BSCC Writing Skills and Grammar for Corrections Reports

Question 1

Which of the following sentences is written most clearly and correctly for an official incident report?

Accepted Answer

Officer Vega and I responded to the disturbance in housing unit B at approximately 1430 hours.

Answer

'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.

Accepted Answer

The inmate's behavior had a negative effect on the housing unit.

Answer

'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?

Accepted Answer

The group of officers were standing at the gate when the alarm sounded.

Answer

'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?

Accepted Answer

The officer searched the cell, found contraband, and notified the supervisor.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Inmate Jones appeared agitated and was observed making threatening gestures toward inmates in adjacent bunks.

Answer

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.

BSCC - Board of State and Community Corrections Practice Test

BSCC - Board of State and Community Corrections Practice Test

BSCC Writing Skills and Grammar for Corrections Reports