8. Item Writing

8.1 Introduction to Item Writing

Item Writing allows item writers to create questions for a course’s item bank. These questions are reviewed before being used in exams. Accurate classification and high-quality questions help ensure that the item bank supports effective exam creation and assessment.

Item Writing Workflow

Follow these steps to create and submit items for a course:

If the course requires a review, reviewers accept or reject the submitted items. Otherwise, the items are added directly to the item bank. See Section 8.8 for the review process.

Submit the drafted items for further processing. See Section 8.5.

Create an item and save it as a draft. See Sections 8.3 و 8.4.

8.2 Item Writer Home

The item writer home screen is where you start writing items and follow your writing tasks.

1. Sign in.
2. At the top right, select the Item Writer role and the college (see section 2.5).

The item writer home screen opens.

Item Writer Home Screen

The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure that follows:

• (1) Role: the current role, Item Writer.
• (2) Buttons: Manage Items (the items you have written), Import Items (import items from a file, see Chapter 7; items imported by an item writer are first saved as drafts, and the item writer then submits them from Drafted Items to the item bank) and Open Item Writing (write a new item).
• (3) Task tabs: item writing tasks assigned to you: New Tasks, In progress Tasks, Finished tasks, Reviewed Tasks, Withdrawn Tasks and Rejected Items.
• (4) Archived Tasks: shows archived tasks.
• (5) Tasks table: each task’s Ref.No, Type, College, Course, Cutoff Number, Invitation Date, Deadline, Total Items Required, View Blueprint and Actions.

8.3 How to Start Writing an Item

Choose the course and the item type before you write the item.

1. On the item writer home screen, select Open Item Writing. The Select Course popup opens.

كتابة سؤال حر

2. Select the course, for example 1234_1 Sample Course – V(1).

Select the Course

3. Select Continue. To have AI suggest draft items for the course, select Continue With AI instead.

"متابعة"

The Select Item Type popup opens. It lists the item types that are available in the course, as set on the course Item Types tab (see section 6.6.12).

Select Item Type

4. Select the item type, for example Multi Choice.
5. Select the item form below it: Single Item, Paired Item or Equivalent Item.

Item Type and Form

6. Select Continue. The Manage Item screen opens (see section 8.4).

Continue to Item Writing

The item forms available depend on the item type:

• Single Item, Paired Item and Equivalent Item: all item types except OSCE and EMQ.
• OSCE and EMQ: single items only. Paired and equivalent items are not supported.

8.4 Manage Item

Write the item on the Manage Item screen. The example below is a Single Item – Multi Choice item. The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure:

• (1) Item type: the item type and form you selected.
• (2) Item Language: the language of the item, English or Arabic.
• (3) Select Item Type: changes the item type.
• (4) Item Tag: type a tag, for example 2026, and press Enter to add it.

Manage Item, Top

In Stem, enter the scenario or background of the item. To format the text, use the toolbar. To add an image, audio or video, select Manage Media.

مقدمة السؤال

If the course allows it, you can add a table to the stem (see Preset Tools in section 6.6.12). To enlarge the box, select the frame icon at its top right.

In Question, enter the question.

السؤال

In Options, choose the option labels (1) A,B,C or 1,2,3. Enter the answer options (3). Select the button next to the correct answer (2).

Options and Correct Answer

Optional: enter any Comments for the reviewers. To add feedback for students, select Show next to Feedback. Feedback can be shown to students after the exam.

Under Classifications, select CLO, Activity or Objective. Select an entry in the list, for example Introduction to the Course. Select Add. The classification is added to the item. Classify every item carefully: exams select items by these classifications, and the exam blueprint supports 15 levels built from combinations of CLO, Activity, Objective and Educational Domain.

التصنيفات

Optional: enter any Footnote. In Assessment Type, select how the item is used. The list shows only the assessment types allowed for this item type in the course: Summative only, Formative only, or both. To add an extra classification, select the green + under Additional Classification.

أسئلة تجريبية أو تقييمية

To see how the item will look, select Preview. Select Save.

Preview and Save

In the confirmation message, select Yes. The item is saved as a draft and listed under Drafted Items (see section 8.5).

Confirm Save

The word limits shown below the Stem and Question, for example 200 words Allowed, are set in the course Item Structure (see section 6.6.12). To write an item of a different type, select Select Item Type at the top of the screen.

Change the Item Type

8.5 How to Submit Drafted Items

A saved item is a draft. It is listed under Drafted Items at the bottom of the Manage Item screen until you submit it. Reviewers and the item bank receive the item only after you submit it.

