• the questions are related to the learning that has gone on before

• the questions are relevant to the learners’ interests and needs – they need to see a point to the exercise

• they are not too hard (which will lead to frustration) or too easy (boredom)

• they are not impossible to complete by an average learner in the time allocated

• the tasks asked by the quiz are easy to understand

• answers are given out.

• younger learners

• online assessments

• quick assessments.

• Try running the quiz as a competitive exercise – break the quiz into rounds (see Pub quizzes) or give small prizes for the quickest correct answers. Matching the format of the latest popular TV quiz is often a good idea but can take some time to set up.

• Use images to make a test more appealing.

• Vary the simple question–answer format by asking learners to fill in blanks or click and drag if online.

• Try to keep quizzes to one side of A4 or one screen. If you need to have a longer test then either split it up across the session, or look at another way of checking whether your learning outcomes have been achieved.

• Online quizzes are simple to create. For example, Quia Web (www.quia.com/web) is a low-cost quiz site that will also host your quiz. You may also have access to a VLE that contains quiz tools. Bear in mind that although an online quiz is technically simple to create, it still requires the use of good, relevant questions.