This short quiz will help you sharpen your writing skills. Answers are posted below.

Part I  Correct the mistakes in the sentence below. A sentence may have more than one mistake – or none.

1.  An announcement from the mayor is imminent.

2.  I questioned Jane Appleby, a Registered Nurse, about policies for protecting patient’s private property.

Part II  Read the sentence pairs below. Which is more appropriate for a police report – a or b?

a)  I questioned Joe Faulkner, the office manager. He told me that Carol Palmer had a key to the office safe.
b)  Upon arrival, I questioned Joe Faulkner, the office manager. I asked him whether Carol Palmer had a key to the office safe. Faulkner answered in the affirmative.

a)  R/O interviewed Suspect 1 in reference to her whereabouts between 1 and 3 PM the previous afternoon. Suspect 1’s answers were evasive.
b)  I asked Becky Luce where she had been yesterday between 1 and 3 PM. She started talking about problems she was having with her mother-in-law. I asked the same question again. She told me that I was too nosy, and I should try to curb my curiosity. When I asked the same question a third time, she said that she couldn’t keep track of the time because she forgot to charge her phone.

ANSWERS

Part I  

1.  An announcement from the mayor is imminent.  CORRECT [Imminent means “happening any minute.” There’s a similar word – eminent – that means “famous.”]

2.  I questioned Jane Appleby, a registered nurse, about policies for protecting patients’ private property. (Lower-case job titles like registered nurse. The policies protect private property of patients: put the apostrophe after the s (patients’ private property).

Part II 

a)  I questioned Joe Faulkner, the office manager. He told me that Carol Palmer had a key to the office safe.  CORRECT
b)  Upon arrival, I questioned Joe Faulkner, the office manager. I asked him whether Carol Palmer had a key to the office safe. Faulkner answered in the affirmative. [Too wordy! Upon arrival is unnecessary: it’s obvious that you were there talking to him. You don’t need to write out your question. Focus on what Palmer told you.]

a)  R/O interviewed Suspect 1 in reference to her whereabouts between 1 and 3 PM the previous afternoon. Suspect 1’s answers were evasive.  [Use I, not R/O. Use the suspect’s name. Evasive is vague. Maybe Luce was having a hard time finding the words she needed, for example. Be specific about what Luce was doing.]
b)  I asked Becky Luce where she had been yesterday between 1 and 3 PM. She started talking about problems she was having with her mother-in-law. I asked the same question again. She told me that I was too nosy, and I should try to curb my curiosity. When I asked the same question a third time, she said that she couldn’t keep track of the time because she forgot to charge her phone.  CORRECT [Yes, this is wordy! But you need to describe exactly what Becky Luce was doing. “Evasive” is an opinion. You need facts – the words and actions that indicate she was evading your questions.]