How to Check the Status of a Draft

After you save an item, the message Item drafted successfully. appears, and the item is listed under Drafted Items with its status:

• Incomplete: required information is missing, for example the correct answer or the assessment type. To complete the item, select the edit icon in its row. To delete it, select the red ×.
• Ready To Submit: all required information is entered.

Item Drafted

Ready To Submit

How to Submit the Items

1. Select the check box of each item to submit, or the check box in the heading to select all.
2. Select Submit drafted Items.

Select and Submit the Drafted Items

3. In the confirmation message, select Yes.

Confirm Submit

The message Items submitted successfully. appears. The items move from the drafted state to the submitted state, and are no longer listed under Drafted Items.

Items Submitted

The Finished tasks tab of the home screen lists all completed tasks. A task that requires review is listed only after it is reviewed and completed. With direct banking, a task is listed as soon as all the required items are submitted. Each task shows the Ref.No, Type (for example Open-Direct Banking, as set in the course Writing Invitation and Review settings), College, Course, Finished Date and Total Items.

Finished Tasks

8.6 How to Write an OSCE Item

Write an OSCE item for each station of an OSCE exam. An OSCE item describes one station of an Observational Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE). Besides the scenario, it holds separate instructions for the candidate, the examiner (teacher) and the actor who plays the patient, and an evaluation rubric that the OSCE examiner uses to score the candidate.

1. Select Open Item Writing, and select the course (see section 8.3).
2. Select OSCE as the item type.
3. Select Continue.

The Manage Item screen opens with the title Single Item – OSCE.

4. Enter an Item Tag, for example 2026, and an Item Title.

OSCE Item

5. In Stem, enter the clinical scenario, for example A 22-year-old patient presents to the emergency department with shortness of breath, wheezing, and chest tightness.
6. To add an image, audio or video, use Manage Media.

مقدمة السؤال

7. In Candidate Instructions, enter what the candidate must do at the station, for example assess the patient, take a history, perform an examination and explain the management plan.

تعليمات للمُختَبِر

8. In Teacher Instructions, enter the instructions for the examiner: how to run the station, what to observe, and how to score the candidate.

Teacher Instructions

9. In Actor Instructions, enter the instructions for the actor or simulated patient: the symptoms to show and how to answer the candidate’s questions.

Actor Instructions

10. To add the elements the station assesses, select the green + under OSCE Element.

سؤال OSCE

11. Optional: enter any Comments for the reviewers.
12. Under Classifications, select CLO, Activity or Objective, and select an entry, for example CLO: Sample.
13. Select Add.

Comments and Classifications

14. Optional: enter any Footnote.
15. In Assessment Type, select how the item is used, for example Summative.
16. To add an extra classification, select the green + under Additional Classification.

أسئلة تجريبية أو تقييمية

Next, set up the evaluation rubric. The rubric has a row for each evaluation criterion and a column for each level, for example Excellent, Very Good, Good, Fair and Poor.

17. For each level, check the name and enter the Point Value, for example 4 to 0.
18. Under WEIGHTAGE (%), select Auto to share the weightage equally between the criteria, or Manual to enter it yourself.

Evaluation Rubric

19. Select Add Evaluation Criteria, and enter the description of the criterion, for example Communication and Professionalism.
20. In each level column, describe the performance expected for that level.
21. Repeat steps 19 and 20 for each criterion.
22. To add a level, select Add Scale. Use the arrows to reorder the criteria, the red × to delete one, and the link icon to link it.
23. Check that Total Weightage is 100.00%, and then select Save Rubric.

Evaluation Criteria

24. Select Save.

The message Item drafted successfully. appears, and the item is listed under Drafted Items. Its status is Incomplete until all required information is entered.

To change the rubric later, select Add Rubric; to edit the item, select the edit icon in its row.

OSCE Item Drafted

25. When the status is Ready To Submit, select the check box of the item.
26. Select Submit drafted Items.

Submit the OSCE Item

27. In the confirmation message, select Yes.

Confirm Submit

The message Items submitted successfully. appears. The item moves from the drafted state to the submitted state, and is no longer listed under Drafted Items.

OSCE Item Submitted

8.7 Manage Items

Use Manage Items to find the items you have written, check your drafts and bank items, and submit drafts in bulk.

1. On the item writer home screen, select Manage Items. The Manage Items screen opens.

Manage Items Button

The numbers below match the numbered arrows in the figure that follows:

• (1) Filters: Course, Item Id, Item Type, Item Tag and File Tag.
• (2) Advanced Search & Filters: opens more filters.
• (3) Refresh and Search: clear the filters, or show the matching items.
• (4) Tabs: Drafted Items (items not yet submitted) and Bank Items (items in the item bank).
• (5) Select All: selects all the drafted items.
• (6) Submit Selected: submits the selected drafted items.

