Subject: About standalone questions criteria
Posted by: ankitankurddit
Date: Feb 06 24
Recently, my first-ever quiz got placed online here on FT in the Sci/Tech category. Thank you very much to my editor for all the help. Because of the way my editor guided me, I do not have any more doubts as far as this category goes.
However, I am trying to write my second quiz, which is in a different category - Television. I am reading all QCNs, and I am also taking the QCN quizzes. I am also taking a lot of other quizzes for all quiz-related badges. So, I am getting the hang of quite a few rules like detailed II, no time-dependent questions, media titles in quotes (for some categories), varying questions, and so on.
However, I am stuck on just this particular rule of standalone questions. It is written somewhere in QCNs: "Keep in mind that questions in quizzes are used in all of our other hourly/daily games, so each question must make sense on its own.".
Now, I think I get this rule pretty much for the Sci/Tech category. Again, I thank my editor's guidance for that. For example, do not ask, "What would you get if you mix the elements mentioned in questions 7 and 8?". So, this is fine. I think I can use transferable skills from Sci/Tech to a few other categories here on FT. However, the Television category seems quite different from the Sci/Tech category.
I am creating a quiz on a particular TV show called "The Bone Collector." So, do I mention this title (the title is actually a bit longer than what I wrote here) in every question?
For example, do I ask:
Option A - In the TV show "The Bone Collector," who is.......?
Or
Option B - Who is ..... in the second episode?
I am also taking quizzes of the concerned editors to see the practical implementation of all QCNs, and most questions in the Television category seemed to me like Option B. My plan is to take almost all quizzes of all concerned editors to see the emulation of QCNs. And, I can also collect prestige for I am the Biggest Fan badge upgrades this way! So, that's the plan! And, this will anyway go perfectly well with my 24 badges journey.
Anyway, as it is just my second quiz, I did not wish to send the entire quiz to the editor in an assumed way. Also, the rules might have changed recently, and I might be taking quizzes from the time before any rule (about mentioning TV show titles in questions of the quiz) change happened. So, I thought it was better to clarify and then send this quiz.
PS - I just finished watching this show yesterday, and I am now rewatching it today to get the content right. :)
Posted by: ankitankurddit
Date: Feb 06 24
Recently, my first-ever quiz got placed online here on FT in the Sci/Tech category. Thank you very much to my editor for all the help. Because of the way my editor guided me, I do not have any more doubts as far as this category goes.
However, I am trying to write my second quiz, which is in a different category - Television. I am reading all QCNs, and I am also taking the QCN quizzes. I am also taking a lot of other quizzes for all quiz-related badges. So, I am getting the hang of quite a few rules like detailed II, no time-dependent questions, media titles in quotes (for some categories), varying questions, and so on.
However, I am stuck on just this particular rule of standalone questions. It is written somewhere in QCNs: "Keep in mind that questions in quizzes are used in all of our other hourly/daily games, so each question must make sense on its own.".
Now, I think I get this rule pretty much for the Sci/Tech category. Again, I thank my editor's guidance for that. For example, do not ask, "What would you get if you mix the elements mentioned in questions 7 and 8?". So, this is fine. I think I can use transferable skills from Sci/Tech to a few other categories here on FT. However, the Television category seems quite different from the Sci/Tech category.
I am creating a quiz on a particular TV show called "The Bone Collector." So, do I mention this title (the title is actually a bit longer than what I wrote here) in every question?
For example, do I ask:
Option A - In the TV show "The Bone Collector," who is.......?
Or
Option B - Who is ..... in the second episode?
I am also taking quizzes of the concerned editors to see the practical implementation of all QCNs, and most questions in the Television category seemed to me like Option B. My plan is to take almost all quizzes of all concerned editors to see the emulation of QCNs. And, I can also collect prestige for I am the Biggest Fan badge upgrades this way! So, that's the plan! And, this will anyway go perfectly well with my 24 badges journey.
Anyway, as it is just my second quiz, I did not wish to send the entire quiz to the editor in an assumed way. Also, the rules might have changed recently, and I might be taking quizzes from the time before any rule (about mentioning TV show titles in questions of the quiz) change happened. So, I thought it was better to clarify and then send this quiz.
