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Technical English in a Nutshell
Criminology (Bulacan State University)
Studocu is not sponsored or endorsed by any college or university
Technical English in a Nutshell
Criminology (Bulacan State University)
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2. Reviewer in
TECHNICALREPORT WRITING
---------------------------- oOo -------------------------
INTRODUCTION
Like any other writings, ITRW (Investigative
Technical Report Writing) is a means of conveying
idea(s) or information from the writer (author) to
the reader(s). Public Safety Offices (such as PNP,
BFP and BJMP) adopted a system of written
communication that is easy to comprehend and
understand.
Report writing includes but not limited to
the preparation of investigation report,
memorandum, letters, office orders or any form of
written communication, either in the plain or coded
languages. It is the medium through which the
communicator expresses his/her ideas. Investigative
Report Writing is most widely used in the uniformed
bureaus of the Department of the Interior and Local
Government, such as the Philippine National Police,
the Bureau of Fire Protection, the Bureau of Jail
Management and Penology and the Philippine Public
Safety College.
Written Reports serve as the mirror of an
office because papers speak well of the
accomplishments of said office. Written documents
sent out or filed in the office be framed to accurately
depict the actual situation or scenario. They must be
written briefly avoiding phrases that does not add
meaning in the report. They must be in a manner
that could be easily understood by the readers and
with direct emphasis with the idea being presented.
Writing a Police Report (usually referred to
communications used in Public Safety Offices), the
officer making the communication must have
knowledge in grammar, investigation and law. These
are basic principles that one must have for the
report to become functional.
CONCEPT
The concept of the Investigative Report
Writing is to establish a language that could be
adopted to reach the levels of the formal and the
informal dictions. Formal diction is the language of
the scholars, intellectuals, poets, doctorals and even
politicians. This includes the use of vocabularies that
have deep meanings, high-level phrases or words
and/or use of technical terms. On the other hand,
informal diction is the fashionable, colloquial, and/or
disrespectful informality use of slang and jargon.
What is writing?Writing is the process of defining
what we mean to say accurately and without
ambiguity. The Five (5) W’s in Writing:
1. Who
2. What
3. Why
4. Where
5. When
What is Report? A report is designed to fulfill a need
to tell and need to know by communicating a set of
ideas from a writer’s mind to a reader’s mind.
What is Police Report? Police Report is a
chronological or step by step account of an incident
that transpired at a particular place and time
CHARACTERISTICS OF POLICE REPORT
Clarity
Accuracy
Brevity
Specificity
A. CLARITY - is the comprehensibility of the idea.
The writer must consider that the reader does
not have enough time to look for the meaning
of the words or phrases he used in the
communication. The writer has an obligation to
service his reader by letting him easily
understand what he wanted to convey.
Rules to observe in Clarity:
1. Avoid impressive expressions–
The use of “big words”, “bombastic”,
“highbrow”, “gobbledygook”, and
“euphemistic” words should be avoided in the
correspondence.
Compare the following BIG WORDS with their
respective SIMPLE counterparts:
BIG WORDS SIMPLE
Magnitude size
Maximize develop fully
Accumulate gather
Acquaint tell
Approximate about
Correlate match
Inadvertency mistake
Liquidate pay
Promulgate issue
Terminate end
Remuneration pay
Modification change
Commence begin
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3. 2. Avoid unwitting language transfer –
Clarity is understanding the idea to be expressed
and conveying it through the level that could
easily be understood. In some cases, trying to
know what to say, some writers try to substitute
literally local dialect into English language.
Unconsciously, his written communication
becomes literally deviated from the English
rules, hence resulting to uncertainty and losing
direction in the process.
Example:
WRONG: In school, his grades were barely
sufficient.
CORRECT: In school, his grades were average.
3. Avoid illiteracy–
This refers to the wrong use of English words.
Unaware writers sometimes mistake
“advise”from “advice”. The first is a verb and
the second is a noun. The use of
“there”and“their”,the first refers to a place and
the second is a possessive pronoun.