From the items list you can also view an item and create an equivalent item for a drafted item.

Manage Items

2. To search with more filters, select the Advanced Search & Filters icon. Set the filters described below. Select Search. To clear the filters, select Reset.

Advanced Search & Filters

The advanced filters are:

• CLOs, Objective, Activity, Educational Domain and Item Classification: the classifications of the item.
• Review Type and Assessment Type.
• Difficulty Index, How Many Times Used and Not used since: item statistics.
• Item Component: search the text of the Stem, Question or Options.
• Item Language: English or Arabic.
• Item Structure: Single Items, Paired Items, Equivalent Items or Archived.

8.8 How to Send Items for Review

The Review setting of the course (see section 6.6.12) decides what happens to submitted items:

• Direct Banking: submitted items go straight into the item bank, without a review.
• Technical Review Required: a technical reviewer checks the items for format, language and writing rules before they are added to the item bank.
• Scientific Review Required: the items are checked by a technical reviewer and then by a scientific reviewer, who checks their subject accuracy.

When a review is required, the task stays on the In progress Tasks tab of the item writer home screen until the review is completed. This section follows an item through a scientific review, in this order:

1. The admin sets the review type and assigns the reviewers.
2. The item writer submits the items.
3. The course supervisor forwards the task to the technical reviewer.
4. The technical reviewer reviews the items and returns the task.
5. The course supervisor forwards the task to the scientific reviewer.
6. The scientific reviewer reviews the items and returns the task.
7. The course supervisor checks that the review is complete.

How to Set the Review Type

1. Open the course in the Course Designer.
2. Select Assessment Setting.
3. On the Review tab, select the review type, for example Scientific Review Required.
4. Select Save.

Select the Review Type

The message Updated Successfully. appears.

Review Type Saved

How to Assign the Task Reviewers

1. In the Course Designer, open the Manage Users tab (see section 6.6.16).
2. In the Technical Reviewer row, select Add User.
3. In the Technical Reviewer popup, select the check box of each reviewer.
4. Select OK.

Assign the Technical Reviewer

5. In the Scientific Reviewer row, select Add User, and select the check box of each reviewer.
6. Select OK.

Assign the Scientific Reviewer

How to Submit the Items for Review

1. As item writer, write the items and submit them (see sections 8.4 و 8.5).
2. On the home screen, select the In progress Tasks tab.

The task is listed with the review type in Type, for example Open-Scientific Review. Scroll the table to the right to see Total Items, Items Remaining and Items Drafted.

Task in Progress

Manage Tasks

Admins and course supervisors use Manage Tasks to see the tasks of each user and the review stage of each item.

1. From the main menu, select Manage Authoring > Manage Tasks. As course supervisor, first select the Course Supervisor role (see section 2.5).

Open Manage Tasks as Admin

Open Manage Tasks as Course Supervisor

The Manage Tasks screen opens.

2. In Course, select the course.

Select the Course

The users of the course are listed with their User Name, Role and Number Of Tasks. Use the Open and Task Based check boxes to filter the tasks by writing invitation type, and Collapse All to close all the users. To find a user, enter the name in Search by Item Writer, or select Advance Search. Select a user to show the tasks.

List of Users

Each task shows the Ref No., Type, Item Writer Name, Initiator Name, Course, Invitation Date, Deadline Date and Status: In-progress while the review is not complete, and Completed when it is. The number next to the Ref No. is the number of items in the task. Select a task to show its items.

Tasks of the User

For each item, Pending With shows who must act next, Technical Reviewer and Scientific Reviewer show the reviewers, and Status shows the review stage, for example Ready For Technical Review. Under Actions, the first icon opens the task details, the arrow icon forwards the task to the next reviewer, and the last icon withdraws the task. To see the task details, select the first icon under Actions.

Review Status of the Item

The Task Detail screen shows the Reference No., the Item Writer Name, the Invitation Date and Deadline, and the number of Items Requested, Items Submitted, Items Rejected and Items Accepted. Each item is listed with its Stem, Question, Item Type and Status, for example Submitted. To see the blueprint of the task, select View Blueprint.

Task Detail

How to Forward the Task to the Technical Reviewer

1. In Manage Tasks, open the task (see Follow the Review in Manage Tasks, above).
2. In the item row, select the Forward icon (the blue arrow) under Actions. The Forward To Technical Reviewer popup lists the technical reviewers of the course with their Full Name and Email.
3. To find a reviewer, enter the name in Type Full Name. Select the Forward icon in the row of the reviewer.

