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

TBD / In progress (Fabian)

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 in Items

When talking about global IP addresses we use only IP addresses 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.