How to Write True/False, Multiple Choice, and Matching Solutions

A debate for another day...

Ryan and I have been getting a ton of questions from the expert community about the best way to approach those darned multiple choice, true/false, and matching questions. This post in particular was inspired by two business experts who were stuck with true/false and multiple choice problems in their discipline. It would seem so simple to just write the answer and be done with it. However, students looking for help on questions of this type need context for your answer. You're there to save their day (or night, as we know students often working into the wee hours of the morning), and we know you are up to the task! 

To help you do your job, here are best practices for answering these tricky question types.

True/False
The below solution is a perfect example of how to approach a True/False solution. The expert details the main idea behind the question (what a monopoly is) then goes on to define the key terms needed and use examples to elaborate on what the question is really getting at. Then the author concludes with a sample statement, "The provided statement is false". Notice she even boxed the final answer at the end. Beautiful!

The main things to keep in mind for true/false questions are:

• Don't simply write "True" or "False". We will reject these solutions.
• Don't simply write one sentence saying "This statement is true". 
• At the VERY least, write "This statement is true because...". Then add a sentence or two to elaborate on why it's true. Refer to other relevant concepts or use an example. Students will thank you!

A Lovely True/False Example

Multiple Choice
These can be a bit trickier and they do require a bit more time. However, once you get the hang of these (they usually come in bunches in a textbook), you can get a solid template going and get moving quickly. You need to go over each and every option provided. Simply stating that the correct answer is "A" and defining what "A" means is NOT enough. If a student needs help with a problem of this type, they need more context than that.

The main things to keep in mind for multiple choice questions are:

• Don't simply write "A" or "B" and the answer. 
• Include definitions (in your OWN WORDS) of the other options. Perhaps talk about why that is not the correct answer.
• Conclude with the correct option and box it. You can either box just the letter answer or, if the option is short, box both the letter and the answer option. You'll want to explain this one a little more in-depth, perhaps with examples, to enlighten the student further.

A Wonderful Multiple Choice Example

Matching
I am not including a matching example here, as they are so similar to multiple choice. Except these are actually even easier, since you have the same answer options for a whole set of questions. That means you can create a template and re-use it. Just make sure that you always end with the correct letter answer and explain a bit more in-depth why it is correct.

The main things to keep in mind for matching questions are:

• Again, never simple state the answer without explanation.
• Always include all answer options with a short definition/explanation for each.
• Make a template! You will save yourself worlds of time!

I hope these tips help. As always, email either me or Ryan if you have further questions. Many of our blog posts come from questions from our experts, so keep 'em comin'!

Tip of the Week Thursday: Using Equation Editor 3.0

Here's a question I get a lot: "I have Equation Editor 3.0 in my version of Word and I used it. Why am I getting the comment that I am not using it properly?"

The answer to this query lies in the fact that there is a difference between "Insert Equation" in Word and "Insert Equation Editor" object. Lots of people don't know that, which is why I'm here with the weekly tip!

This is NOT what you should be doing:

Rather, use Equation Editor this way:

First, go to "Insert" on the Task Ribbon.

Second, choose Object. Once you're in that window, choose "Microsoft Equation 3.0"

Hit "OK" and then you're good to go. 

How To Create a Template in Word (.dot)

Happy Friday! We're bringing you another helpful tip on authoring today to close out the week.

This week's tip is a HUGE time-saver. We're teaching you how to create templates in Word. Do this now and save yourself hours and hours of boring formatting work over the long run! That means more solutions written, more productivity, and more money for you. That's good all around.

Now, let's get started. We'll go over what a template is, how to create one, and how to save it. If you have further questions, ask them here on the blog or on the LinkedIn group.

What is a template?
A template is a document that saves all of its formatting (fonts, delimiters, margins, page size, headers) so you can easily duplicate your solution format again and again. Imagine all the tedious time saved! A template saves in a .dot format, so make sure that when you finish each solution and save it, you change the name and convert this to .docx. More on that in the final part of this tutorial.

How do I create a template?
It's super easy. For our purposes, you can actually use our template document that we send you when you start a project, and then just go to File>Save As>Word Template. Alternatively, create your own template for certain types of solutions (i.e. maybe you have a lot of similar discussion questions or accounting questions with similar tables). Now, each time you open that file, it will preserve all formatting so you can start fresh with each new solution. Voila!

