This exam video tutorial explains what’s involved in the report writing component of the Victoria Police Entrance Examination.
Victoria Police Entrance Exam – Report writing transcript
Hi, my name is Lee Kindler and I’m a literacy educator.
This video will explain what’s involved in the Online Writing Assessment for the Victoria Police Entrance Exam and provide practical advice to help you complete it successfully.
The Online Writing Assessment asks you to write a report on a specific topic. You’ll be given a set of source materials that contain information about the topic. These may include written text, graphs, tables, or images.
Your task is to use the information provided to write a clear, well-structured report. You’ll have 35 minutes to complete the assessment online, and your report should be between 300 and 350 words in length.
To do well in this task, it’s important to write clearly so that any reader can understand your report. Don’t assume that the reader has any specialist knowledge.
Organise your report so that it follows a logical order, with well-connected paragraphs.
Use the information provided in the source material to support your points. You may need to select what’s most relevant, re-organise the information, or combine ideas from different sources.
Finally, use language that suits a formal report, and make sure your spelling, punctuation, and grammar are accurate.
Reports follow a clear and logical structure, with three main parts: an introduction, a body, and a conclusion.
- The introduction sets the scene for the reader. Think of it as a short overview that outlines what the report will cover.
- The body contains your main information and analysis. This is where you explain and discuss the key points using evidence from the source material.
- The conclusion brings everything together. It summarises the main points and restates the overall finding or outcome.
When writing your report, always keep in mind who you are writing for and why. In policing this could be a senior officer, examiner or legal professional. In this case, the audience is the marker of your writing assessment.
The purpose of a report is to inform, not to persuade or express personal opinions. Your job is to present accurate information, supported by evidence from the source material, so the reader can understand the situation and make decisions based on facts.
Reports use a formal tone. This means avoiding slang, casual expressions, and personal opinion.
- For example, a formal tone would be: ‘Collisions involving e-bikes have increased significantly in the past year.’
- An informal tone would be: ‘E-bike crashes have really gone up heaps lately.’
Reports use objective and neutral language. Avoid expressing opinions like ‘I think’ or ‘I feel’. Instead use information from the source material.
- An example of objective language is ‘Data shows an 82% increase in incidents from 2023 to 2024.’
- An example of an opinion is ‘It seems like e-bikes are getting out of control.’ Statements like this should be avoided.
Reports are written in the third person. This means using words like ‘he,’ ‘she,’ ‘they,’ or referring to specific people, groups, or ideas – for example, ‘riders,’ ‘injuries,’ or ‘crashes.’ Avoid using ‘I’ or ‘we’ in your report.
Reports are generally written in the present tense, unless you are describing something that has already happened. When relevant, you should use technical vocabulary that is specific to the topic. This makes the report precise and professional.
Here are some examples of technical language that are used in a report about e-bike usage and safety.
E-bike technical language:
- pedal-assist
- throttle assist
- tapers off
- ICU admissions
- multi-trauma
- mandatory helmet use and compliance.
Now that you know about the structure and language features used in a report, let’s look at an example question and answer and how you can go about writing the report.
In this example, you are asked to write a report about e-bike use and injuries and how the law can improve safety. You need to use the information in three sources to write your report.
Before you start writing, take a few minutes to plan. You have 35 minutes in total, so it’s important to manage your time carefully.
We suggest spending:
- 5 minutes reading the sources
- 5 minutes writing your plan
- 20 minutes writing your report
- And 5 minutes revising and proofreading before submitting.
There will be three sources containing the information you need.
As you read, look for the main ideas and key facts rather than focusing on every detail. Identify statistics, examples, and statements that you can use to support your report.
Now, pause the video as each source appears and carefully read all three sources.
Make a simple plan before you start writing. You can use short dot points or subheadings to outline what you’ll include in each paragraph. Full sentences aren’t necessary at this stage.
Keep in mind that you might need to combine or rearrange information from the sources to make your report flow logically.
Here is an example of a plan using information from the three sources.
The writer has used subheadings and short dot points to outline the content of their report. They have followed the structure of a report with an introduction, body and conclusion.
The introduction should do three things:
- identify the topic or issue you’re reporting on
- briefly explain why it’s important
- give an overview of what the report will cover.
Here is an example introduction.
Now we can move to the body of the report which contains the main information and analysis. Aim for three or four paragraphs.
Each paragraph should:
- focus on one clear idea or theme, supported by evidence from the source material
- use subheadings to organise your paragraphs.
Start each paragraph with a topic sentence that tells the reader what it’s about. Then, include facts, figures, quotes, or examples from the source material.
You may need to combine information from more than one source to explain the point clearly.
We can use the same technique for writing the information for the next subheading, e-bike regulations. We start with a topic sentence and then use evidence from the sources to support the statement.
The last part of the report is the conclusion.
It should:
- summarise your key points and
- restate the overall finding or main idea.
Avoid introducing any new information in the conclusion. Here’s an example of a conclusion.
Before you submit your report, make sure you allow a few minutes to revise and proofread.
Check that your ideas are clear and flow logically. See if any sentences could be shorter or simpler.
Review your facts, figures, and terminology for accuracy, and carefully check your spelling, punctuation, and grammar.
I hope this video has helped you understand what’s required in the Online Writing Assessment. Take your time, plan carefully, and remember to proofread your work before submitting.
Good luck with your exam.
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