The indefinite article “a” is used with words
beginning with sounded “h” like “ aholy day ” ,
“ a house ” and “u” pronounced as letter “y”
such as “a union” , “a university” ; and “an” to
be used before silent “h” like “an honor” ,“an
honest” and in “u” being pronounced as
“uh”.“A” is generally used for words beginning
with consonants and “an” is for words
beginning with vowels.
COMMON USAGE PROBLEMS
AFFECT and EFFECT
Guideline. Use affect (a VERB) when
expressing the action that means “ to influence ” or
“ have an impact upon ” . Don’t confuse it with
either the NOUN form of effect, which means “
result ” , or with the VERB form of effect, which
means to “ produce a result ” .
AMONG and BETWEEN
Guideline . Use between when you are
drawing a connection involving only two persons or
things. Use among when three or more persons or
things are involved.
CAN and MAY
Guideline. Use can when you mean the
ability to do something. Use may when you are
seeking permission or using the word as a synonym
for might.
GOOD and WELL
Guideline. Use good when the sentence calls
for an ADJECTIVE (especially after the linking verb
feel). Use well when the sentence calls for an
ADVERB, but with one key exception: when you are
describing the state of someone’s health.
FAMOUS and INFAMOUS
Guideline. Use famous to describe anybody
who has achieved wide renown. Use infamous to
describe famous people with notorious reputations.
ALL TOGETHER and ALTOGETHER
Guideline. Use altogether when you mean
“ entirely ” or “ all told ” . Use all together when you
mean “ assembled ” or “ all in a group ” .
BRING and TAKE
Guideline. Use bring when the act of
carrying or escorting is directed toward the speaker
or to a place normally identified with the speaker.
Use take when the act of carrying is moving away
from the speaker.
i. e. and e. g.
Guideline. Use i.e. [(id est)that is or that is
to say] when the writer cites the related ideas to the
one discussed in the sentence. Use e.g. [( exempli
gratia)for example] when the writer gives models of
the idea or topic discussed.
B. ACCURACY - use of words for a particular
purpose. Choose the words exactly or are suited
for your idea and circumstance. Let your readers
or listeners feel and experience what you are
trying convey or what you are trying to express.
When you are referring to an act, which is a
violation to the Revised Penal Code, and the act
or omission is serious, it is a “crime”. When it is
a violation or breach of Special Laws then you
call the same action an “offense” when you
seem to judge it less seriously. When you want
the readers appreciate it as against the teaching
of the church or religion, then it is referred to as
“sin” and “misdemeanor” if it is a violation of an
ordinance. When you are referring to behavior,
which degrades or corrupts the person involved
and it becomes habitual, you label it as “vice”.
When reporting an accident “ the speeding
ten-wheeler truck run-over the man”, the writer
must not mistake the context as “the man run-
over the speeding ten-wheeler truck”.5
C. BREVITY- is the conciseness of the
communication. Readers tire of wading through
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4. a stream of verbiage in search for the nuggets of
sense. Avoid padded phrases. Outright
redundancy duplicates words that exactly the
same.
Take note of the following sentences:
1. This common misconception is completely
wrong.”
(Better is: This is a common misconception.)
2. “Another aspect that needs to be
considered is the civilian relations angle.”
(Better is: We should also consider the
civilian relations angle.)
