PPAER Written Communication Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: An officer must write a use-of-force report. Which element is LEAST important to include?
- The specific actions that prompted force
- The officer's personal opinion of the suspect's character (Correct answer)
- The type and level of force used
- The outcome and injuries sustained
Correct answer: The officer's personal opinion of the suspect's character
Personal opinions about a suspect's character are irrelevant and inappropriate in an official use-of-force report.
Question 2: Which of the following demonstrates correct subject-verb agreement?
- Neither the officers nor the sergeant were present.
- Neither the sergeant nor the officers was present.
- Neither the sergeant nor the officers were present. (Correct answer)
- Neither the officers nor the sergeant was present.
Correct answer: Neither the sergeant nor the officers were present.
When 'neither...nor' joins subjects, the verb agrees with the subject closest to it; 'officers' (plural) requires 'were.'
Question 3: In written communication, 'jargon' refers to:
- Grammatical errors in formal writing
- Technical or specialized language that may be unclear to a general audience (Correct answer)
- Slang used in informal conversation
- Overly long and complex sentences
Correct answer: Technical or specialized language that may be unclear to a general audience
Jargon is specialized terminology associated with a particular field that may confuse readers unfamiliar with that field.
Question 4: An officer needs to write a narrative describing a car chase. Which organizational method is most appropriate?
- Order of importance, starting with the most significant events
- Alphabetical order by street name
- Chronological order from start to finish (Correct answer)
- Thematic grouping by type of action
Correct answer: Chronological order from start to finish
Chronological order is standard for incident narratives because it mirrors how events unfolded, aiding comprehension and legal review.
Question 5: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running toward the alley, the officer spotted the suspect.
- The suspect was spotted running toward the alley by the officer.
- Running toward the alley, the suspect was spotted by the officer. (Correct answer)
- The officer, running toward the alley, spotted the suspect.
Correct answer: Running toward the alley, the suspect was spotted by the officer.
In option C, the participial phrase 'Running toward the alley' incorrectly modifies 'the suspect' rather than the officer who was running.
Question 6: When proofreading a report, an officer discovers the word 'their' was used instead of 'there.' This is an example of:
- A syntactical error
- A homophone error (Correct answer)
- A punctuation error
- A subject-verb disagreement
Correct answer: A homophone error
Homophones are words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings, such as 'their,' 'there,' and 'they're.'
Question 7: An officer writing a supplemental report should primarily:
- Repeat all information from the original report for completeness
- Add new information or correct errors from the original report (Correct answer)
- Replace the original report entirely
- Only include information that contradicts the original report
Correct answer: Add new information or correct errors from the original report
Supplemental reports expand on, update, or correct the original report without duplicating all prior content.
PPAER Written Communication Skills 3
An officer must write a use-of-force report.
Which element is LEAST important to include?