Effective Written Reports

The video tutorial emphasizes the importance of understanding the purpose and audience of a report, adapting it to jurisdictional requirements, and ensuring clarity and completeness. It highlights the need for identifying expertise, documenting forensic processes, and using recommended templates. The tutorial also covers the significance of acknowledging limitations, assumptions, and reasoning processes, while maintaining public awareness. It stresses the importance of peer review and the flexibility to change opinions. Finally, it provides guidelines for making reports user-friendly, focusing on presentation aspects like typeface and language clarity.

Why is it important to understand the audience of a report?

• To ensure the report is entertaining

• To adapt the report to the audience's needs

• To make the report longer

• To avoid using technical terms

What should be clearly identified in an expert report?

• The expert's travel history

• The expert's hobbies

• The expert's credentials and the information used

• The expert's favorite color

What should be included in the report regarding methodologies?

• The methodologies used and their reasons

• The methodologies used in other reports

• The methodologies that are outdated

• The methodologies that were not used

Why is it important to include limitations in a report?

• To make the report shorter

• To highlight the strengths of the report

• To confuse the reader

• To provide a complete and honest assessment

What is a key aspect of making a report user-friendly?

• Using complex language

• Including many images

• Ensuring clear language and structure

• Adding personal anecdotes

Why should a report be reviewed by a colleague?

• To ensure it is entertaining

• To check for errors and improve quality

• To make it longer

• To add more technical jargon

What should an expert be prepared to do if their opinion changes?

• Delete the report

• Update the report or provide testimony

• Keep it to themselves

• Ignore the change