If i get what you're asking correctly, then you want to look at function templates. Templates allow one to write "generic" code, where you don't specify a type while writing the function/class. Only when a user uses your code do the types get put in. One thing about templates however is that if you operate on a variable and do some type of operation that that type doesn't allow, you will run into problems. So make sure you document the function by saying what kind of operations it performs so the user knows to use the right types of variables. Here is a simple example of a template function:

// This function will perform arithmetic operation on the two arguments passed in.
template<typename T>
T add(T val1, T val2)
{
    return val1 + val2;
}

int main(void)
{
    short s1 = 1, s2 = 2;
    int i1 = 4, i2 = 5;
    long l1 = 6, l2 = 7;

    cout << s1 << " + " << s2 << " = " << add(s1, s2) << endl;
    cout << i1 << " + " << i2 << " = " << add(i1, i2) << endl;
    cout << l1 << " + " << l2 << " = " << add(l1, l2) << endl;
}

I didn't compile this code, but it should as long as you include iostream. Also, this example was very simple and didn't even need to be done this way because of how the compiler would've done the casting for you if you just defined a function that took regular integers.

You could also look into function overloading, where you define the same function with different argument types, and depending on the arguments that are passed in, the compiler will call the right function.

NOTE: Function overloading only goes by the arguments, so you cannot overload just by the return type.

Like I said, you still haven't posted a complete program. No where is answers_text defined. Until I can see a full program, I can't mind read or make guesses.

One problem I see is in this function:

void Question::createandwritefile()
{
    int x;
    file.open("/Users/leanne_rutledge/Desktop/MultiplyChoiceQuestions.txt", ios_base::app);
 
    file << question_text << "\n";
    for(x = 0; x <= 4; x++)
      file << answers_text[x] << "\n\n\n";

    file.close();
}

If answers_text is only an array of four elements, then you're looping one extra time.

Where is answers_text declared?

It may have to do with conio.h.