Writing Ability Flashcards
7 cards from real POST practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Writing Ability flashcards as text
An officer writes: 'The suspect, who was wearing a red jacket, run from the scene.' What is the grammatical error?
Answer: Subject-verb agreement error
'Run' should be 'ran' because the past tense is required in this context.
Which sentence correctly uses a semicolon?
Answer: The report was complete; it was filed on time.
A semicolon correctly joins two independent clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
In a police report, which word choice is most appropriate?
Answer: The victim exhibited signs of visible fear.
Police reports require formal, precise language free of slang or informal expressions.
Which sentence uses the active voice correctly?
Answer: Officer Jones apprehended the suspect.
Active voice places the subject performing the action, making reports clearer and more direct.
An officer must document a witness's exact words. Which format is correct?
Answer: The witness stated, 'I saw the man leave through the back door.'
Direct quotes must be placed in quotation marks and attributed clearly to preserve evidentiary accuracy.
Which of the following best demonstrates concise report writing?
Answer: At 2200 hrs, I observed a vehicle traveling at excessive speed.
Concise writing eliminates redundancy and unnecessary phrases while retaining all essential facts.
Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
Answer: Running from the scene, the suspect was tackled by the officer.
In this sentence, 'running from the scene' incorrectly modifies 'the officer' rather than 'the suspect.'