Multiple Choice Question

A type of assessment question, which might be used in an examination, in which the answer to a question is selected from a number of options which are provided as part of the overall multiple choice assessment item.

There will be one correct answer offered in the options and several, typically a minimum of three, other options which are wrong but realistic and plausible, and these are called distractors.

All answers are typically of a similar, or same, length, and the answers are usually labelled A), B), C), D), etc. More complex multiple choice questions can contain more than four options as answers, and there may be a requirement to identify more than one option for the correct, complete, answer.

If two correct answer options are required then typically there would be eight, or more, possible options to select from.

Multiple choice type questions are the easiest to recreate as online tests, which are marked automatically, and instant feedback provided.

These can also be made a lot more challenging where more than four options are provided as answers, and especially where two, or more, correct option answers need to be selected to gain full marks.

The use of negative marks can also be used for incorrect choices which are selected and which could result in serious impacts on work processes, outcomes or health and safety issues. The term is also frequently shortened to the acronym MCQ.