How do I save each solution?
Now, you know you'll need to change certain things in each file, like the chapter ID and problem ID, possibly the date (unless you also make that update automatically too, smart idea.). Then you're all done writing the solution. You can't simply hit Ctrl+S. You'll need to go to the file menu and Save As. Just hit .docx, update the file name to reflect your BookID-ChapID-ProbID, and then you're all set.

It's as easy as that. Imagine how much time that will save you in the long run if you set that up now. In solutions authoring, time really is the same thing as money, so we recommend you do this today!

For more information on this, check out Microsoft's tutorial on their website. Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!

New Textbook Policy

As many of you already know, we adopted a new textbook policy for all new projects starting in January 2013. One of the most common questions for brand new authors with us is "How do I get the textbook?" and we've been working out the best possible way to deal with this issue. Since we don't own the textbook material, we can't simply send you an electronic copy. And why don't we just send you a copy from our warehouse? Well, we have to establish some sort of accountability. Otherwise,  people would inevitably change their minds about projects and take the book and disappear, potentially costing us thousands of dollars.

So, after a long meeting, Ryan and I decided the best possible policy is to have everyone rent a textbook or eTextbook only from Chegg. Why Chegg? Because we have a 21-day return policy, so you can give the book a try and return it if you don't hit your first due date-- at zero cost to you and zero cost to us.

It's up to you whether you prefer our eTextbooks (read about our award-winning eReader here) or if you want an old-fashioned print textbook. What's even cooler is that most of our old-fashioned print textbooks come with free 7-day access to the eTextbook, so you'll have no problem getting started immediately and returning the book if it isn't a good fit for you.

We just thought we'd let you know why we decided to change the policy in the spirit of transparency.

I hope everyone is having a great, productive week. We sure are over here!

How to Deal with Sent Back Solutions

One of the most discouraging things that can happen to our solutions authors is receiving a "sent back" batch of solutions. These aren't fun for anyone and we do our best to prevent this from happening.

But just remember that this doesn't reflect on your intellect, passion, enthusiasm, teaching ability, learning ability, or any other facet of your being. We promise! It just means that there's room to improve and that you're going to get better as you keep working problems. We're here to help you improve your work, so don't hesitate to reach out and ask for help.

We've heard many times that (after the initial shock) send backs actually teach our authors many valuable techniques for writing that actually help them work more efficiently.

Nonetheless, re-working problems can be time-consuming and annoying. So, to save you some time and guesswork, here are some of the most common reasons for send backs and the quickest ways to edit your batches for re-submission.

1. Lack of written explanation. All solutions need at the very least one descriptive phrase or sentence of written explanation per step.  Before each step, add a little bit of description so students can follow logically.
2. Lack of introduction to solution. The introduction can be as simple as, "Consider the given vector triangle for the velocities of the cars A and B." Don't just start randomly telling us what the variables stand for in the solution. Give context first!
3. Missing conclusion statement. Just write a simple sentence like, "Therefore, the velocity of the car A with respect to the car B is 15 m/s acting at an angle of 35 degrees with the horizontal.". Then box the "15 m/s" as the numerical answer.
4. Lack of individual steps separated by delimiters (those line thingys that you insert between steps). Just add in some delimiters if you have adequate explanation. Do this where it makes the most sense for your problem. Or maybe you didn't write enough steps and now you've learned to break up big paragraphs or blocks of mathematical solving and place them in their own steps with explanation.
5. Incorrect answers or miscalculations. These do happen, even for mechanical engineers! Just go through and fix them. We understand that mistakes happen.
6. Plagiarism. Just don't plagiarize or copy anything from the text. It's not okay for anyone. Your work must must be your own.
7. Not following the textbook model for solving. Make your life easier by reviewing the textbook examples before solving and using the authors' template for problem-solving.

If you didn't read any of that: My best advice overall is to study the guidelines before you start to work. Also, ask us for sample solutions in Word document format. You can even use these exemplary solutions as templates for your own work!

As always, we appreciate the great content that you produce and we never want you to feel discouraged. We're here to support you through the authoring process, not to make it any more challenging than it already is. We know you're experts, now we just need to support you on your way to becoming expert solutions authors!