RCMP Written Communication Skills 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which punctuation mark is used to join two independent clauses that are closely related in a police report?
- Comma
- Semicolon (Correct answer)
- Colon
- Dash
Correct answer: Semicolon
A semicolon correctly joins two independent but related clauses without a coordinating conjunction.
Question 2: In the sentence 'The officer seen the suspect flee the building,' what error is present?
- Spelling error
- Incorrect verb tense — 'seen' should be 'saw' (Correct answer)
- Missing punctuation
- Run-on sentence
Correct answer: Incorrect verb tense — 'seen' should be 'saw'
'Saw' is the simple past tense; 'seen' requires a helping verb such as 'had seen.'
Question 3: Which of the following correctly uses a possessive apostrophe?
- The suspects jacket was found near the door.
- The suspects' jacket was found near the door.
- The suspect's jacket was found near the door. (Correct answer)
- The suspects jacket's was found near the door.
Correct answer: The suspect's jacket was found near the door.
A singular possessive is formed by adding apostrophe-s to the noun ('suspect's').
Question 4: An officer needs to document that two witnesses gave conflicting accounts. Which phrasing is most appropriate for a report?
- Witness A was clearly lying about the events.
- Witness A's account contradicted the account provided by Witness B. (Correct answer)
- Witness B didn't know what he was talking about.
- Both witnesses gave statements, and one of them was wrong.
Correct answer: Witness A's account contradicted the account provided by Witness B.
Factual, neutral language documents the discrepancy without assigning blame or credibility.
Question 5: Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?
- Running down the alley, the officer lost sight of the suspect.
- Running down the alley, the suspect disappeared from view. (Correct answer)
- The suspect, running down the alley, disappeared from view.
- The officer ran down the alley and lost sight of the suspect.
Correct answer: Running down the alley, the suspect disappeared from view.
In option B, 'running down the alley' implies the suspect was running, which is logical and correct — actually option A dangles: the officer lost sight while running, which is logical. Let me re-examine: Option B says 'Running down the alley, the suspect disappeared' — the suspect is the subject, so this is correct. The dangling modifier would be in option A where 'running' modifies 'the officer' not 'the suspect.'
Question 6: What does 'plain language' mean in the context of police report writing?
- Using technical jargon familiar to law enforcement professionals
- Writing clearly so the intended audience can understand the message on first reading (Correct answer)
- Avoiding all descriptive language to keep reports brief
- Using only short sentences of fewer than ten words
Correct answer: Writing clearly so the intended audience can understand the message on first reading
Plain language prioritizes clarity and comprehension for the reader, regardless of their familiarity with legal terminology.
Question 7: Which of the following correctly punctuates a list within a police report sentence?
- The officer recovered: a wallet, a knife and a cell phone.
- The officer recovered a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone. (Correct answer)
- The officer recovered a wallet; a knife; and a cell phone.
- The officer recovered a wallet a knife and a cell phone.
Correct answer: The officer recovered a wallet, a knife, and a cell phone.
Commas separate items in a series, and the Oxford comma before 'and' prevents ambiguity.
RCMP Written Communication Skills 3
Which punctuation mark is used to join two independent clauses that are closely related in a police report?