How to Create Engaging Quizzes

Quizzes are still a content that attracts people's interest, as many quiz shows are still broadcast on television today. Quizzes are effective not only as entertainment, but also for training and learning in companies. However, some people may think, "I want to actually make a quiz," but may not know how to make one.

In this issue, we will introduce how to make a specific quiz. We will also explain the points to keep in mind before making a quiz, the format of the questions, and tips for making a quiz.

Three points to keep in mind before making a quiz

When creating a quiz, keep the following three points in mind

Pay attention to the freshness and reliability of information.

When preparing questions, in addition to ensuring that the information is up-to-date, you must also ensure that the information is reliable. For example, it was long said that the Kamakura Shogunate was established in 1192, but today it is sometimes said that the Kamakura Shogunate was established in 1185.

Since information is constantly changing, it is not uncommon for what was previously considered common knowledge to no longer be common knowledge. Be aware that if you do not always check the latest information, it may affect the credibility of your quiz.

There should only be one correct answer.

To avoid frustrating the respondent, there should be only one correct answer. For example, if the quiz topic is "There are many theories about its origin," it would mean that there are multiple correct answers. This is not a good quiz because it will confuse the respondent.

Even if you think "there is only one right answer," it is important to check carefully whether there really is only one right answer.

Make it moderately difficult.

Quizzes that are too difficult may result in low response rates and may also lack excitement. Conversely, a quiz that is too low in difficulty may not be enjoyable for the respondent.

When creating a question, the author should consider the balance of difficulty so that it is "difficult enough that it cannot be solved without a little thought.


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Step-by-step instructions on how to make the quiz

When creating a quiz, it is easier to create quality questions if you follow common steps. Here are those steps.

STEP 1] Decide on the purpose.

First, determine the purpose for creating the quiz. It is important to think about what you want to achieve with the quiz, rather than just blindly creating a quiz.

Common examples of purposes for creating quizzes include

  • We want to create a good time for everyone.
  • I want to use it for in-house training.
  • I want to check my understanding

Once the objectives have been determined, questions should be created according to the objectives. If you want to retain the content of the training, it is important to create questions whose answers are the items you want the participants to remember. If you simply want to create a fun time, such as a quiz contest, you can create questions based on the participants' preferences.

STEP 2] Determine the target.

Targeting is also essential in creating a quiz. This is because the direction of the questions will change depending on the type of person you are quizzing.

For example, if a quiz is about "baseball," the respondents will not enjoy if the questions are maniacal for those who do not know anything about baseball. On the other hand, a person with extensive knowledge of baseball will appreciate a geeky question. Appropriate target setting is also important to determine the direction of the questions.

STEP3] Adjust the difficulty level.

After deciding on the purpose and target audience for the quiz, you can begin to create questions. A quiz can be said to be of high quality if it has a wide variety of questions, from easy to difficult.

In addition to simply preparing difficult answers, the difficulty level can be adjusted by the question text and answer choices. For example, the following quiz, based on the premise that "Hokkaido is a large island," can be adjusted for difficulty by the answer choices.

Example of a case where you want to reduce the difficulty level

Q: How many municipalities in Hokkaido? (as of April 2023)

1: 179
2:52

Example of a case where you want to increase the difficulty

Q: How many municipalities in Hokkaido? (as of April 2023)

1: 179
2: 175


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Commonly used quiz question formats

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There are numerous types of question formats used when submitting quizzes. It is important to know which type is appropriate for your quiz when you are creating it. Here are three of the most commonly used quiz question types.

question based on a number of unknown answers

Fat and X questions are very commonly used as a quiz question format. This format is effective when creating simple, yet profound questions. An example of a question is shown below.

example of a problem

Tokyo is the most populous city in Japan, while Osaka is the second most populous. Fat or not?

When you ask a question where the correct answer is x, be prepared to explain why it is x. If you are not prepared to explain well, it will not be a quality quiz.

MCQ

In a multiple-choice question, the examinee is asked to choose the correct answer from a set of alternatives. The number of choices can be decided by the questioner, which has the advantage of making it easy to adjust the level of difficulty. Examples of questions are as follows.

example of a problem

Choose the correct sentence out of the following four.

1: The capital of Japan is Tokyo.
2: The capital of Japan is Osaka Prefecture.
3: The capital of Japan is Kyoto Prefecture.
4: The capital of Japan is Aichi Prefecture.

In the case of multiple-choice questions, you can use various devices, such as "Choose the two correct answers.

Short answer

Short Answer questions are questions in which the respondent is asked to write down the correct answer without presenting any choices. Since there are no options like in the case of X/Y or multiple-choice questions, respondents tend to feel overloaded. Examples of questions are as follows.

example of a problem

  • What is the official name of the WBC?
  • Write why "operational efficiency" is important to the firm.

When submitting questions in writing, it is important to maintain fairness in scoring. Avoid having different scorers give different scores to the same answers.


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What are some tips on how to make a quiz?

To improve the quality of your questions, it is also important to know how to make a quiz. Keep the following two points in mind when creating your quiz.

Be careful not to make the problem statement too long.

If the question text is too long, the respondent will lose focus at the question text stage. To avoid putting extra stress on the respondent, make sure that the question text is of appropriate length.

As a rule of thumb, the maximum length of the question text should be 50 words. It is also important to avoid sentences that are difficult to understand, such as those in which more than one subject appears.

Unify the notation of words and phrases used.

Although it is a minor detail, it is important to unify the words and phrases used in the question and answer. For example, there are many words that tend to be written in different ways, such as "computer" and "computers.

For nervous people, such minor differences often cause them to lose focus. Make sure that all notations are consistent and do not cause any distortion.


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It is also important to manage the product after it is made

While it is important to create good questions, it is also important to grade and manage grades when using quizzes in in-house training programs. Especially when incorporating quizzes into e-learning training programs, "management" is the key.

Simply preparing questions is not enough to ascertain the level of understanding of the respondents. Instead of "making questions and calling it a day," the creator of the quiz should make sure to check how the members are doing on the quiz.

By analyzing the results and highlighting each respondent's areas of strength and weak points that need to be overcome, this will also lead to more efficient human resource development.


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Take a trial quiz!

Based on what we have seen so far, we have prepared a trial quiz.
There will be a total of 5 quizzes. Please take the challenge.



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Summary

If you want to create high quality quiz questions, it is important to understand the points to be pressed in advance and to determine the purpose and target audience. Try to create questions that are friendly to the respondent, for example, be careful not to make the question text too long.

If you want to use quizzes for in-house training, etc., you can use the e-learning system ". learningBOXis recommended.

learningBOX is equipped with essential functions for in-house training, such as creating and distributing content, including quizzes, and managing trainees. Courses can be designed according to training content, and tests can be easily conducted to check employee proficiency. The system's simple operability and reasonable price have been well received, and many companies have adopted it for their in-house training programs.
Almost all functions availablefree planWe also have a variety of products available.

  

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