Forward To Technical Reviewer

4. In the confirmation message Are you sure you want to Forward this Task to Technical Reviewer?, select Yes.

Confirm Forward

The message Task has been forward successfully! appears. The task is now pending with the technical reviewer.

Task Forwarded

How to Review the Item as Technical Reviewer

The technical reviewer checks each item for format, language and the writing rules of the course.

1. Sign in, and select the Technical Reviewer role (see section 2.5). Open Manage Reviewer Tasks (Technical Reviewer Tasks). The Received Tasks tab lists the tasks sent to you, with their Ref No., Type, College, Item Writer Name, Course and View Blueprint. Select Current Course or Archive Course to show the tasks of current or archived courses.
2. Select the list icon at the start of a task row. The Sub Tasks of the task are shown: Submitted On, Received Date, Submitted Items, Reviewed Items and Actions. Under Actions, select the Task Detail icon (brown).

Manage Reviewer Tasks

The Task Detail screen lists the items of the task with their Status.

3. In the row of the item, select the Review Item icon. The Review Item screen opens. It shows the item as the item writer wrote it: the Stem, Question, Options, Comments, General Feedback, Classifications, Footnote and Assessment Type.
4. Check the item for format, language and the writing rules of the course.

Review Item

The buttons at the top and bottom of the Review Item screen are:

• Modify: change the item before you accept it. The scientific reviewer has Modify and Accept instead.
• Accept: accept the item.
• Reject: reject the item. Rejected items are listed on the Rejected Items tab of the item writer home screen.

5. To accept the item, select Accept.
6. In the confirmation message Are you sure you want to accept the item?, select Yes.

Confirm Accept

The Comments popup opens.

7. Enter your comments for the item, for example Reviewed by Technical Reviewer.
8. Select Save. To accept the item without comments, select Save without Comments.

Review Comments

The message Item reviewed successfully. appears.

Item Reviewed

Back on Task Detail, the Status of the item is Accepted.

9. Repeat steps 5 to 10 for each item of the task.

Item Accepted

How to Return the Task to the Course Supervisor

When all the items of the task are reviewed, the reviewer returns the task, so that the course supervisor can send it to the next stage.

1. On Manage Reviewer Tasks, show the sub tasks of the task.
2. Select the Return to Admin icon (red). The icon is available when Reviewed Items equals Submitted Items.

Return to Admin

3. In the confirmation message Are you sure you want to return task?, select Yes.

Confirm Return

The message Task has been returned successfully. appears. The task is removed from Received Tasks and listed on the Returned Tasks tab.

Task Returned

Returned Tasks

How to Forward the Task to the Scientific Reviewer

1. In Manage Tasks, open the task. Pending With shows the course supervisor, Technical Reviewer shows the reviewer, and Status is Ready for Scientific Review.
2. Select the Forward to Scientific Reviewer icon (the last icon under Actions).

Ready for Scientific Review

3. In the Forward To Scientific Reviewer popup, select the Forward icon in the row of the scientific reviewer.

Forward To Scientific Reviewer

4. In the confirmation message Are you sure you want to Forward this Task to Scientific Reviewer?, select Yes.

Confirm Forward

The message Task has been forward successfully! appears.

Task Forwarded to the Scientific Reviewer

How to Review the Item as Scientific Reviewer

The scientific reviewer checks each item for subject accuracy.

1. Sign in, and select the Scientific Reviewer role.
2. Open Manage Reviewer Tasks (Scientific Reviewer Tasks), and show the sub tasks of the task.
3. Select the Task Detail icon. Return to Admin is not available yet, because no item is reviewed.

Scientific Reviewer Tasks

4. On Task Detail, select the Review Item icon in the row of the item.

Review Item Icon

5. On the Review Item screen, check the item for subject accuracy. Select Modify and Accept, Accept or Reject.

Scientific Review

6. To accept the item, select Accept. In the confirmation message, select Yes.

Confirm Accept

The message Item reviewed successfully. appears.

Item Reviewed by the Scientific Reviewer

7. When all the items are reviewed, go back to Manage Reviewer Tasks. In the sub task row, select the Return to Admin icon. In the confirmation message, select Yes.

Return the Task

The message Task has been returned successfully. appears.

Task Returned by the Scientific Reviewer

How to Check That the Review Is Complete

1. In Manage Tasks, open the task. Technical Reviewer and Scientific Reviewer show both reviewers, and the Status of the task is Completed. The accepted items are added to the item bank, and the task is listed on the Finished tasks tab of the item writer home screen.

Review Completed