VolunteerItemWriting

Short Version

If you are feeling like you have a question that LPI should be asking, please read the item writing guide.

Then, head over to the LPI Item Contribution Tool and submitted (you do need an LPI ID to login).

Terminology

When talking about exam development, the following terms are likely to be used:

• „Item“ is an exam question including all provided answers for SC/MC items.
• „Single Choice“ or „SC“ is an item that provides four or five answers from which one is correct.
• „Multiple Choice“ or „MC“ is an item that provides four or five answers from which one than one is correct.
• „Fill In The Blank“ or „FITB“ is an item that is answers by a string and does not provide answers to choose from.
• „Stem“ is the question part of an item.
• „Distractor“ is a wrong answer offered in addition to the correct answer(s) in SC/MC items.
• „Computer Based Testing“ or „CBT“ means digitally delivered exams at testing centers.
• „Paper Based Testing“ or „PBT“ means written exams (e.g. at fairs and events) using answers sheets that provided circles for SC/MC items and lines for FITBs.

General rules for item writing

The following rules should be obeyed when writing items. Exceptions should be considered well as they probably indicate bad items.

• Do not mix objectives. Test only one topic and one aspect per item.
• Write independent items. Each item must be answerable for itself without referring to any other item.
• Ask straight. The item should test the Linux skills of the candidate, not his competence in (foreign) languages and logical skills for unwrapping nested negations etc. .
• Use easy language. Use a homogeneous wording and avoid complex sentences.
• Be specific. All correct answers must absolutely and in all circumstances fit the question. None of the distractors may not even eventually be considered correct no matter how.
• Be or not be. Each answers must be true or false without any consideration. Never ask for the “best” or “most likely” answer or use conditions like “could be” or “might be”.
• Keep items simple. Do not provide unnecessary or anecdotal information.
• Create enough distractors. For SC/MC items, try to provide at least four, better five possible answers. If it is hard to find good distractors, consider changing the item to FITB.
• Create plausible distractors. Instead of asking something completely irrational, obviously wrong or out of context, create distractors that sound plausible to someone trying to guess but must be unambiguous to an expert.
• Ask for short and authentic answers for FITB items. Ask FIBT items only for text that would be entered exactly like that in a terminal. Never ask for verbal descriptions or other human language. Ask for example for single commands, programs, files or parameters but do not ask the candidate to complete a sentence by entering a noun.
• Be comprehensive for FITB answers. When several answers are possible for a FITB item, provide all of them, each as an own correct answers.
• Keep items short. Remember that the items should fit into a 800x600 screen and that FITB answers must be written to the limited space of a PBT form.
• Don't reveal too much. The steam of an item should not disclose the answers to other questions.
• Be urbane. Avoid cultural specifics, regional terminology and slang.
• Be neutral. Never use judging adjectives. Do not let persons like „The system administrator“ appear and do something that could better be expressed as a neutral description of the resulting situation.
• Do not directly address the candidate. Never use personal pronouns like „you“ or „one“. Instead of describing human actions, describe technical situations and facts.

Item Style Guide

In order to give our items a homogeneous appearance we created the following boilerplates and best practices which should be used in all items. There is however no guarantee that all items are formed as described herein.

Number of right answers in multiple choice items

In case only one answer is correct we do not mention anything about it as this is the default case.

In case more than one answer is correct, we specify this by appending one of those brackets to the item:

• (Choose <b>TWO</b> correct answers.)
• (Choose <b>THREE</b> correct answers.)
• (Choose <b>FOUR</b> correct answers.)

We do not mention the number in the question at any other place. For example, we won't ask "Which <b>THREE</b> commands would...".

Asking for commands and files in fill-in-the-blank items

Asking for commands

We do not ask for the full path to the command s the candidate should specify the command name only. This is because locations may change and because full paths become long (which is hard in PBT) and offer more characters to get wrong.

Asking for single command names without parameters

When we ask for just a command we append the following to the question:

• (Specify <b>ONLY</b> the command without any path or parameters.)

Asking for full command including parameters

When we ask for a full command we append the following to the question:

• (Specify the command without any path but <b>INCLUDING ALL REQUIRED PARAMETERS</b>.)

Asking for file and directory names

When asking for a file or directory we either ask for the name or the full path and specify it by those appendices to the question:

• (Specify the file name only <b>without any path</b>.)
• (Specify the full name of the file, <b>including path</b>.)
• (Specify the <b>full path</b> to the directory.)

In all these cases we do not include such information in the answers itself.

Asking for options and parameters

When asking just for an option name:

• (Specify <b>ONLY</b> the option name without any values or parameters.)

When asking for a variable name:

• (Specify <b>ONLY</b> the variable name without any values or operators.)

Asking for numbers

When asking for numbers the following appendix should be used:

• (Specify the number using digits only.)

Using IP addresses and DNS names in Items

When talking about global IP addresses and DNS names we use only IP addresses and DNS Zones that are reserved for documentation purposes. We do not use IP addresses that are officially assigned to any party. Private addresses should only be used when we refer to their special semantics.

IPv4 addresses

Within the IPv4 address space the following subnets are reserved for documentation purposes:

• 192.0.2.0/24 (TEST-NET-1)
• 198.51.100.0/24 (TEST-NET-2)
• 203.0.113.0/24 (TEST-NET-3)

IPv6 addresses

For IPv6 the following prefix is reserved for documentation purposes:

• 2001:db8::/32

ULAs and LLAs should only be used when we explicitly talk about them. Site-local addresses are deprecated and should not be used.

DNS names

For DNS names the following zones are reserves for examples and documentation:

• example.
• example.com.
• example.net.
• example.org.

When using DNS names in items, names from these domains should be used. The only exception is when the content of an item requires asking a real domain. This should however avoided as real names may change. It is i.e. not a good idea to ask for project websites etc. .