Writing Ability Flashcards

Which sentence contains a misplaced modifier?

Answer: I only saw the suspect leave through the front door.

'Only' should be placed immediately before the word it modifies; 'I saw only the suspect leave' is clearer.

An officer must choose between 'ensure,' 'insure,' and 'assure.' Which sentence uses the correct word?

Answer: The sergeant assured the victim that help was coming.

'Assure' means to give confidence to a person; 'ensure' means to make certain; 'insure' relates to financial coverage.

Which of the following sentences uses correct capitalization?

Answer: Officer Smith responded to the call on Tuesday.

Proper nouns (names, specific days) must be capitalized; common nouns and lowercase words must not be.

A report states: 'The witness said the suspect was tall, had dark hair and, wore a blue hoodie.' What is the punctuation error?

Answer: Extra comma before 'wore'

There should be no comma between 'and' and 'wore' when listing items in a simple series.

Which sentence is written in the most appropriate tone for an official police report?

Answer: Subject fled on foot upon observing this officer.

Reports require formal, third-person or professional first-person language free of slang.

Which sentence correctly uses a colon?

Answer: The evidence included three items: a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone.

A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause to introduce a list.

Which revision improves the clarity of: 'The reason why the report was late is because the officer was at the hospital'?

Answer: The report was late because the officer was at the hospital.

'The reason is because' is redundant — replacing the full phrase with 'because' alone is cleaner and correct.