A good drafting query is not an admission that the inspection pack has failed. It is a control that stops a writer turning an incomplete note, conflicting photograph or unclear instruction into a confident sentence.
The difficulty begins when questions are scattered across email, messaging threads and comments in different document versions. The surveyor may answer the same point twice, while the final draft still contains the earlier interpretation. A short query log gives both parties one place to see what needs a decision, who owns it and whether the answer has reached the report.
Decide what belongs on the log
Log a point when the writer cannot continue accurately without adding an assumption, or when the available material appears inconsistent. Examples include two different construction descriptions, an unlocated defect photograph, a proposed condition rating that is not clear from the instruction, or advice whose timing has not been specified.
Keep ordinary copy-editing and agreed house style out of the technical query list. A punctuation correction can usually be made under the standing style guide. A change to the significance, rating or recommended action needs the inspecting surveyor’s decision.
Use fields that lead to an answer
| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Report location | The relevant section, element or draft paragraph so the point can be found quickly. |
| Issue | The precise gap or conflict, written without proposing an unsupported conclusion. |
| Material checked | The note, photograph, document or instruction already reviewed by the writer. |
| Decision needed | The factual confirmation or surveyor judgement required to progress the draft. |
| Owner and status | Who needs to respond, with a simple open, answered or applied status. |
| Resolution | The surveyor’s answer and the draft version in which it was incorporated. |
This is a suggested production method, not an RICS-prescribed form or a substitute for the practice’s own reporting and supervision procedures.
Separate four kinds of query
Administrative facts cover matters such as the correct client name, property address, inspection date or agreed template. These may be confirmed from the instruction record, but the writer should flag genuine conflicts rather than choose whichever version appears most recent.
Evidence queries arise when a note is incomplete or does not match the supplied photographs or documents. The useful question identifies the conflict: “The notes describe the rear addition as flat-roofed, while the labelled image appears pitched. Please confirm which element the note refers to.”
Judgement queries involve significance, condition ratings, likely implications and recommended action. These sit with the inspecting surveyor. The writer can point to the missing decision but should not manufacture it from a photograph or standard paragraph.
Production queries concern layout, photo placement or how content maps into the template. These can often be resolved under an agreed workflow unless the formatting choice could change meaning.
Write answers that can travel into the report
A one-word reply may close the conversation without giving the drafter enough direction. Where appropriate, answer with the confirmed fact, the intended assessment and the action to be stated. If uncertainty remains, record how the surveyor wants that uncertainty explained rather than trying to make it disappear.
For example, “CR3” is less useful than an instruction confirming the relevant element, the reason for the rating and the advice the client should receive. The inspecting surveyor chooses that content; the writer’s task is to carry the decision accurately into the draft.
Agree which queries stop the draft
Not every open point needs to halt the whole report. A writer may be able to continue other sections while waiting for a decision about one element. Mark a query as a blocker only when it affects the property identity, service scope, several connected sections or the safe interpretation of the available instruction.
Agree a single channel and a sensible response window before the first live job. The aim is not instant access to the surveyor throughout the day. It is a predictable point at which questions are reviewed without disappearing into several inboxes.
Close the loop in the final review
“Answered” and “applied” are not the same status. After the writer receives a response, record the draft version that contains the amendment. Before approval, the surveyor should open that version and check the actual paragraph, rating and recommendation against the decision given.
Close or retain the log in line with the practice’s own record-management arrangements. Do not allow the query list to become a second report containing unnecessary personal information. Our guide to report amendments and version control explains how to keep the working document and returned revisions aligned.
Build the query process into the instruction
The Survey Edit prepares outsourced RICS Level 2 report drafts from the surveyor’s notes, photographs, template and instructions. A clear query route helps the writer surface gaps without taking over the professional decisions that belong to the inspecting surveyor.
The surveyor reviews and amends the completed draft, confirms that queries have been resolved correctly, and approves and issues the final report. If you want to discuss how a first instruction and query handover could work with your existing process, send The Survey Edit an enquiry.
You inspect. We write.