Transcribe Me Style Guide
Punctuation - Commas - When Not to Use a Comma - Between a Subject and Verb (21)
- never separate the subject from its verb with a comma. - ex: Yes -> She looked over my proposal and approved it. No -> She looked over my proposal, and approved it.
Speech Tags - [crosstalk] (12)
- [crosstalk] -> use this tag when you cannot make out what a speaker says because another primary speaker is talking over them. Assume that you can hear everything the first speaker said but not the second speaker. - ex: Did you go to the store when I asked you to, or-- [crosstalk] --did you forget again? - if you understand both of what the speakers are saying do not use the [crosstalk] tag. -ex: Did you go to the store when I asked you to, or-- Oops. No, I forgot. --did you forget again?
Speech Tags - [foreign] (12)
- [foreign] -> this tag is used for anything that you cannot understand because they are non-English words. - if you can find out the foreign term or phrase used, include it! - ex: So he turns to me and goes, "Mi casa es su casa, as we say back home. Como estas?" - when including this speech, put it into your search bar and then copy and paste it into the WorkHub.
Speech Tags - [inaudible] (12)
- [inaudible] -> use this tag in place of speech you cannot make out due to the speaker's accent, poor audio quality, a noise obscuring the words, or a term you couldn't figure out after researching. - ex: I thought it might be fun to [inaudible]. I'm sorry, I couldn't [inaudible] you said over the sound of the engine.
Punctuation - Commas - When Not to Use a Comma - Comma Splices (21)
- a common splice refers to a comma that links two or more complete sentences without a conjunction between them. Do not use comma splices at transcribe. They should be separate sentences. - ex: Yes -> These are separate sentences. Don't join them with just a comma. No -> This is a comma splice, these should be separate sentences.
Filler Words (7)
- affirmative: uh-huh, mm-hmm - negative: uh-uh, nuh-uh, mm-mm - *important* only include filler words when they're answering a question and that's their only answer
Punctuation - Commas - When Not to Use a Comma - To Represent Speaker Pauses (21)
- although people sometimes speak in halting and unusual ways, do not add commas just because a speaker pauses. Remember that you are creating a written transcript and whoever reads it may not have the benefit of listening to the audio while they are reading.
Contractions (8)
- contractions: one word made from two words, ex: could of is could've, should of is should've - if a speaker says "they're", transcribe "they're" NOT "they are" - if they say "they are", transcribe them as "they are" - *NO* could of, should of, would of... always transcribe them as could've, should've, would've
Crutch Words (9)
- crutch word: an utterance that adds no meaning to what is said - only remove "like" and "you know" when they are inessential to the sentence. Use all other crutch words as spoken. - Ex: "You know, I mean, if the speaker, like, says this, okay, we kind of want to, like, make it, you know, sort of readable, right?" Transcribe as " I mean, if the speaker says this, okay, we kind of want to make it sort of readable, right?"
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Decimals (17)
- decimals should be formatted as numerals. If the number is less than one, we include a leading zero to make the decimal more readable (transcribe point six as 0.6). You can also transcribe decimals based on context, even if the speaker doesn't say the word point. - ex: The average score was 65.3, give or take 0.75. (Said: sixty-five point three, point seven five). The renovation cost 1.5 million. (Said: a million five). My favorite burger costs 3.99. (Said: three ninety-nine).
Thinking Sounds (8)
- do not include meaningless thinking sounds - I want a ... buh... tk tk tk.... pizza - I want a pizza
Conversations to Include or Not Include (7)
- do not transcribe background speech or background noise UNLESS the speaker interacts or acknowledges the other speaker about it
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Sentence Fragments (19)
- don't break up long sentences by separating them into sentence fragments, i.e., incomplete sentences. It helps to read what you transcribe without audio. - ex: Yes -> I love speaking in long sentences, although they can be tough to transcribe. No -> I love speaking in long sentences. Although they can be tough to transcribe.
Punctuation - Commas - When Not to Use a Comma - After a Conjunction (21)
- don't use a comma after a conjunction unless it is required for a dependent clause that follows. - ex: Yes -> So I decided to get a new job as a professional mime. No -> So, I decided to get a new job as a professional mime. Yes -> But I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. No-> But, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. - acceptable ex: Yes-> But, although I wanted to go, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries. Yes -> But although I wanted to go, I didn't want to overstep my boundaries.
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Time (18)
- express the time in numerals. If you are certain the speaker is indicating a time, then format it as such, e.g., 5:00, even if they do not use an explicit indicator such as o'clock. Capitalize AM and PM. - ex: I got up at 5:00 AM this morning and left for work at 6:00. (Said: five AM, six). 9 o'clock was when the train crashed. (Said: nine o'clock).
