectual property

• Some people get left behind as information technology changes

To answer this item you first need to remember what you know about the technological revolution of Gutenberg's time and of our own time; next, you have to consider each of the answer options and decide whether they are characteristic of Gutenberg's time, our time, or both. Finally, you would choose the one answer option that is not characteristic of both periods.

A quick aside: In some courses, especially math and science, you will probably encounter problem-solving multiple-choice items. In these you will be presented with a problem that you must solve by carrying out a particular calculation or other procedure before you can choose the right answer. Because of the nature of the T&C course, you are unlikely to encounter items like this. (No promises, though.)

So what's your point?

Okay, we've said that, at least in this course, quiz and test items are likely to be about important facts, concepts, and principles. And answering the items will likely require the mental skills of recognition, comprehension, or reasoning. But what good does it do to know this? Well, on the next two sections are some ideas for taking advantage of this de-mystification of quizzes and tests as you read, take notes, and study.

For recognition items

• Make a list of the important facts, those that appear to be emphasized or that are central to the themes of the unit. Since this course has a lot of history in it, especially note the important people, the things they did that make them worth remembering, and the times in which they did them. Note key events in the history of IU, why they were noteworthy, and the people associated with them.
• Depending on your learning style, reading through your lists a few times may be all the preparation you need. If you decide you need to resort to the dreaded m-word, you might find it useful to create some mnemonics, or memory tricks. For example, to memorize a list of words, you can make a word or phrase from the first letters of the words. (You may remember that eminent scientist, ROY G. BIV--actually a fictitious name to help recall the colors of the spectrum: Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue, Indigo, Violet.)
  

For comprehension and reasoning items

• List the important concepts from the readings, and their definitions. (Remember that sometimes the definition will be presented in a straightforward way; other times you will need to piece it together from various points in the text.) Try to rephrase the definition in your own words.
• Identify any examples you can locate of each concept. These may help you understand it more than the formal definition. Try to invent your own new examples.

• Identify the key principles discussed. What concepts do they contain and how are those concepts related to one another? Try to describe each principle in your own words. Think of other ways to illustrate it.

With a little persistent effort, there's a good chance that you will soon find yourself at a Bloomington coffee house engaged in a vigorous debate about the sociological ramifications of the concept of fixity of the text as evidenced by the Gutenberg Bible. Or not.