The first question should be an easy one. Its meaning should not only be clear but people should be able to answer it. For example, most people will be able to estimate how many slices of bread they eat per day or how often they eat a breakfast cereal, but may not find it so easy to answer how often they eat beef. Hence, a question about bread or breakfast cereal would be a better first question than one about beef.

The wording used should be simple and with an uncomplicated sentence structure. Questions should be unambiguous. The layout of the paper form is also important. A neat and logically ordered form will help to minimise recording errors.

If the questionnaire is to be self-administered, the language used may need consideration. For those subjects unable to read and write in English, can the questionnaire be made available in other languages?