The document had already been scanned before the system failed.
Unit 10
Reports and diplomacy
Incident reports and accountability
Write factual incident records, soften unsupported criticism, and distinguish observation from interpretation.
WritingListeningUse of English
Frontex focus
FADO, fundamental rights, and objective records
01
Learning outcomes
By the end of this unit
- Order past events with the past perfect.
- Use cautious language for incomplete evidence.
- Write an incident record that supports accountability.
02
Report model
Facts first, interpretation second
At 18:40, an officer referred a document to the expert desk. The document had already been scanned twice, but the second image was incomplete. At 18:47, the expert used FADO reference material and identified a discrepancy in one security feature.
The report records each action and source. It does not state that the traveller intended fraud, because intention had not been established. The matter was escalated, the document was secured, and the traveller was informed of the next procedural step.
Read further: When two clocks tell different stories
First, identify the writer’s main purpose. Then look for evidence, qualifications, and links between paragraphs.
A supervisor reviewing an incident received a witness note and a short recording from a corridor camera. The witness estimated that the event had occurred at about 10:15. The camera display appeared to show 10:18. An early draft report treated the difference as evidence that the witness’s account was unreliable. Before approving that wording, the supervisor asked whether anyone had checked the camera clock. The technical team later confirmed that it was running three minutes fast at the time of the recording.
That finding did not automatically establish every detail of the witness’s account. It did show why the two times could not be compared without examining their sources. The witness had estimated a time from memory, while the display recorded the camera’s own clock. The report was revised to keep both original references and explain the confirmed offset. Staff were asked not to silently replace the displayed time, since a later reader might otherwise be unable to understand how the sequence had been reconstructed.
The supervisor also removed a sentence claiming that one person had deliberately ignored an instruction. The recording showed movement away from the desk, but it did not establish what the person had heard or intended. A neutral description could record the movement and identify the unanswered question without inventing a motive. If further evidence confirmed a breach, that evidence would need to be reported clearly; cautious language was not a reason to hide a fact that had actually been established.
For follow-up, the technical team was asked to confirm whether other relevant recordings used the same clock setting. A second colleague checked that every time in the revised sequence identified its source. The aim was not to make the account sound less serious. It was to make each statement traceable, distinguish observation from interpretation and preserve enough context for someone else to assess the evidence. A clear record could acknowledge uncertainty while still assigning a specific next action and deadline.
03
Language focus
Past sequence and cautious criticism
Use the past perfect for an earlier past action when sequence is not otherwise clear. Use appears, may, and based on the available information when evidence is incomplete.
There appears to have been a delay in the handover.
Based on the available log, the alert was opened at 18:42.
Watch this
Cautious language must not hide a confirmed fact or weaken a required misconduct report.
Use the language
Complete the second sentence.
Keep the original meaning. Use each keyword unchanged. Type only the missing words in the blue gap.
- 1Read the original
- 2Fill the blue gap
- 3Check your answer
How to answer · worked example
Original
This is Jo’s laptop.
Use BELONGS
This laptop belongs to Jo.
Only belongs to goes in the gap. The other words are already there.
3 short exercises · not saved · separate from your drill score.
01 of 03Use HAD
Original sentence
The document was scanned before the system failed.
Same meaning
The document
before the system failed.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
Use past perfect passive for the earlier completed action.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap had been scanned
The document had been scanned before the system failed.
Had been scanned gives the earlier stage clearly and makes the document the subject.
02 of 03Use APPEARS
Original sentence
The log suggests that there was a delay, but this still needs checking.
Same meaning
There
a delay.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
Appears + perfect infinitive marks a cautious inference about the past.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap appears to have been
There appears to have been a delay.
Appears to have been presents the possible delay without falsely claiming confirmation.
03 of 03Use CANNOT
Original sentence
The failure happened before the scan, so it is impossible for that scan to have caused it.
Same meaning
Grammar reminder: Negative deduction about the past
Use cannot/could not have + past participle for a past event ruled out by evidence. Must not expresses prohibition, not negative deduction. Distinguish evidence from speculation.
Example: The scan cannot have caused the earlier failure: it happened afterwards.
