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Education QUESTION #6779
Question 1
A teacher includes the following stem in a test: 'Photosynthesis is the process by which: a) plants absorb water from soil; b) plants produce food using sunlight; c) plants release oxygen at night; d) plants absorb carbon dioxide for cellular respiration.' Upon analysis, option (b) contains a keyword ('food') that also appears in the course definition students memorized. Which MCQ construction flaw does this represent?
  • Including a distractor that is too difficult
  • Verbal association between the stem/correct answer and the course definition — the word 'food' provides an irrelevant linguistic clue to the answer without requiring genuine understanding✔️
  • The stem is stated as an incomplete sentence, which is a poor format
  • All options are grammatically inconsistent with the stem
Correct Answer Explanation
Suggestion 7 in MCQ construction warns against verbal associations between the stem or correct answer and memorized material. When a keyword in the answer mirrors a specific phrase from the definition, students can identify the correct option through rote linguistic matching rather than conceptual understanding. This undermines the item's validity as a measure of comprehension.