QUESTION WRITING

The following guidelines to question writing have been adapted from material compiled by Bill Berry for use in the 1970 Youth For Christ Quiz Manual For Coaches. QUESTION TYPES I. General. General questions ask who, what, when, why, where or how. These are the questions which form the bulk of the quiz. There are two ways of writing these general questions. A. Conventional form. Here the interrogative is at the beginning of the question. EXAMPLE: WHAT has the Father set by His own authority? Acts 1:7 WHO will see visions? Acts 2:17 B. Direct form. Here the interrogative is placed at the end of the question. EXAMPLE: The message of the cross is foolishness to WHOM? I Cor. 1:18 Greater love has no one that WHAT? John 15:13 Most questions could be constructed either way. The best rule to follow is to word the question in the way that is as grammatically correct and uses the exact Scriptural language with the key word coming as soon as possible and in the way that is least confusing to the quizzer. II. Reference. A reference is included as part of the question when it is necessary to distinguish between several possible answers to the same question. A reference is to help the quizzer by clarifying the question being asked. It should never be used to test the quizzer's memory of chapters and verses-it is a means to an end, not an end in itself. Reference questions may be asked in two ways: using a chapter only or using both a chapter and a verse. When a reference question is used, it must always come at the beginning of the question and it must be identified as a reference question beforehand by the quizmaster. He must say either, "This is a reference question-chapter only," or, "This is a reference question-chapter and verse." The reading of the question must include the words chapter and verse. As much as possible, a reference question should use only the chapter reference. A chapter and verse should be used when there are two or more similar questions possible from the same chapter. In no case should a verse reference be used without the chapter. You may write multiple answer questions. EXAMPLE: According to Romans 7:7, Do not WHAT? According to Acts 12:10, When did the Angel leave Him? Ill. Finish the verse. The purpose of this type of question is to encourage the quizzer to memorize the key verses of the book being studied. By using a substantial number of finish the verse (FTV) questions, the quizzer will be motivated to memonze large portions of the material. Questions of this type can be written in two ways: "finish this verse" (FTV), or "finish this" (FT). The former ask for an entire verse; the latter is used to cover cases where only the latter part of the verse is of significance. (Example: John 8:12) EXAMPLE of FTV: But you will receive power... (Acts 1:8) Everyone who calls on the~.. (Romans 1Q:15) Criteria for choosing FTV and FT questions are as follows: Spiritual application to life today Codification of a principle Summary of a particular section of Scripture Easily understood by the quizzers and the audience Key word within the first five words (may have to use FT instead of FTV) IV. Quotes. Any finish the verse questions can be a quote question. This question uses only the word quote,the book chapter and verse reference. EXAMPLE: QUOTE James 1:12 QUOTE Romans 12:1 V. Situation. These questions are direct quotations from Scripture that are part of a dialogue between two or more people. The specific answers required in a situation question must be stated prior to asking the question-"Who said it, and to whom was it said, and where was it said" are typical responses required in a situation question. EXAMPLE: Situation question: Who said it and to whom was it said? Question "Stand up, I am only a man myself." Acts 10:28 Situation question: Who said it, to whom was it said and where was it said? Question "Do you understand what you are reading?" Acts 8:30 VI. Multiple answer. These are questions that have more than one answer. The exact number of answers is never stated in the question. Frequently the answer appears as a series of words or statements. EXAMPLE: You will be my witnesses where? Acts 1:8 Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of who? Mark 6:3 Now that you have gone over the types of questions and have at least a vague idea as to their structure, you might wonder where you go from here. Remember, the purpose of a quiz is not to stump a quizzer, but to test his knowledge of the book of the Bible being studied. It should be possible to answer every question in the words of Scripture, although this is not always necessary. A quizzer must have the liberty of putting his answer in his own words, but the answer must be the correct gist of Scripture. Questions should not be written to split hairs-doctrinal or other- wise. They should be written to help a quizzer become saturated with the Word of God. I. Keep questions short. Try to keep them within eight to ten words or shorter. The longer they are, the further down the line the key word appears. Long questions do not make exciting quizzes and they create the possibility of a higher percentage of errors because of prejumping. Because the Word of God is the quiz material and because anytime the Word of God is read or quoted there is the possibility of it being of some spiritual value to the listener, care must be taken to avoid situations which will do injustice to the Word of God. Place the key word as close to the front of the question as possible. II. Keep questions simple. Each question should be easily understood and distinguishable from any other question when read in its entirety. Each question should be answerable with one phrase or passage of Scripture. The aim should be to write simple questions, not profound ones. The profundity should come in the answer. III. Word questions properly. The Scriptural wording and order should always be followed. Do not change wording around other than to add the interrogative. A. NOUNS-The word used in Scripture should always be retained. No synonyms may be used. B. PRONOUNS-Pronouns referring to the readers (you, ye, we, etc.) or referring to the author (I, in the case of Paul) should not be changed. Other pronouns which refer to persons, specific groups, or Deity cannot change to the antecedent to which they refer. C. VERBS-Verbs must remain in the Scriptural tense and form. D. HELPING VERBS-It is important that helping verbs be left in their original state. If the Scriptural wording is "will be," it must not be changed to "shall be," even though both phrases mean the same thing. IV. Keep questions directly related to the material. Questions should only ask for answers which can be given from the Scripture being studied. Therefore, no questions based on doctrine or inference should be asked. V. Keep the key word early. The key word is the most important word in a question. It is always taken from the Scripture. It is often a word that is used only once in the book being studied. It is either on this word, or in anticipation of it, that the good quizzer jumps. Therefore, it is important that questions make proper use of the key word. The key word should come as early in the ques tion as possible and no later than the fifth word.