Avoid redundancy:
Brevity or conciseness means saying much
in a fewer words. Notice the following wordy
expressions changed to shorter interpretations:
Each and every one protest against
Completely eliminated qualified expert
Controversial issue razed to the ground
Definite decisions reason why
Future plans strangled to death
General consensus totally destroyed Joined
together true facts
New recruit genuine original
Past experience whether or not
Brevity or conciseness means saying much in a
fewer words. Notice the following wordy
expressions changed to shorter interpretations:
WORDY BRIEF
At a point of time when when
At this present writing now
Due to the fact that because
In compliance with your request as requested
In a number of cases some cases
In the event that if
In the majority of circumstances usually
In this time and age today
In view of the fact that as
On the part of for
In the vicinity of near
D. SPECIFICITY - When we write about concrete
examples or situations that bring ideas to life,
we need specific words that bring the reader
closer to firsthand experience. Words that
remain too general keep people and events
colorless and anonymous.8
Observe the following sentences:
In describing persons, give description on how
he/she look like. Describing things. Describing
Places
To help you determine the specific word or
expression to be used in your sentence, observe
and follow the “abstract ladder” Ms. Hurboda
in her book-Police, Fire. Jail Correspondence
REPORT WRITING
Documenting an activity, results of
undertakings, ideas and related matters are done in
writings. Most agencies require the so-called “black
and white” communications rather than verbal. In
the Public Safety Offices, they follow certain forms
of communications which varies according to its
purpose, such as civilian letter, memorandum, office
order, special order, investigation report, etc…
SPOT REPORT – is one done after an important
incident took place in a certain area at a particular
date and time.
POLICE REPORT – is the chronological or step-by-
step narration of incident that took place at a given
time and place.
INVESTIGATION REPORT – is an arrangement of the
materials, which follows a certain pattern to make
the report easy to read and understand. It is the
detailed account or narration of the events and
circumstances after an investigation of a particular
case is completed.
CIVILIAN LETTER – is the basic of all types of
communication. It is used when communicating with
civilian officials, offices and/or private individuals or
companies.
MEMORANDUM – maybe of general application
requiring compliance by, or information of a majority
or all of the Officers and personnel of an
organization. They may also be of limited
application, such as those directed to, or requiring
performance of an action by an individual or group
of individuals within a particular unit, section,
directorate, service, region, province or station.
OFFICE ORDER – are issuances for the regulation of
administrative matters in the General Headquarters,
Regional, Provincial and Municipal Offices. Purely
internal. Office orders contain administrative
instructions, which are regulatory in nature,
mandatory in character, and requiring personal
conduct and other related matters.
COMPLAINT – is a sworn written statement charging
a person with an offense, subscribed by the
offended party, any peace officer or other public
officer charged with the law violated.
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5. INFORMATION – is an accusation in writing charging
a person with an offense subscribed by the fiscal (or
prosecutor) and filed with the court.
CITATIONS – It provides the information necessary
for the reader to locate the reference (e.g. specific
statute, court opinion, law review, encyclopedia, and
others), thus allowing the reader to check the
content of the reference. Citations are usually
required in cases of Office Legal Memorandum,
Court Briefs, and Scholarly Writings such as Law
Review, Journals, Term Paper, Thesis, etc.
Short Citation
Id as short citation. It means “ the same ”
and is used in the same way as “ ibid ” . Use id, not
ibid, in legal writing. Id is italized or underlined.
When it is underlined, the period is also underlined
(id.). Id is used in court documents and legal
memorandums when you are referring the reader to
the immediately preceding citation. In other words,
you must be referring to the same citation as the last
citation presented
“Discount bond. A bond sold for less than
face or maturity value. No interest is paid annually,
but all interest accrues to the maturity date when is
paid.”1
“Discount period. The period during which
the discount stated in an invoice can be claimed.”2
Books (full citation)
Volume number (if any)
Full name of author (or editor when name is
given)
Full name of publication as it appear on the
title page, in italics or underlined
Number of the section or page you are
referring
Editor when there is an editor, edition or
series, publisher
Year of publication
Internet citations:
As technology develops, more research is
conducted using electronic sources, like the internet
services. Information taken from the internet must
also be cited to acknowledge its source.
Example:
http://www.friendster.com
http://www.englishgrammar.edu.com
SUMMARY
The reputation of an office is partly shaped
with the style communications (especially, written)
sent out to other agencies or clientele. An accurate
report develops trust and confidence; a clear and
brief one makes the reader enthusiastic and a
complete report gains respect.
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