BSCC Writing Skills and Grammar for Corrections Reports — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which of the following sentences is written most clearly and correctly for an official incident report?
- Me and Officer Vega responded to the disturbance in housing unit B at approximately 1430 hours.
- Officer Vega and I responded to the disturbance in housing unit B at approximately 1430 hours. (Correct answer)
- The disturbance in housing unit B was responded to by Officer Vega and myself at approximately 1430 hours.
- Officer Vega and me responded to the disturbance in housing unit B at approximately 1430 hours.
Correct answer: Officer Vega and I responded to the disturbance in housing unit B at approximately 1430 hours.
'Officer Vega and I' is correct because 'I' is a subject pronoun used when the noun is performing the action. 'Me' and 'myself' are object pronouns and are incorrect as subjects. Option B also uses active voice, which is preferred in report writing over the passive voice used in option C.
Question 2: Choose the sentence that uses the correct word.
- The inmate's behavior had a negative affect on the housing unit.
- The inmate's behavior had a negative effect on the housing unit. (Correct answer)
- The inmate's behavior effected a negative response in the housing unit.
- The inmate's behavior was effecting other inmates negatively.
Correct answer: The inmate's behavior had a negative effect on the housing unit.
'Effect' is typically used as a noun meaning 'result' or 'impact,' which is correct here — the behavior had a negative effect (result/impact). 'Affect' is typically a verb meaning 'to influence.' While 'effect' can be used as a verb meaning 'to bring about,' that usage is uncommon and the phrasing in option C is awkward.
Question 3: Which sentence contains a subject-verb agreement error?
- The officer and the sergeant were present during the incident.
- Each of the inmates was searched before being transported.
- The group of officers were standing at the gate when the alarm sounded. (Correct answer)
- Neither the warden nor the captain was available for comment.
Correct answer: The group of officers were standing at the gate when the alarm sounded.
'The group' is a singular collective noun and requires the singular verb 'was,' not 'were.' The sentence should read 'The group of officers was standing.' The other sentences are all grammatically correct — 'each' takes singular verbs, and 'neither...nor' pairs a singular subject with a singular verb.
Question 4: Which sentence uses correct punctuation?
- The officer searched the cell found contraband and notified the supervisor.
- The officer searched the cell, found contraband, and notified the supervisor. (Correct answer)
- The officer searched the cell; found contraband; and notified the supervisor.
- The officer searched the cell found contraband, and notified the supervisor.
Correct answer: The officer searched the cell, found contraband, and notified the supervisor.
When three or more items are listed in a series, commas should separate each item, including before the final 'and' (Oxford comma). Option B correctly uses commas after 'cell' and 'contraband.' Option A has no commas, creating a run-on. Option C incorrectly uses semicolons, which separate independent clauses, not items in a simple list.
Question 5: An officer is writing an incident report. Which version best follows the standard of using factual, objective language?
- Inmate Jones was acting crazy and clearly trying to start trouble with the other inmates.
- Inmate Jones appeared agitated and was observed making threatening gestures toward inmates in adjacent bunks. (Correct answer)
- Inmate Jones was being difficult, so I had to intervene before things got worse.
- Inmate Jones had a bad attitude and refused to cooperate with staff like usual.
Correct answer: Inmate Jones appeared agitated and was observed making threatening gestures toward inmates in adjacent bunks.
Effective incident reports use specific, observable, factual descriptions rather than subjective opinions or vague characterizations. Option B describes observable behavior ('making threatening gestures') without editorializing. Options A, C, and D use vague judgments ('acting crazy,' 'being difficult,' 'bad attitude') that are subjective and would not hold up to legal scrutiny.
Question 6: Which of the following is spelled correctly?
- The inmate was placed in adminstrative segregation pending investigation.
- The inmate was placed in administrative segregation pending investigation. (Correct answer)
- The inmate was placed in adminastrative segregation pending investigation.
- The inmate was placed in adminstrative segragation pending investigation.
Correct answer: The inmate was placed in administrative segregation pending investigation.
'Administrative' is spelled a-d-m-i-n-i-s-t-r-a-t-i-v-e, and 'segregation' is spelled s-e-g-r-e-g-a-t-i-o-n. Option B is the only answer with both words spelled correctly. This is a term corrections officers must be able to spell accurately in written reports.
BSCC Writing Skills and Grammar for Corrections Reports
Which of the following sentences is written most clearly and correctly for an official incident report?