PS - I just finished watching this show yesterday, and I am now rewatching it today to get the content right. :)
9 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
kyleisalive
|
Both of your options are suitable, especially since most quizzes for the daily/hourly selections have both their titles listed and their subcategories, so the context required of a player is often provided. When we say 'questions must stand alone', we mean that they should not require knowledge of other questions in the quiz in order to be understood. See the following: Q1: 'Who is the father in the Simpson household?" [A: Homer] Q2: 'Who is his wife?' [A: Marge] Q2 is *only* understood if you have q1 provided to you as context, otherwise, there's no way of understanding whose wife you could be referring to. What I often tell authors is to treat every question as though it's the first one in their quiz. Does the player have everything they need to answer it? This isn't to say you can't write a quiz where the questions are in chronological order or have a natural progression-- absolutely do that. But your player should not be stuck if they started on question 5. Or 8. Or 3. Or whichever, because the info they needed is somewhere completely different. Reply #1. Feb 06 24, 8:05 PM |
pollucci19 
|
Great question ankitankurddit and a great response from Kyle. As you grow in your quiz writing, this will become second nature to you. Now, when I create a new question, in the back of my mind I'm always asking myself "If this was the only question you had to answer, do you have enough context". Another approach is "would this question work if it was submitted for the single question game". Reply #2. Feb 06 24, 8:45 PM |
| kyleisalive
|
Just to add as well, this does not mean you need to note "In 'The Simpsons'..." in every question of a mixed 'Simpsons' quiz. Provided it's in the right category and has a sensible title, there's no guesswork there. If you're writing a mixed TV quiz and the name of the TV show is needed for context, that's when you go that route starting with "In such-and-such show...". ;) Reply #3. Feb 06 24, 8:48 PM |
agony
|
Your main question has been answered, so I thought I'd just address one small aspect of your very nice post (we love talking about quiz writing!). You say "media titles in quotes (for some categories)". That's actually not correct. Media titles requite quotes in all categories. However, they don't necessarily require quotes in all circumstances. The reason we require quotation marks around titles is to set them apart from the body of the text, to avoid confusion. When there is nothing for them to be set apart *from*, for instance when they stand alone as answer options, there is no need for quotation marks. At one point this was not completely standardized, but it has been now for about ten years or so. You may come across older quizzes that handle the issue differently. Reply #4. Feb 06 24, 8:57 PM |
FatherSteve
|
I submitted a quiz about some movie or other, every question of which contained a reference to the film: 'In the motion picture "Father Steve goes to Canterbury" (2025), who played the Archbishop?' 'The tomb of which saint does Father Steve visit in the movie "Father Steve Goes to Canterbury" (2025)?' "Which Archbishop of Canterbury, according to the film "Father Steve Goes to Canterbury" (2025), was murdered inside his cathedral in 1170?' The editor sent it back for rewrite saying it was unnecessary to name the movie in every question. I responded, perhaps grumpily, that an author should "Keep in mind that questions in quizzes are used in all of our other hourly/daily games, so each question must make sense on its own." The editor wrote back, accepting the quiz "as is," and, perhaps grumpily, conceded that this was the policy. It would make life here more felicitous (and perhaps less grumpy) if we were all on the same page as to these sorts of requirements. American television writer and producer Nahnatchka Khan says, "Find like-minded people who are on the same page as you, and then lift each other up." Q: What kind of automobile did the disciples of Jesus drive? A: A Honda, because the Acts of the Apostles says they were "in accord." Reply #5. Feb 07 24, 3:27 PM |
ankitankurddit
|
@kyleisalive - Thank you for your detailed explanation. It is all clear to me now. As you explained, I can now comfortably make each question in my upcoming quiz standalone. I have especially made a note of this caveat - "this does not mean you need to note "In 'The Simpsons'..." in every question of a mixed 'Simpsons' quiz," and this will be very helpful in the Television quiz that I am currently working on. Thank you very much! @pollucci19 - Thank you so much for your note and your kind words. I look forward to learning from you all as I write more quizzes. Reply #6. Feb 07 24, 5:26 PM |
| ankitankurddit
|
@agony - Thank you for that clarification. I will now be conscious about accurately using quotes around media titles, as you explained. I am just at my second quiz ever here on FT. So, all these thoughts are beneficial to me. I think this quiz writing is a learning curve that helps me not only on FT but also in other real-life stuff because I work in the education sector. So, I am looking forward to learning more from you all. Thanks a ton! @FatherSteve - I am just on my second quiz. So, I cannot comment on your thoughts. I am just learning everything here. My life is a bit of a mess these days, but it will hopefully soon be cleaned up. That is why FT is a La La Land (my second virtual home) for me, so I am all happy here. FT's landscape is also more soothing than other virtual worlds (mediums). That is why I carved a four-month plan where I can solve my real-life issues, and in parallel, I can go on a 24-hour badge tiers upgrade, GC Achievement level 9, and some authoring journey here on FT. Anyway, I have bookmarked you for getting my I Am the Biggest Fan badge upgrade because I love your quizzes. Reply #7. Feb 07 24, 5:27 PM |
looney_tunes
|
FatherSteve, as kyle explained a standalone question doesn't need to include information that is seen by players who see the quiz's category and title. If they can see the name of the book, movie, tv series there, it is not needed in every question. Including it does make the original quiz feel quite clunky, but if you choose title which does not make it clear (say, your quiz titled 'Cast on the Nile' in the subcategory Da-De Movies, which is about a specific remake of 'Death on the Nile') then it does need to happen, or you will receive correction notes from players objecting to the fact that they seemed to need to read your mind in order to answer the question. That's not a great example, because it is a match quiz, but if it were MC, there would be an issue. Reply #8. Feb 07 24, 6:26 PM |
| agony
|
The thing about everyone being on exactly the same page is that there is no room for flexibility. Something that may work in one case may not, in another, and a rigid rule book won't allow the use of judgment informed by experience to see which is which. My feeling is that it is not necessarily essential that we all be on the same page, as long as we are all reading from the same book. Reply #9. Feb 08 24, 8:52 AM |
9 replies. On page 1 of 1 pages. 1
Legal / Conditions of Use
|
|
: