UDEE Officer Writing and Grammar 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which sentence is written in the MOST appropriate style for an official police report?
- I saw the suspect run away really fast down the alley.
- The suspect fled rapidly southbound through the alley located behind 400 Main Street. (Correct answer)
- The bad guy ran off down behind the building.
- A person who looked like a criminal ran into the alley.
Correct answer: The suspect fled rapidly southbound through the alley located behind 400 Main Street.
Police reports require formal, precise, objective language with specific directional and locational details.
Official report writing must be formal, factual, specific, and objective. Option B provides a direction (southbound), a specific location (alley behind 400 Main Street), and uses professional vocabulary ('fled rapidly'). Options A ('really fast'), C ('bad guy'), and D ('looked like a criminal') use informal, subjective, or prejudicial language inappropriate for official documentation.
Question 2: Select the sentence with correct subject-verb agreement:
- The officers was informed of the suspect's location.
- Each of the officers were given a briefing.
- The team of investigators has completed the report. (Correct answer)
- Neither the sergeant nor the officers was at the scene.
Correct answer: The team of investigators has completed the report.
'The team' is a singular collective noun acting as the subject; 'has completed' is the correct singular verb form.
Subject-verb agreement rules: 'The team' is a collective noun used as a single unit, requiring the singular verb 'has.' Option A incorrectly uses 'was' with plural 'officers.' Option B incorrectly uses 'were' with 'each' (singular). Option D: with 'neither...nor,' the verb agrees with the closer subject — 'officers' (plural) requires 'were,' not 'was.' Only option C is correct.
Question 3: An officer writes: 'On June 5th, 2026 at approximately 1430 hours Officer Martinez and I responded to a disturbance at the intersection of Oak Street and Vine Avenue.' What is the grammatical error?
- 'Approximately' should be 'approximately at'
- A comma is missing after the date/time introductory phrase (Correct answer)
- Officer Martinez's name should come before 'I'
- There is no error in this sentence
Correct answer: A comma is missing after the date/time introductory phrase
An introductory adverbial phrase ('On June 5th, 2026 at approximately 1430 hours') should be followed by a comma before the main clause.
Standard grammar requires a comma after an introductory adverbial phrase that precedes the main clause. 'On June 5th, 2026 at approximately 1430 hours,' (with comma) separates the time/date context from the main action. Omitting this comma creates a run-on structure. This is a common error in police report writing and is tested on the UDEE writing skills section.
Question 4: Which word correctly completes the sentence: 'The officer's report was _______ by the supervisor before being filed.'
- reviewed (Correct answer)
- reviewing
- review
- reviews
Correct answer: reviewed
'Was reviewed' is the correct passive voice past tense construction for this sentence.
Passive voice construction requires 'was/were + past participle.' The past participle of 'review' is 'reviewed.' 'Was reviewing' would indicate past progressive (action in progress), which doesn't fit 'before being filed.' 'Review' and 'reviews' are not past participles. 'Was reviewed' correctly indicates a completed past action in passive voice.
Question 5: Which is the CORRECT punctuation for the following list in a report? 'The following items were recovered a wallet a cell phone a set of keys and a watch.'
- The following items were recovered: a wallet, a cell phone, a set of keys, and a watch. (Correct answer)
- The following items were recovered; a wallet, a cell phone, a set of keys, and a watch.
- The following items were recovered, a wallet; a cell phone; a set of keys; and a watch.
- The following items were recovered — a wallet, a cell phone, a set of keys and a watch.
Correct answer: The following items were recovered: a wallet, a cell phone, a set of keys, and a watch.
A colon introduces a list after a complete clause, and commas separate the items in the series.
Standard list punctuation: a colon follows a complete introductory clause to introduce a list. Commas separate items in a series, with a serial (Oxford) comma before 'and' for clarity. Option A is correct. A semicolon (option B) separates independent clauses, not introduces lists. Option C incorrectly uses commas and semicolons. Option D (dash) is informal and omits the serial comma.
Question 6: An officer must select the MOST concise and clear version of a sentence for a report:
- At the time of approximately 0800 hours in the morning of the day, the suspect was observed committing the act of trespassing on the property.
- At approximately 0800 hours, the suspect was observed trespassing on the property. (Correct answer)
- The suspect, at 0800 hours in the morning time, did trespass on the aforementioned property.
- During the time of 0800, the suspect engaged in the criminal trespass of the property premises.
Correct answer: At approximately 0800 hours, the suspect was observed trespassing on the property.
Option B eliminates redundancies ('at the time of approximately' → 'at approximately'; 'committing the act of trespassing' → 'trespassing') while retaining all essential information.
Good report writing is concise — it eliminates redundancy without sacrificing accuracy. Option A uses 'at the time of approximately 0800 hours in the morning of the day' (four redundant qualifiers) and 'committing the act of trespassing.' Option B condenses all essential info: time, subject, action, and location. Options C and D use archaic or bureaucratic phrasing. Concise writing improves report clarity and legal utility.
UDEE Officer Writing and Grammar 2
Which sentence is written in the MOST appropriate style for an official police report?