Officer Writing Flashcards

Which word is misspelled?

Answer: Supercede

'Supersede' is the correct spelling; 'supercede' is a common misspelling.

An officer writes: 'There were less officers on duty than required.' What correction is needed?

Answer: Change 'less' to 'fewer'

'Fewer' is used with countable nouns like 'officers,' while 'less' is used with uncountable quantities.

When writing a narrative description of a suspect's appearance, which detail is LEAST useful?

Answer: Whether the officer found the suspect frightening

The officer's emotional reaction is subjective and not useful for identification; objective physical descriptors are required.

Which sentence is an example of passive voice that should be rewritten in active voice?

Answer: The evidence was collected by the forensic team.

The second sentence is passive ('was collected by') and should be rewritten as 'The forensic team collected the evidence.'

Which of the following correctly uses the word 'affect' versus 'effect'?

Answer: The loud noise affected the witness's ability to hear clearly.

'Affected' is correctly used as a verb meaning 'had an influence on'; 'affect' is usually the verb form.

A report narrative that is 'conclusory' means it:

Answer: States conclusions without supporting factual details

A conclusory report states outcomes or judgments ('the suspect was guilty-looking') without the observable facts that support them.

Which option correctly identifies the subject-verb agreement error?

Answer: 'Each of the officers were required to file a report.'

'Each' is a singular indefinite pronoun, so the verb should be 'was required,' not 'were required.'