Should I include extra information in quiz questions? I'm curious about the pros/cons of including extra flavor text in quiz/exam questions.

For example, which would be better?


What is the product of this reaction?
The following molecule is found in a marine plant species, and has shown to inhibit cancer cell growth. One possible reason is due to the following reaction of this molecule. Provide the correct products of the reaction.


I've jumped back and forth between the two options. One on hand, I think it is beneficial to have students learn to parse text to determine important pieces of information. On the other hand, am I primarily interested in their passage reading skills or the content of the course (I realize the answer could be both)?

I also want to consider english language learners in this. Does it make things more equitable for students if there is less text to process through to get to the "actual" question?
It is always a good idea to offer authentic questions or tasks for assessment. So, if this additional information is authentic part of the problem, it is good to include it.  For example, if you would put it in the Introduction section of your paper on the topic of the quiz, you can include it in the quiz.

However, from the reading point of view it makes it harder to process, particularly for language learners. Any unnecessary bits should be left out.

Ideally, you should find the right balance between these two contradictory factors.