Glossary

What Is a Distractor in Multiple Choice Questions?

May 26, 20264 minSarah Mitchell · Curriculum Designer & Former High School Teacher

In this article

1.Why distractors matter
2.Common distractor mistakes
3.How to write good distractors
4.How AI quiz tools handle distractors
5.Related reading

Short answer. A distractor is one of the wrong answer choices in a multiple-choice question. Good distractors are plausible (test-takers who don't know the answer might pick them) but clearly wrong to test-takers who do know.

Why distractors matter

A multiple-choice question's quality is mostly determined by its distractors, not its correct answer. If distractors are obviously wrong, the question tests reading speed; even students who don't know the content can eliminate them and guess correctly.

Good distractors:

Reflect **real misconceptions** students hold

Match the correct answer in **length and grammatical form**

Are **plausible at first glance** but clearly wrong on closer inspection

Don't include "absolute" language ("always", "never") that gives them away

Common distractor mistakes

Obviously wrong options. "The capital of France is: A) Paris B) Banana C) Triangle D) 47". Useless distractors.

Length asymmetry. When the correct answer is twice as long as distractors (because the writer added qualifiers), test-takers learn to pick the longest option.

"All of the above" / "None of the above". Often signal the correct answer to test-savvy students; use sparingly.

Grammatical mismatch. If the question stem is plural and only one option is plural, that's the answer regardless of content.

How to write good distractors

**Start from real misconceptions.** Ask: what's the most common wrong thing students believe about this concept?

**Match grammatical form.** All options should fit the question stem cleanly.

**Match length.** Vary within ~30% of the correct answer's length.

**Avoid absolutes.** "Always", "never", "only" usually flag the wrong answer.

**Test the question.** Show it to a colleague — if they can guess the correct answer without knowing the content, the distractors are weak.

How AI quiz tools handle distractors

Modern AI quiz generators (like SimpleQuizMaker) generate distractors automatically. Quality varies. Best practice: always review AI-generated distractors before sharing. Aim to replace ~10-20% of them with better alternatives.

[Multiple Choice Distractor Design](/blog/multiple-choice-distractor-design)

[How to Write Good Quiz Questions](/blog/how-to-write-good-quiz-questions)

[How to Write Hard Quiz Questions](/blog/how-to-write-hard-quiz-questions)

[Multiple Choice vs Open Ended](/blog/multiple-choice-vs-open-ended)

Generate a quiz with AI-written distractors and apply the rules above.

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Sarah Mitchell

Curriculum Designer & Former High School Teacher