Many academy instructors feel uncomfortable teaching report writing. Isn't that a job for English teachers? This PowerPoint has a reassuring answer: There aren't many usage issues, and they're easily dealt with.

1. Teaching Report Writing:
“But I’m Not an English
Teacher!”
Part One
by Jean Reynolds,
Ph.D.

2. I’m Jean Reynolds, an author and
longtime English instructor.

3. I often discuss report writing with
academy instructors.
Here’s something I
hear all the time:
“But I’m not an
English teacher!”

4. Many students have a similar complaint:
“But I wasn’t good
at English when I
was in school!”

5. The good news is that you don’t have to be an
English whiz to write effective reports—or to
be an effective instructor for report writing.

6. The keys to success are…
instruction
practice
accountability

7. Today you’re going to watch three
videos that offer practical strategies for
raising students’ writing levels quickly.

8. First, here are some essential
principles.
1. Students should
practice writing
every day.

9. This is why your lesson plans always
include a journal activity.
Some students
may not have done
much writing in
school.
They need to
develop fluency
and confidence.

10. 2. Everything students write should be
checked twice before it’s graded.

11. It should be checked by the
writer…
(this is why
students must
complete a writing
checklist)

12. …and by a small group of students.
(this is why every
writing assignment
is followed by a
group process)

13. 3. Most writing problems have three
causes:
 Students are in a
hurry
 Students write like
they talk
 Students have some
gaps in English
usage

14. 4. Most usage problems can be
prevented...
…by writing
simple,
straightforward
sentences.

15. If you start most sentences with a
person, place, or thing, you won’t need
sophisticated punctuation.
You can usually
just put a
period at the
end of the
sentence.

16. Here are two versions of the same
information.
Richards started to slide his right hand into
his right front pocket. Upon seeing this
movement, I proceeded to grab his right hand
and told him to stop.
Richards started to slide his right hand into
his right front pocket. I grabbed his right
hand and told him to stop.

17. Which version is easier to write?
Richards started to slide his right hand into
his right front pocket. Upon seeing this
movement, I proceeded to grab his right hand
and told him to stop. COMPLICATED
Richards started to slide his right hand into
his right front pocket. I grabbed his right
hand and told him to stop. BETTER

18. Sometimes students are confused by
what they’ve learned in the past.

19. In fact students sometimes disagree with
me about English usage!
For example, I
require students to
spell a lot as two
words.

20. But students have told me that a past
instructor told them to spell a lot as
one word.

21. And then I’ll get an argument about this
sentence: The chief commended my
partner and me for our quick thinking. ✔

22. “The chief commended my partner and I
for our quick thinking.” X
“The chief commended my partner and
me for our quick thinking.” ✔
Some students say they were told it
should be my partner and I.

23. And then there are quotation marks.
In American
punctuation,
commas and periods
always go inside
quotation marks.
There are no
exceptions, ever.

24. But in every class I’ve taught, there are
always a few students who say they
were taught a different system.
Who’s right, and
who’s wrong?

25. Here’s how I handle it.
I explain that
sometimes students
forget what a
teacher said years
ago…

26. …or they may
have misheard
what the teacher
said…

27. Or the teacher may have
unintentionally passed on some
misinformation.

28. The information in Criminal Justice
Report Writing is based on professional
writing principles.

29. I have a doctorate
in English, and I’ve
published 11
books.

30. Students who continue
to doubt can verify the
correctness of the rules
by checking Internet or
library resources.

31. The Online Writing Lab at Purdue:
https://owl.english.purdue.edu

32. This video is going
to review some
basic punctuation
issues—a kind of
heads-up of
questions that
might arise when
you’re teaching.

33. You can refer to
Criminal Justice
Report Writing for
additional
examples and
practice exercises.

34. First, let’s deal with
commas.

35. You can avoid most comma problems by
starting each sentence with a person,
place, or thing.
Simple,
straightforward
sentences don’t
require fancy
punctuation.

36. If you start a sentence differently, you
may need to deal with commas.
Clarkson told me her husband usually worked
until 10 or 11 PM.
When I questioned Clarkson, she told me her
husband usually worked until 10 or 11 PM.

37. Commas are also necessary if you
change your voice in a sentence.
Your mission, should you choose to accept it,
is to seize the illegal shipment.
Jane’s brother, who has a cocaine habit, has
been stealing from her.

38. What about semicolons? They’re just like
periods, but there’s no capital letter.
You’re making two sentences into one.
I approached the dog. It snarled at me.
I approached the dog; it snarled at me.
There’s no need to use semicolons in a police
report. Just end every sentence with a
period.

39. Our next topic is
quotation marks.
“”

40. First I want to talk about a problem
always comes up when I teach
quotation marks: Students start
arguing!

41. In the US, periods
and commas always
go inside quotation
marks.
You can verify this
yourself by picking
up any book,
magazine, or
newspaper published
in the US.

42. In the United States, periods and
commas always go inside quotation
marks.
When I questioned Phillips about the
argument, he told me it was “a
private matter.”
“It’s just a scratch,” said Benton.

43. But there’s always a student who insists he
was taught to place periods outside
quotation marks.
When this happens, I always ask the student
to do some research and report back to me.
That usually clears up the issue.

44. What about apostrophes? There are
three simple rules:
1. Use
apostrophes only
in contractions
(didn’t, couldn’t)
and “of”
expressions
(Taylor’s badge).

45. Apostrophes don’t mean “more than
one.”
We’re serving hot
dogs, hamburgers,
sodas, and
cupcakes at this
year’s Open
House.

46. This year’s Open House = “Open House
of this year.”
We’re serving hot
dogs, hamburgers,
sodas, and
cupcakes at this
year’s Open
House.

47. Place the apostrophe after the last
letter of the word or name.
Bill Carter
The Carters
Sally Jones
the baby
the babies
a family
the families
Bill Carter’s job
The Carters’ house
Sally Jones’ wallet
the baby’s medicine
the babies’ health
a family’s vacation
the families’ problems

48. The old “before the s if it’s singular, after
the s if it’s plural” rule isn’t reliable.
Bill Carter
The Carters
Sally Jones
the baby
the babies
a family
the families
Bill Carter’s job
The Carters’ house
Sally Jones’ wallet
the baby’s medicine
the babies’ health
a family’s vacation
the families’ problems

49. Here are three words that students will
be required to memorize.
Notice that the apostrophe comes after
the last letter.
men men’s
women women’s
children children’s

50. Criminal Justice Report Writing offers
detailed explanations that students can study,
along with practice exercises.
As students work
step-by-step through
the book, they will
gain confidence and
competence with the
writing skills needed
for effective reports.