The Substance Abuse Problem Checklist contains three hundred questions across eight categories. Which option correctly states this?

The Substance Abuse Problem Checklist contains three hundred questions across eight categories. Which option correctly states this?

• A. Three hundred questions across eight categories
• B. Three hundred questions across ten categories
• C. Three hundred questions across seven categories
• D. Three hundred questions in eight categories

Answer: (D)

The main idea here is choosing the precise way to describe how items are organized. Saying there are three hundred questions in eight categories communicates that the test is structured with eight distinct categories and all 300 questions are contained within those categories. The preposition in is the standard way to express this containment in catalog-type descriptions. Using across eight categories can imply distribution or spread across the categories, which is a subtler or less exact way to describe the fixed structure of the checklist. The other phrasings either shift the emphasis to distribution or alter the described relationship, which makes them less precise for this context. So, describing it as three hundred questions in eight categories most clearly conveys the intended organization.

The main idea here is choosing the precise way to describe how items are organized. Saying there are three hundred questions in eight categories communicates that the test is structured with eight distinct categories and all 300 questions are contained within those categories. The preposition in is the standard way to express this containment in catalog-type descriptions. Using across eight categories can imply distribution or spread across the categories, which is a subtler or less exact way to describe the fixed structure of the checklist. The other phrasings either shift the emphasis to distribution or alter the described relationship, which makes them less precise for this context. So, describing it as three hundred questions in eight categories most clearly conveys the intended organization.