FBI FBI Written Communication and Report Writing 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary written communication tool FBI agents use to document investigative activity and report information to supervisors?
- Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
- FD-302 (Memorandum of Interview) (Correct answer)
- Form SF-86
- Electronic Communication (EC)
Correct answer: FD-302 (Memorandum of Interview)
The FD-302 is the standard FBI form used to document interviews and witness statements, capturing who said what, when, and where the interview occurred.
Question 2: What is an FBI 'Electronic Communication' (EC) used for?
- Sending encrypted emails to field offices
- Internally documenting and transmitting investigative information, leads, and administrative matters within the FBI (Correct answer)
- Communicating with other federal agencies securely
- Filing charges electronically with the U.S. Attorney's Office
Correct answer: Internally documenting and transmitting investigative information, leads, and administrative matters within the FBI
An EC is the standard internal FBI document used to communicate information, leads, requests, and case updates between agents, squads, and divisions within the Bureau.
Question 3: When writing an FD-302, FBI agents must complete the document within how many days of the interview?
- 24 hours
- 5 business days (Correct answer)
- 10 calendar days
- 30 days
Correct answer: 5 business days
FBI policy requires FD-302s to be completed within 5 business days of the interview, though agents strive to complete them as soon as possible while memory is fresh.
Question 4: What writing standard is most important for FBI investigative reports submitted to the U.S. Attorney's Office?
- Creative and persuasive writing
- Clear, factual, objective, and jargon-free prose (Correct answer)
- Legal analysis and statutory citations
- Summary narratives without direct quotes
Correct answer: Clear, factual, objective, and jargon-free prose
FBI reports destined for prosecutors must be clear, factual, objective, and free of law enforcement jargon to be useful in court proceedings and understandable to jurors.
Question 5: What is the FBI's standard for writing witness interview summaries?
- Verbatim transcripts of all statements
- Third-person narrative summary of what the witness said, attributed to the agent who conducted the interview (Correct answer)
- First-person account from the witness's perspective
- Question-and-answer format with exact quotes only
Correct answer: Third-person narrative summary of what the witness said, attributed to the agent who conducted the interview
FD-302s are written as third-person narrative summaries, documenting what was said without being verbatim transcripts, attributed to the interviewing agent.
Question 6: In FBI report writing, what should an agent do if a witness statement conflicts with other known evidence?
- Omit the conflicting statement from the report
- Note the discrepancy in the report without editorializing (Correct answer)
- Write two separate reports — one for each version
- Mark the report as unverified and file separately
Correct answer: Note the discrepancy in the report without editorializing
Agents must accurately document all statements, including those that conflict with other evidence, noting the discrepancy objectively without editorializing or suppressing information.
FBI FBI Written Communication and Report Writing 1
What is the primary written communication tool FBI agents use to document investigative activity and report information to supervisors?