New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item

The omission item in a multiple choice test consists of a text in which four or five words or phrases are marked, only one of which is essential to the grammatical, syntactic or logical coherence of the text. Such items have a number of advantages: they allow authentic language materials to be used...

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Main Authors: Hanspeter Bauer, Helmut Bonheim
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de Zaragoza 1996-12-01
Series:Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies
Online Access:https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/11036
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author Hanspeter Bauer
Helmut Bonheim
author_facet Hanspeter Bauer
Helmut Bonheim
author_sort Hanspeter Bauer
collection DOAJ
description The omission item in a multiple choice test consists of a text in which four or five words or phrases are marked, only one of which is essential to the grammatical, syntactic or logical coherence of the text. Such items have a number of advantages: they allow authentic language materials to be used; a wide range of facility indices can be achieved, including those required for advanced and sophisticated learners of English as a foreign language as well as native speakers; the discrimination indices are unusually high, which suggests that the item taps layers of ability in understanding difficult texts. The format allows a number of variations: the key can be defined as the string which is essential, but also the string which is disposable (mere verbiage or deadwood). Half a dozen examples of these types is presented, together with the results of a factor analysis based on trials involving up to 500 candidates.
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publishDate 1996-12-01
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series Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies
spelling doaj-art-d5934cd938d2455f8ff4dbb083d56ddd2025-08-20T02:49:17ZengUniversidad de ZaragozaMiscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies1137-63682386-48341996-12-011710.26754/ojs_misc/mj.199611036New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission ItemHanspeter Bauer0Helmut Bonheim1University of Cologne (Germany)University of Cologne (Germany) The omission item in a multiple choice test consists of a text in which four or five words or phrases are marked, only one of which is essential to the grammatical, syntactic or logical coherence of the text. Such items have a number of advantages: they allow authentic language materials to be used; a wide range of facility indices can be achieved, including those required for advanced and sophisticated learners of English as a foreign language as well as native speakers; the discrimination indices are unusually high, which suggests that the item taps layers of ability in understanding difficult texts. The format allows a number of variations: the key can be defined as the string which is essential, but also the string which is disposable (mere verbiage or deadwood). Half a dozen examples of these types is presented, together with the results of a factor analysis based on trials involving up to 500 candidates. https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/11036
spellingShingle Hanspeter Bauer
Helmut Bonheim
New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
Miscelánea: A Journal of English and American Studies
title New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
title_full New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
title_fullStr New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
title_full_unstemmed New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
title_short New Multiple Choice Formats: The Omission Item
title_sort new multiple choice formats the omission item
url https://papiro.unizar.es/ojs/index.php/misc/article/view/11036
work_keys_str_mv AT hanspeterbauer newmultiplechoiceformatstheomissionitem
AT helmutbonheim newmultiplechoiceformatstheomissionitem