Alternatives

Keep alternatives as brief as possible.
Make alternatives similar in form and grammatically consistent with the stem.
Make all alternatives of similar length.
Avoid universals (all or none of the above); use with caution when needed.
Present alternatives in a meaningful order.
Make all alternatives plausible, but not equally so. (Occasional off-the-wall alternatives can lighten the mood, but keep them infrequent.).
Make all alternatives parallel in construction and grammar.
Make all alternatives consistent grammatically with the stem.
Use the number of alternatives needed, not more (there is no reason why every question must have exactly four alternatives; three or five can work, too.).
Limit the number of alternatives to five.
Put numerical answers in numerical order.