California POST Test Identifying Writing Errors 5

Question 1

Which sentence contains a spelling error common in police reports?
A) The officer persued the suspect on foot for two blocks.
B) The officer pursued the suspect on foot for two blocks.
C) The officer observed the suspect flee on foot.
D) The suspect evaded the officer near the intersection.

Accepted Answer

The officer persued the suspect on foot for two blocks.

Answer

'Persued' is a misspelling; the correct spelling is 'pursued,' meaning followed in order to catch.

Question 2

Identify the error in the following sentence: 'The evidence, including the knife and the gloves, were submitted to the lab.'
A) 'evidence' should be plural.
B) The verb should be 'was' not 'were.'
C) A comma is not needed after 'evidence.'
D) 'submitted' should be 'submitting.'

Accepted Answer

The verb should be 'was' not 'were.'

Answer

The subject is 'evidence' (singular), not 'knife and gloves'; the intervening phrase does not change the subject, so the verb must be 'was.'

Question 3

Which sentence incorrectly uses a hyphen?
A) The well-known suspect was apprehended at the border.
B) The officer conducted a follow-up interview.
C) The suspect was well known in the neighborhood.
D) The officer delivered a well-written, clearly-organized report.

Accepted Answer

The officer delivered a well-written, clearly-organized report.

Answer

'Clearly-organized' should not be hyphenated because 'clearly' is an adverb ending in '-ly' modifying 'organized'; adverb + adjective compounds with '-ly' adverbs are not hyphenated.

Question 4

Choose the option with the correct pronoun-antecedent agreement:
A) Each officer must submit their timesheet by Friday.
B) Each officer must submit his or her timesheet by Friday.
C) Each officer must submit its timesheet by Friday.
D) Each officers must submit their timesheet by Friday.

Accepted Answer

Each officer must submit his or her timesheet by Friday.

Answer

'Each' is singular, requiring singular pronouns; 'his or her' is the formally correct singular agreement in standard written English.

Question 5

Which sentence uses 'who' vs. 'whom' correctly?
A) The suspect who the officer arrested had a prior record.
B) The suspect whom fled the scene was apprehended later.
C) Whom called the dispatcher at 2 a.m.?
D) The officer who filed the report was commended.

Accepted Answer

The officer who filed the report was commended.

Answer

In option D, 'who' correctly functions as the subject of the relative clause 'who filed the report.'

California POST Test Practice Test

California POST Test Practice Test

California POST Test Identifying Writing Errors 5