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  • Resources for teaching
  • Assessment design
  • Tests and exams

Short answer and essay questions

Short answer and essay questions are types of assessment that are commonly used to evaluate a student’s understanding and knowledge.

Tips for creating short answer and essay questions

e.g., What is __? or how could __ be put into practice?
  • Consider the course  learning outcomes . Design questions that appropriately assess the relevant learning objectives.
  • Make sure the  content measures knowledge  appropriate to the desired learner level and learning goal.
  • When students think critically they are required to  step beyond recalling factual information , incorporating evidence and examples to corroborate and/or dispute the validity of assertions/suppositions and compare and contrast multiple perspectives on the same argument.
e.g., paragraphs? sentences? Is bullet point format acceptable or does it have to be an essay format?
  • Specify how many  marks each question is worth .
  • Word limits  should be applied within Canvas for discursive or essay-type responses.
  • Check that your  language and instructions  are appropriate to the student population and discipline of study. Not all students have English as their first language.
  • Ensure the  instructions to students are clear , including optional and compulsory questions and the various components of the assessment.

Questions that promote deeper thinking

Use “open-ended” questions to provoke divergent thinking.

These questions will allow for a variety of possible answers and encourage students to think at a deeper level. Some generic question stems that trigger or stimulate different forms of critical thinking include:

  • “What are the implications of …?”
  • “Why is it important …?”
  • “What is another way to look at …?”

Use questions that are deliberate in the types of higher order thinking to promote/assess

Rather than promoting recall of facts, use questions that allow students to demonstrate their comprehension, application and analysis of the concepts.

Generic question stems that can be used to trigger and assess higher order thinking

Comprehension.

Convert information into a form that  makes sense to the individual .

  • How would you put __ into your own words?
  • What would be an example of __?

Application

Apply abstract or theoretical principles to  concrete ,  practical  situations.

  • How can you make use of __?
  • How could __ be put into practice?

Break down  or  dissect  information.

  • What are the most important/significant ideas or elements of __?
  • What assumptions/biases underlie or are hidden within __?

Build up  or  connect  separate pieces of information to form a larger, more coherent pattern

  • How can these different ideas be grouped together into a more general category?  

Critically judge  the validity or aesthetic value of ideas, data, or products.

  • How would you judge the accuracy or validity of __? 
  • How would you evaluate the ethical (moral) implications or consequences of __?

Draw conclusions about  particular instances  that are logically consistent.

  • What specific conclusions can be drawn from this general __? 
  • What particular actions would be consistent with this general __? 

Balanced thinking

Carefully consider arguments/evidence  for  and  against  a particular position.

  • What evidence supports and contradicts __? 
  • What are arguments for and counterarguments against __? 

Causal reasoning

Identify  cause-effect relationships  between different ideas or actions.

  • How would you explain why __ occurred? 
  • How would __ affect or influence __? 

Creative thinking

Generate  imaginative  ideas or  novel  approaches to traditional practices.  

  • What might be a metaphor or analogy for __? 
  • What might happen if __? (hypothetical reasoning)

Redesign test questions for open-book format

It is important to redesign the assessment tasks to authentically assess the intended learning outcomes in a way that is appropriate for this mode of assessment. Replacing questions that simply recall facts with questions that require higher level cognitive skills—for example analysis and explanation of why and how students reached an answer—provides opportunities for reflective questions based on students’ own experiences.

More quick, focused problem-solving and analysis—conducted with restricted access to limited allocated resources—will need to incorporate a student’s ability to demonstrate a more thoughtful research-based approach and/or the ability to negotiate an understanding of more complex problems, sometimes in an open-book format.

Layers can be added to the problem/process, and the inclusion of a reflective aspect can help achieve these goals, whether administered in an oral test or written examination format.

Example 2: Analytic style multiple choice question or short answer

Acknowledgement: Deakin University and original multiple choice questions: Jennifer Lindley, Monash University.

Setting word limits for discursive or essay-type responses

Try to set a  fair and reasonable word count  for long answer and essay questions. Some points to consider are:

  • Weighting  – what is the relative weighting of the question in the assessment?
  • Level of study  – what is the suggested word count for written assessments in your discipline, for that level of study?
  • Skills development  – what skills are you requiring students to demonstrate? Higher level cognitive skills, such as evaluation and analysis, tend to require a lengthier word count in order to adequately respond to the assessment prompt.
  • Referencing  – will you require students to  reference their sources ? This takes time, which should be accounted for in the total time to complete the assessment. References generally would not count towards the word count. Include clear marking guidelines for referencing in rubrics, including assessing skills such as critical thinking and evaluation of information.

Communicate your expectations around word count to students in your assessment instructions, including how you will deal with submissions that are outside the word count.

E.g.,  Write 600-800 words evaluating the key concepts of XYZ. Excess text over the word limit will not be marked.

Let students know how to check the word count in their submission:

  • Show  word count in Inspera  – question type: Essay.

Canvas shows the word count at the bottom of the text editor.

Multi-choice questions

Write MCQs that assess reasoning, rather than recall.

Page updated 16/03/2023 (added open-book section)

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