Multiple-choice question review: three worked examples
https://ai-essay.com/guides/multiple-choice-question-checklist

Original fictional practice material. S1 and S2, the draft questions, proposed keys and repairs below were constructed for this resource. They are not a real campus notice, captured AI output, student responses or a classroom test.

S1 — The campus library offers evening workshops, online guides and bookable appointments. All three are free for enrolled students. This notice reports no attendance figures or learning outcomes.

S2 — A workshop consists of two parts lasting 20 minutes each, with one 10-minute break between them.

Example 1: a draft with two defensible answers
Objective: Identify the stated fee policy for the listed library services.
Source: S1
Draft: Which support is free for enrolled students?
A — Evening workshops.
B — Bookable appointments.
C — Paid external coaching.
D — Private commercial tutoring.
Draft key: A

Your diagnosis and repair before reading on:

Possible editorial review: Revise before use
A and B are both supported by S1, so the draft key cannot make this a single-best-answer item. Adding the instruction choose the best answer would not resolve the missing distinction.
Repaired item: According to S1, what is the fee policy for the three listed services?
A — All three are free for enrolled students.
B — Only workshops are free for enrolled students.
C — Only guides are free for enrolled students.
D — Each service has a fee for enrolled students.
Repaired key: A
A preserves the bounded policy for the three services and the enrolled-student condition.
B narrows the free offer to workshops, contradicting the stated coverage of all three.
C narrows the free offer to guides, contradicting the same coverage.
D adds a fee that the notice explicitly rules out for enrolled students.
Status: constructed repair for inspection; no independent teacher review, learner trial or release has occurred.

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Example 2: a key that the source cannot establish
Objective: Distinguish information supplied by a notice from information it leaves unreported.
Source: S1
Draft: What percentage of enrolled students attended the workshops?
A — 20%.
B — 40%.
C — 60%.
D — 80%.
Draft key: B

Your diagnosis and repair before reading on:

Possible editorial review: Hold the unsupported claim; replace the item
S1 gives neither attendance counts nor a participation rate. No listed percentage can be justified. A plausible-looking number is not a recoverable answer; changing which percentage is marked would leave the same problem.
Repaired item: Which information is missing from S1?
A — The available support formats.
B — The cost for enrolled students.
C — The number of workshop attendees.
D — The option to book an appointment.
Repaired key: C
A is supplied by the list of workshops, guides and appointments.
B is supplied by the free-access statement for enrolled students.
C is absent: the notice expressly reports no attendance figures.
D is supplied by the phrase bookable appointments.
Status: constructed repair for inspection; no independent teacher review, learner trial or release has occurred.

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Example 3: two options express the same duration
Objective: Calculate total elapsed duration, including the stated break.
Source: S2
Draft: How long is the entire workshop in S2, including the break?
A — 40 minutes.
B — 50 minutes.
C — 60 minutes.
D — 5/6 hour.
Draft key: B

Your diagnosis and repair before reading on:

Possible editorial review: Revise the option set before use
The total is 20 + 10 + 20 = 50 minutes. B and D are equivalent because (5/6) × 60 = 50. The draft therefore has two correct choices despite a single marked key.
Repaired item: How long is the entire workshop in S2, including the break?
A — 20 minutes.
B — 40 minutes.
C — 50 minutes.
D — 60 minutes.
Repaired key: C
A counts only one of the two workshop parts.
B counts both parts but leaves out the break.
C includes two 20-minute parts and the single 10-minute break: 50 minutes.
D would add a second 10-minute break that S2 does not specify. These are possible error paths for reviewing the distractors, not observed learner diagnoses.
Status: constructed repair for inspection; no independent teacher review, learner trial or release has occurred.

Method reading (supports the review method, not the fictional notices)
https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/catalogs/tip-sheets/designing-multiple-choice-questions
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/assesslearning/creatingexams.html
https://crlt.umich.edu/designing-effective-exams
https://teaching.uic.edu/cate-teaching-guides/digital-learning/adapting-assignments-for-the-age-of-ai/
https://www.cmu.edu/teaching/assessment/assesslearning/concepTests.html