Principles of Forensic Report Writing

Book excerpt: "In teaching forensic report writing to graduate students, we have been impressed with the available guides to writing specific kinds of reports. There are also some good summary articles on report writing and check-lists regarding what reports ought to cover. What we wanted, though, was a single volume that looked at report writing and reading as behaviors, informed by what we know about behavior, and that looked in-depth at the topic of applying general knowledge to particular situations. As is true for so many authors, this is the book we wish we'd read in graduate school. We offer these principles of forensic report writing as preparation for trainees, particularly those in Stages 1-3 of the developmental scheme described here, and also as reminders for professionals who have already written many reports"--Preface. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).