RCMP Written Communication Skills 3

Question 1

Which punctuation mark is used to join two independent clauses that are closely related in a police report?

Accepted Answer

Semicolon

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Incorrect verb tense — 'seen' should be 'saw'

Answer

'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?

Accepted Answer

The suspect's jacket was found near the door.

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Witness A's account contradicted the account provided by Witness B.

Answer

Factual, neutral language documents the discrepancy without assigning blame or credibility.

Question 5

Which sentence contains a dangling modifier?

Accepted Answer

Running down the alley, the suspect disappeared from view.

Answer

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.'

RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Practice Test

RCMP - Royal Canadian Mounted Police Practice Test

RCMP Written Communication Skills 3