That scan
the earlier failure.
or press Enter
Your completed sentence
Show hint
Rule out a past cause. Use a perfect infinitive after the modal.
Compare with a model answer
Words for the gap cannot have caused
That scan cannot have caused the earlier failure.
Cannot have caused expresses a negative deduction from the sequence. Must not would describe prohibition and change the meaning.
The checker matches model answers. An unmatched answer may still be valid; compare the completed sentences and explanation.
04
Core lexicon
Professional and operational vocabulary
a factual record of an event, response, and follow-up
The officer completed the incident report before the debrief.support a statement with independent evidence
The access log corroborated the recorded time.a difference that may require explanation or verification
The expert found a discrepancy in the document number.unacceptable or unlawful professional behaviour
Possible misconduct must be reported through the correct channel.a chronological record of system actions or decisions
The audit trail showed who had opened the file.From EPSOHQ Frontex database
Acronym focus
Use when discussing reference information for genuine and false documents.
Use when the discussion concerns fundamental-rights expertise.
05
Listening workshop
Prepare. Listen. Respond.
Before you listen
Listen for which time is estimated, which source has a clock error and what needs technical confirmation.
- estimated time
- an approximate time rather than an exact measurement
- offset
- the amount by which a clock differs from the relevant time
- attribute
- state where information came from
Operational briefing
Listen once for the overall message. Replay for details, then explain the speaker’s reasoning. Pause, seek, or slow the recording whenever useful.
Unlimited replays · 01:24
Read transcript
The incident occurred at approximately ten fifteen. The time was estimated by the witness, not taken from the camera. The camera clock was later found to be three minutes fast. Please keep both sources identified in the report and ask the technical team to confirm the corrected recording time before updating the sequence.
The aim is to produce a sequence that another reader can follow without assuming that every time is equally reliable. A witness may remember the order of events accurately while being uncertain about the exact minute. A recording can provide useful detail, but a clock error must be understood before its times are compared with another source. Neither source should be discarded simply because the first comparison reveals a difference.
In the draft, one sentence says that a person deliberately ignored an instruction. The available notes describe what the person did, but they do not establish the person's intention. Please revise the sentence to separate the observed action from any interpretation. If an interpretation is relevant, identify who made it and what evidence supports it. The technical team will provide a short note explaining how the recording time was checked. Keep that note with the report so that a later reviewer can understand why the sequence changed. A clear correction with a traceable reason is more useful than silently replacing the earlier account.
Original EPSOHQ text. Synthetic narration with macOS Daniel or Samantha voice.
Check your understanding
Drill 5 · Listening for evidence Drill 14 · Listening comprehension Drill 15 · Listening comprehension Drill 16 · Listening inference Drill 17 · Listening inference
Use what you heard
Describe an event using a confirmed observation, an attributed estimate and an explicit follow-up.
06
Production task
Write a neutral incident paragraph
Record an event with time, observation, action, source, and follow-up. Do not infer motive.
- Use the past perfect once.
- Attribute information to its source.
- Separate confirmed facts from possible explanations.
About 15 minutes · 120–180 words
Open evaluated task
Try your own response first. Then compare how the example covers the task, connects ideas, and uses the target language.
Study an example response
Illustrative response, not an assessed script
At approximately 10:15, according to the witness’s initial note, a visitor moved away from the reception desk during a discussion about a missing reference. The camera display showed 10:18 at the relevant point, but the technical team later confirmed that its clock had been running three minutes fast. The displayed time and the confirmed offset have therefore been retained together in the record. Staff informed the duty supervisor and preserved the relevant references for review. The recording confirms the movement away from the desk; it does not establish what the visitor heard or intended. A communication difficulty may have contributed, but that explanation remains unconfirmed. The technical team will check the clock setting of the second relevant camera by 14:00, and the supervisor will review the sequence after receiving that update.
Notice the choices
- The opening attributes an approximate time to the witness, while the camera is a separate source.
- Had been running supplies past perfect and explains why the original display needs an offset.
- The paragraph records action and a dated follow-up without inferring motive from movement.
Adapt these patterns to your own situation. For speaking, practise aloud and check clarity and pace; a written example cannot demonstrate pronunciation or spontaneous fluency.