Watching game shows can be a fun way to relax. Do you or your family like to watch them? One of the very popular game shows is a quiz show called Jeopardy. The show features three people answering all kinds of questions about topics like sports, history and languages. Have you ever thought about the people who write those questions? Game show researchers help to provide the material to keep shows like Jeopardy running, educating and entertaining people.

Some game shows involve a lot of action and audience participation, but Jeopardy is different. It involves three people at a time answering questions read out by the host, Alex Trebek. The show has gone through several versions with different rules and styles.

Each show features three basic sections: jeopardy, double jeopardy, and final jeopardy. The first two sections include six different topics or categories with five clues in each one, which any contestant can answer. Final jeopardy involves one category, and all of the contestants must try to answer that one. Questions can come from almost any field that people might know, including history, language, science or mathematics.

When people watch the show, they might not know how much work goes into research for each episode. A whole team of people spend hours every day looking for information to use on the show. Michele Silverman Loud is one of those people. She graduated from Tufts University in the United States and hoped to become a journalist.

When Michele was unable to find work in that field, she applied for work as a researcher for Jeopardy. She enjoyed the work and later moved into being a clue writer for the show, using the information from the research team. Since the show is on television five days a week, she was never out of work.

Both the researcher and writer jobs require a certain amount of knowledge but not any particular education. Most people in this field have at least a bachelor’s degree. However, the ability to find good information and write clearly is more important. Finding good sources of information is the first step. If the information is wrong, the contestants and the audience will be unhappy. Clear writing is also essential to avoid confusing the players. Researchers and writers have to know how to write something that is easy to understand

Can you imagine working on a fun game show for a living? You can do it! Dream big.