I have remarked once or twice on having drafted assessment practices for a younger tutee who needed to get acclimated to testing culture. I may have remarked, as well, that a fair bit of the freelance work I’ve done has taken the form of writing assessment materials. In one instance, I was hired by a college to help write an end-of-course exam that every student would be expected to take. In several others, I drafted rafts of 180 or more multiple-choice questions, as well as 60 or more short-answer and 20 or more essay questions, focused on recalling and interpreting novels and other longer works. It’s not hard work, though it takes some doing.
That work is proprietary, though, and the passages that underlie the earlier assessment examples were drafted with assessment practice in mind. It occurs to me that an example taken “from the wild” might be in order–and, since I do occasionally write some things that I do not initially intend to put to that purpose (for whatever value my intent might have), using one as such an example suggests itself. Thus, the following.
Read “Hymn against the Stupid God 192.” Use that text to answer the following questions, selecting the best or most accurate response from among those provided.
1.
Which of the following forms does “Hymn against the Stupid God 192” take?
A. Clerihew.
B. Roundel.
C. Sonnet.
D. Villanelle.
2.
Which of the following occurs most frequently in “Hymn against the Stupid God 192?”
A. Couplet.
B. Triplet.
C. Quatrain.
D. Quintain.
3.
Line 4 of “Hymn against the Stupid God 192” offers an example of which of the following?
A. Ekphrasis.
B. End-stop.
C. Enjambment.
D. Euphemism.
4.
Which of the following does the narrator of “Hymn against the Stupid God 192” seek to resist?
A. Business.
B. Empathy.
C. Industry.
D. Laziness.
5.
With which of the following does “Hymn against the Stupid God 192” conclude?
A. Couplet.
B. Triplet.
C. Quatrain.
D. Quintain.
Answers: 1, C; 2, B; 3, C; 4, D; 5, A
Maybe you or someone you know could use some help with this kind of thing. Maybe you’re in an instructional position and would like to outsource some assignment development. I’m happy to work with you, either way. Just fill out the contact form below, and we can get started!
Of course, you could send a holiday gift instead or in addition!
Elliott RWI 