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Quizmaking Tips

Posted: 11:01PM Jun 17, 2008
Avatar for Life_Sucks Life_Sucksgus
Posts: 2530

make sure to put a period at the end of just about everything ;]

the air is full of dust
Posted: 10:08AM Jul 2, 2008
Avatar for AndrewWalker AndrewWalkerAfi
Posts: 2449

When you are done, preview your quiz, take it, and think of it as a quiz you have never seen before and you want to correct it, then read everything slowly, take your time, check simple things like capitials, periods, and commas. If there is a word with multiple spellings, use the more common known one, make sure if you need a "?" make sure it isn't a period. Check category and if the questions are on topic.

Disco isn't dead, it lives on in me!
Posted: 10:07PM Jul 31, 2008
Avatar for RGW4 RGW4Aus
Posts: 2505

Life_Sucks wrote:
make sure to put a period at the end of just about everything ;]


No, don't do that. I did and got it back. Periods should only be at the end of "complete" sentences, even in the answer section.


When you Love someone, Love them with all your heart as you never know what can happen today!
Posted: 08:46PM Nov 16, 2008
grilledcheese*
Posts: 6441

If the answer choices are complete sentences, yes, they do need periods. If they're just things like:

A balloon
Crabs
Dancing

Then no, they shouldn't have periods.
Posted: 11:11PM Nov 16, 2008
dswilborn*
Posts: 2120

Capitalize the multiple choice answers. I've had quiz makers argue with me that they aren't needed - they are!!
Posted: 01:56AM Dec 15, 2008
Avatar for pottercrazy pottercrazyAgb
Posts: 257

When putting compass points

North
South
East
West

Do they have to be capitalized


https://www.facebook.com/pottercrazy wezzer1991 on Xbox Live add me if ya want to know me better man
Posted: 12:22AM Mar 23, 2009
Avatar for SEPTILLIONGOLDS SEPTILLIONGOLDSbus
Posts: 1551

Good explanations tend quiz takers to have a quiz a higher rating. You could put more information about the answer at the explanation. Just remember that you didn't plagiarize it from other websites.

shutting up or down has the same meaning, why need the up and down? just keep it shut!
Posted: 12:32AM Oct 21, 2009
Avatar for dalfamnest dalfamnestAnz
Posts: 34

grilledcheese wrote:
If the answer choices are complete sentences, yes, they do need periods. If they're just things like:

A balloon
Crabs
Dancing

Then no, they shouldn't have periods.


When i wrote my quiz, 'Where The Wild Things Are,' I was asked to add periods at the end of most of the M-C options. Now they have gone. I am a lot happier with this instruction - that we only use periods if the options are complete sentences.

* But what if the options are completing a sentence?
The capital city of New Zealand is ...
Do the options have periods because there would be one after them?
Posted: 12:42AM Oct 21, 2009
Avatar for dalfamnest dalfamnestAnz
Posts: 34

I am more concerned about the use of quotations. Can someone please cite an authority for placing commas OUTside quotation marks? I have always taught and been taught inside. http://www.grammarbook.com/punctuation/quotes.asp is one reasonably respected site.

I did say, 'Please,' didn't I?

Maybe in USA it's an optional thing and Braingle has decided on one particular interpretation for consistency.


I am also surprised at the use of commas in short lists where there is no ambiguity.

I would use a NO comma for:
- My favourite vegetables include peas, spinach and potatoes. [Read: 'favorite'!]

However, a comma IS needed if there is ambiguity.
- My favourite meals are steak, pastas, fish, and chips. [Otherwise it could be misinterpreted as 'fish and chips.'
Posted: 05:24PM Oct 21, 2009
Avatar for Shadows ShadowsAca
Posts: 4784

According to Wikipedia, "the British style places them inside or outside the quotation marks according to whether or not the punctuation is part of the quoted material." That's the rule that Braingle goes by. (Here's wiseGEEK if you don't trust Wikipedia.) It's more logical, in my opinion.

There should be a comma before the conjunction because it's logical. I like logical. There is a series of items, and it's logical to separate them with commas. Besides, when speaking, most people pause before the conjunction anyway.
Posted: 05:05PM Nov 9, 2010
Avatar for superleaf1 superleaf1Aca
Posts: 1

Does any1 have any good topics for quizzes or how can I get some good ideas?
Posted: 05:32PM Nov 9, 2010
Avatar for Hrsemn4 Hrsemn4Aus
Posts: 513

My advice for new quiz authors is first to write what you know, what you're passionate about. Maybe your favorite movies or actors, your favorite songs or TV shows.

