Act Like A Journalist
Excerpt from The Police Report Formula: Act Like a Journalist “Your job as a police officer is to report the facts, just like a journalist. Keep your opinions out of reports. A well-written report will allow the reader to form the same opinion you have. For instance, if you and I were working together on […]
Misplaced Modifiers
As police officers, we describe a lot of things! We often used modifiers to describe what we are talking about. A misplaced modifier is a word, phrase, or clause that is improperly separated from the word it describes. Example of a misplaced modifier: “The cops chased the bear in the squad car.” This sentence […]
Run-on sentences
Another error common to a lot of reports, especially police reports, is the run-on sentence. I preach to keep sentences short and sweet. Remember the “one fact per sentence” rule as you read through some of the examples of run-on sentences. If you stick to “one fact per sentence,” you’ll usually avoid run-ons! A run-on […]
Advise vs. advice (and are we using “advise” too much?)
Advise vs. Advice What’s the difference between the two?….And, are we using the words “advise” or “advised” in our reports too much?! Advice is a noun that refers to recommendations or suggestions about what someone should do. Advise is a verb that means to offer advice or recommendations. So, when thinking about police reports, ask […]
How to fix the passive voice
Here’s a good article on active vs. passive voice. I’ll be adding more on active voice because of the difference it makes in your police reports. Strive to write your reports in an active voice and you’ll see an immediate improvement in them.
Great article on Parallelism (strive to write sentences in parallel to make your writing stand out)
https://www.grammarly.com/blog/rhetorical-devices/parallelism/?utm_source=email_share&utm_medium=content
One Fact Per Sentence
Here’s a great and quick read on “One Thought (Fact) Per Sentence.” This is the formula within the Formula. Stick to one fact per sentence when you write your police reports! All of your readers will be thankful. Quote of the Day One Thought Per Sentence May 11, 2021 One maxim that my students find […]
Use of Direct Quotes in Police Reports
Believe it or not, I would recommend that you use direct quotes from people sparingly in your police reports. Any time you put quotes around what someone said, you’re telling the reader this is Exactly what they said. So, if you use quotation marks in your report to directly quote someone, make sure it is […]
A lot vs. Alot
What Is the Difference Between A Lot and Alot? The short answer is – A lot is correct. And Alot is not a word. A lot is like any two-word phrase with the indefinite article (a) followed by a noun (lot). For example, a dog, a bed, and a mojito are similarly constructed phrases, but no one would write adog, abed, and amojito. Unfortunately, spell check may […]
Editing Tip: Root out repetition and needless words
Most drafts contain meandering, repetitious, and clumsy phrasing. Too often, writers repeat ideas by using just slightly different words for the same thing. Politicians say they will care for “each and every” voter. Business executives tell us that “first and foremost,” we have to cut costs. Advertisements offer a “free gift” for opening a bank […]
