Written Communication Skills Flashcards

An RCMP officer is writing a report about an impaired driver. Which sentence best describes the driver's condition objectively?

Answer: The driver smelled of alcohol, had slurred speech, and failed three roadside sobriety tests.

Specific, observable facts — odour, speech, test results — are more defensible in court than subjective conclusions.

Which of the following is an example of a run-on sentence?

Answer: The suspect fled the officer pursued him down the alley.

A run-on sentence joins two independent clauses without proper punctuation or a coordinating conjunction.

When summarizing a witness's statement in a report, an officer should:

Answer: Paraphrase the statement in the officer's own words and attribute it correctly

Paraphrasing with proper attribution ('The witness stated that...') ensures accuracy while maintaining report readability.

Which transition word would best introduce a contrasting point in a report narrative?

Answer: However

'However' signals a contrast or contradiction between two pieces of information.

The word 'their' is used incorrectly in which sentence?

Answer: Their were two witnesses at the scene.

In option B, 'their' should be 'there' — a locative adverb, not a possessive pronoun.

An officer states in a report: 'The victim was hysterical and overreacting to the situation.' What is the primary problem with this statement?

Answer: It is subjective and uses judgmental language inappropriate for an official report

Words like 'hysterical' and 'overreacting' reflect the officer's judgment, not observable facts.

Which format is most appropriate for documenting multiple separate incidents in a single report submission?

Answer: Number each incident and address each one in a clearly labelled section

Numbered, clearly labelled sections allow readers to distinguish incidents and locate specific information efficiently.