When you find you've exhausted those resources, I advise you to do research on things YOU want to learn about. I've had a lot of fun making quizzes about things I initially only had a passing interest in. As I learned more about the topic, it became that much more interesting, and naturally easy to come up with creative questions and interesting info for my explanations.


The difference between poison and medicine is usually a matter of dosage.
Posted: 10:36AM Jan 15, 2011
Avatar for Hrsemn4 Hrsemn4Aus
Posts: 513

I've been noticing some common problems recurring with quizzes and I wonder if I might post some general advice here in hopes that authors, new and old, will take a look and hopefully avoid some of these issues.

First, you REALLY need to read the Quiz Making Guidelines, if you obey those to the letter, you have a 99% chance of your quiz being approved on the first submission (which helps raise your creator grade). Just following general grammar practices may cause you some frustration since Braingle may opt for a certain practice where grammar rules state that more than one way is acceptable.

Know your topic. Sounds easy enough, but it's not uncommon for the QMs to find blatently erroneous facts within quizzes. Websites can contradict one another, so please do your research. If you are quoting a song lyric or someone's speech, it has to be exact. Also, be wary of "fax lore", these little tidbits of info that are often circulated via email and also appear as "strange but true" facts on websites, often these are completely false and take very little effort to disprove, a quiz consisting only of those may end up being rejected entirely or removed from the website.

Don't plagiarize. Plain and simple, if you "copy and paste" from a website, with VERY few exceptions, you are plagiarizing. All work must be entirely your own. When writing a quiz, you only have four chances to produce a quiz that can be published, plagiarizing is a quick way to lose one of those chances. In some cases, authors have had to completely rewrite quizzes which often produces more errors, so they've lost at least one chance at getting their quiz published.

Finally, I'd also like to talk about quiz summaries. As stated in the QMG, this is where you can provide more info to the audience about your quiz topic. This is also one of the few times you can inject a little of your own personality with little fear that it will require revision. Here's some tips about summaries:

1) Summaries MUST be complete sentences. - "Questions about cats." and "A quiz about cats." are NOT complete sentences, "This quiz contains questions about cats." and "This is a quiz about cats" ARE complete sentences...BUT, see #2.

2) Summaries cannot be "obvious". - If your quiz is titled "Cats", the quiz taker can safely assume the quiz will contain questions about cats. Likewise, "How much do you know about this song?", while not "obvious", by definition, is pretty bland. Something like: "This song is about a young man trying to figure out how to win the affections of the girl he loves. How much do you recall about this song by (artist name)?" is MUCH more preferable.

I really hope this helps some authors with their quizzes. As a QM, I love approving quizzes, I take no joy in having to return or reject them. I hope that the tips above will aid you in creating quizzes on your favorite topics, quizzes you can be proud of.


The difference between poison and medicine is usually a matter of dosage.
Posted: 02:42PM May 15, 2012
Avatar for klsowell klsowellg
Posts: 2

HELLO!! I got a quiz approved and still don't have a positive karma! What's going on?

klsowell
Posted: 03:51PM May 15, 2012
Avatar for Hrsemn4 Hrsemn4Aus
Posts: 513

The specific formula for positive Karma is known only to Jake, the site's creator. In general, being a positive contributing member of the Braingle community will earn you karma. The specific actions and the specific amount of karma earned for those actions is not made public. Please be patient and just continue to be a positive member of the community and you will earn your karma soon enough.

---This message was edited on 03:52PM May 15, 2012---

The difference between poison and medicine is usually a matter of dosage.
Posted: 03:06PM Jul 9, 2012
Avatar for wyse wyseAng
Posts: 263

in order to get your quiz accepted, you have to crosscheck your work, people think its stupid but actually it is the best.

I'm WYSE, in name and in life application.
Posted: 03:22PM Jun 20, 2013
Avatar for charlottes-odd charlottes-oddAen
Alone bad... Braingle GOOD!
Posts: 397

I have a little note book that I write my quizzes in first before I start writing it on braingle. Just helps to see mistakes and to plan ahead. May not help everyone but helps me!

Heartbreak is where creativity is born
Posted: 11:57PM Dec 22, 2017
Avatar for Patchyss Patchysscus
Posts: 6

im watching orphan right now
Possible personal information deleted by froggy.


---This message was edited on 04:40AM Jan 5, 2018---
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