What should you do before writing a report?

• A. Plan ahead and organize.
• B. Immediately start writing and revise later.
• C. Ask a supervisor to write it.
• D. Gather unrelated information.

Answer: (A)

Before writing a report, plan ahead and organize the information you will include. This step helps you define the report’s purpose, identify the audience, and decide how the facts should be arranged so the narrative is clear and logically flows. In practice, that means outlining the incident timeline, pinpointing essential details (who, what, when, where, why, how), and listing sources of information such as statements, logs, photos, and other evidence. With a plan, you know what matters most and can gather only relevant material, which makes drafting faster and reduces the chance of leaving out critical facts or introducing confusion. A well-structured plan also supports objectivity, helping you present a defensible, accurate account that can be understood by supervisors, prosecutors, and others who rely on the report. Jumping into writing without planning often leads to a scattered, incomplete record that requires heavy revision, while trying to delegate the writing to someone else or collecting unrelated information wastes time and can undermine the report’s usefulness and credibility.