Extended written response questions

Written response questions require an extended answer from students.

These questions often address higher order thinking skills and require students to recall or research information and apply that information in different ways.

Advantages and limitations

  • Tests for higher order thinking skills and application of key content
  • Allows for different and original responses – students compose rather than select
  • Less time consuming to construct compared to other forms of assessment
  • Minimise guessing
  • Tests student ability to organise thoughts
  • Allows opportunities to provide feedback on student progress
  • Stimulates more broad study
  • Can favour students with skilful writing
  • Limits the amount of course content covered
  • Requires an extensive amount of time to grade
  • Grading can be subjective and unreliable
  • Susceptible to academic misconduct through generative artificial intelligence tools
  • Generally does not provide an objective measure of student ability and/or achievement
  • Opportunity for bluffing, rambling, or going off on tangents if questions are misunderstood

Links to Theory

Questions that require a longer response often require students to utilise higher order thinking skills and relate their knowledge to different contexts. Bloom’s Taxonomy and SOLO Taxonomy are two underlying frameworks that support this.

SOLO Taxonomy

SOLO Taxonomy demonstrates five stages of learning where students develop more complex and integrated ideas and can apply concepts in new contexts the further along students are in their learning.

SOLO Taxonomy

Image: Biggs, J., (1982) The SOLO Taxonomy. John Biggs https://www.johnbiggs.com.au/academic/solo-taxonomy/

Written response questions relate to the fourth and fifth elements of the SOLO Taxonomy – relational, where students apply knowledge for a purpose and extended abstract and explore new ways and avenues of applying knowledge.

Bloom’s Taxonomy

Blooms Taxonomy is a framework comprising six learning domains, categorised by the level of thinking skills they require. Knowledge and comprehension involve lower order thinking and are typically addressed using other assessment methods, whereas higher skills such as application, analysis, evaluation and synthesis are well suited to an extended response.

Blooms Taxonomy

Image: Scholarly Community Encyclopedia (2022) Bloom’s Taxonomy Visual Guide https://encyclopedia.pub/entry/30767

Guidelines for constructing written response questions

Our model for constructing extended written response questions comprises five subsequent steps that have been adapted from Assessment 2020; propositions for effective assessment in higher education (Boud, D., 2010).

Five steps

Step 1 Content

Content - what will be assessed

Select the content and subject learning outcomes you are assessing. Are there certain skills that need to be addressed? Have students been assessed at a lower level on this content previously?

Step 2 Product

Product - what will be made

Think about what you would like the students to produce. Think about; the length of the response, the time available to complete the question, how you would like students to respond (verbal, written, video, etc.), what type of text students are to produce, the intended audience (supervisor, potential client, peers, etc.) and academic integrity. Make sure to consider the marking workload in this step.

Step 3 Process

Process - how will it be made

Consider how the students will complete the assessment. Think about: ideal steps/process, how to state clear and explicit instructions and avoid ambiguous terms and intimidating terminology.

Step 4 Grading

Grading - how will it be graded

Consider what the desired product is. Think about: what you would expect to see in terms of structure, content, and language, how to make marking criteria clear and obvious for students and graders and develop opportunities to show and work through exemplars with students.

Step 5 Review

Review - how did it go

Upon completion, review the process and results. Use any insights learned to refine your assessment design. Ensure to receive feedback from all involved in the process – markers and students can provide a unique point of view that you may not have considered.

Example of an extended written response question

Below is an example of an extended written response question.

  • Create a lesson planning framework, incorporating the topics discussed in this subject. Your framework should be a workable template that clearly reflects your own perspective and desired future work context.
  • Justify your choices made in the framework by referencing the learning materials and at least 2 peer discussions. (300-400 words)
  • Predict the impact the framework could have in your desired future work setting. (200-300 words)

Combatting generative artificial intelligence (AI) use

This example question uses elements that support academic integrity against generative AI generators by

  • asking students to create a framework, where AI will only list components
  • reflecting on specific peer discussions, particularly if these are listed and verified
  • linking to a specific desired work context

See below how this example was created through the five-step process:

In PowerPoint format:

Extended written response questions worked example

In H5P format:

General Tips

  • State what you want the students to do clearly.
  • Indicate the desired length, weighting and, where appropriate, time spent on an item.
  • Combine a lower-level question and a higher-level question to scaffold a response. e.g. State three impacts on iron levels in women and devise a general action plan for a potential client.
  • Use stimulus such as case studies, sets of data, multi-modal media and other real-world reference material.
  • Contextualise responses through student personal experience or subject specific knowledge.
  • Attempt to write a response to your question – is it easy to understand? Perhaps, use generative AI tool and see what comes back.
  • Seek feedback from peers, often they can pick up when questions are difficult to understand or time consuming to grade.
  • When giving options, ensure they are equitable and fair in the grading process.
  • Outline the specific areas you would like the students to address.
  • Anchor problems in real life settings that students have an interest in – situated learning theory.
  • Use current issues in the media and industry.
  • Make sure students understand their responsibility for academic integrity.
  • Provide students with a list of key verbs, such as examine and justify that will be used in questions so there is a common understanding: Common Instruction Words

References

Boud, D. and Associates (2010). Assessment 2020: Seven propositions for assessment reform in higher education. Sydney: Australian Learning and Teaching Council.