Tips and Trick for Item Writing
I’ve been writing exam items for a number of years, and the following tips and tricks are based on my own experience. The first thing I learned writing exam items was that it is much more difficult than I anticipated! These tips and tricks are centered on choosing concepts for your questions, writing distractors, and using concise wording without plagiarizing. The tip list at the end summarizes the information in the paragraphs below and includes some additional tips and tricks.

Choosing a Concept Around Which to Frame a Question.
I have three tips for choosing a concept around which to frame a question. The first is to choose a concept from the ABC Need-to-Know criteria. The second tip is to base the question on information from a reference book on the ABC reference list for that exam. Thirdly, choose a concept that an operator really needs to know and understand to be competent at their job. When reading through a reference book, I sometimes have a tendency to frame a question around an obscure fact. Don’t fall into this trap! Be certain the information is necessary for a competent operator, not nice-to-know, or an interesting obscure fact.

Writing Good Distractors
For me, the hardest part of writing items is writing legitimate, totally wrong distractors. Directions to candidates typically instruct them to select the best answer. You need to insure that the distractors are truly incorrect, but not totally off the wall.

Math problems are easier in this regard. My tricks for math distractors: If the formula includes A/B, use B/A for one distractor. If the formula includes a conversion factor (converting cubic feet to gallons, for example), leave that step out for one of the distractors. Another way to get an interesting wrong answer is to work the formula on a calculator without adhering to the proper order of operations. Many times operators will plug the numbers into the calculator as they come to them rather than following the order of operations rule, yielding an incorrect answer. That incorrect number is a great distractor.

Use Concise Wording; Don’t Plagiarize.
A big tip for writing both stems and distractors is use concise wording. Many of us (including me) tend to be narrative in our writing; we want to write a mini story. Be concise with exam items. After you write an item, read through it to see if you can shorten it.

Example initial stem: The lead operator at a wastewater treatment plant has noticed that the solids content of the sludge has increased, but the polymer being used does not seem to be working as well as it was before. The operator decides to increase the dose. The polymer is fed by a piston metering pump. What can the operator do to increase the polymer dose?

Revised stem: If polymer is being fed by a piston metering pump, what can an operator do to increase the dosage?

Lastly, when using information in a reference to formulate an exam item, don’t plagiarize. Put the information in your own words. One method to help with this is to use a key word outline. For each sentence in the paragraph, write three key words. Use the key word outline to rewrite the paragraph in your own words. Take the wording from your new paragraph to write the question.

Tip List:

• Pick concepts from the Need-to-Know criteria.
• Base all questions on material in a reference book from the ABC list.
• Write items pertaining to necessary skills, not obscure trivial facts.
• Choose distractors that
  • are definitely wrong;
  • use terminology pertinent to our field; and
  • work grammatically with the stem.
• Write concise stems and distractors.
• Use the conversion factors on the ABC Formula/Conversion Table when writing math items.
• Make all distractors close to the same length.
• Do not plagiarize.
• Do not use colloquial or regional terms and phrases (y’all; all y’all).
• Do not use made-up words (even if they sound really cool).
• Do not use negative questions:
  • Which one does not…
  • All do this except…
• Do not use gender pronouns (the operator instead of he or she)
• Do not overlap ranges in choices (1 – 5; 3 – 10; 7 – 12; instead use 1 – 4; 5 – 9; 10 – 12)