Feedback Words (11)
- feedback words: generic word or phrase spoken while another person is talking. The purpose is to merely show that they are listening or to passively acknowledge what the other speaker says. - we remove feedback unless it leads to further speech by the same speaker or someone responds to it! - common words are: yeah, right, okay, got it, and great - ex: Said -> So I walked all the way to the mall yesterday. Right. Gotcha. I got a new job working for-- A job. Sounds great --a family friend-- Yeah. Great. --at one of the kiosks in the parking lot. Okay. Great. Yeah. And which kiosk are you working at? Written -> So I walked all the way to the mall yesterday. I got a new job working for-- A job. Sounds great. --a family friend at one of the kiosks in the parking lot. Okay. Great. Yeah. And which kiosk are you working at?
Exceptions for Numbers and Symbols (15)
- for a range or series, spell out any common denominator shared between values, but follow our standards rules for formatting the rest. We spell out the word to when used in a range. Use a comma between number if the speaker doesn't use a connecting word such as or, to, or and. - ex: It would take 13 to 14 hundred man-hours to get this done. I need 30, 40 thousand widgets by next week. There are maybe three to four hundred thousand people there. - symbols should be spelled out if they apply to multiple numbers spoken in the immediate context. - ex: Maybe 50 or 60 percent of my time is actually useful. We had three donations of 30, 40, and 50 thousand dollars.
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Punctuation between Single Dashes (19)
- for questions inserted between dashes, punctuate with a question mark before the closing dash. Use a semicolon rather than a period to separate two sentences between single dashes. - ex: After we left the theater - have you seen Avengers yet? - we decided to get ice cream. We need to make the desserts - you make apple pie; I'll make a cake - before we are ready to leave.
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Scales (18)
- for survey-type questions when an interviewer asks for a rating on a scale of one number to another, we format these numbers as numerals. - ex: On a scale of 1 to 7, with 7 being extremely likely, how likely are you to recommend this product to a friend or colleague? I'd say probably about a 5. 5. Okay. And what would it take for it to be a 7?
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Percentages (17)
- format percentages as numerals. Remember to use the % sign except for ranges. - ex: 2% Between 6 and 7 percent.
Incorrect Grammar (9)
- grammar: structure and system of a language - transcribe incorrect grammar as spoken - this can range from violation of subject-verb agreement rules to plain bad english - Ex: "Them trees, they got so much locusts in them." "My dad want me go to store because want a apple."
Punctuation - Other Punctuation - Hyphens (23)
- hyphens are commonly used in transcription when multiple words combine to make a compound adjective. At TM, we hyphenate compound adjectives only when they precede the noun. Never attach a hyphen to the end of a word ending in -ly. - ex: I have a custom-built computer. It's custom built because I built it myself. The employee of the month is usually a smartly dressed individual.
Exceptional Cases of False Starts (10)
- if a short false start conveys crucial meaning, include it. - will have the words or, I mean, I'm sorry, or excuse me - ex: I went to the mall-- I mean, to the store and bought groceries.
Paragraphing (5)
- if a speaker is going on (around 2 mins), hit enter once to create a new line - split at obvious changes of topic - if a speaker is going on for 40 seconds, the monologue is likely to be too short for splitting up
Interruptions (10)
- if an interruption occurs as a speaker is finishing their thought, end their line with closing punctuation then begin a new line for the interjecting speaker as normal. We don't indicate the interruption in such cases. - ex: What is your name and your age, please? Fernando, and I'm 54 years old.
Cleaning Up False Starts (10)
- if the false start consist of three or fewer words, omit the error and transcribe the corrected sentence. - partial words should NOT be transcribed or included (ex: "oran" when its suppose to be "orange") - don't remove false starts of four or more words, even if the speaker-- even if the speaker repeats the exact same thing. - ex: "I mean, we really need to get-- really need to get more orange juice-- more apple juice." Transcribe as "I mean, we really need to get-- really need to get more apple juice." - ex:
Bilingual and Entirely Foreign Files (13)
- if the file is bilingual, transcribe as much English conversation you can hear and use a [foreign] tag for non-english conversation. Do not transcribe any English words or place names that are interspersed in a foreign conversation. If the entire file is in a different language, submit a Help Desk ticket with the Job or Session ID.
Unfinished Interruptions (11)
- if the speaker doesn't finish their sentence after being interrupted, mark the interrupted thought with double dashes, but begin their new thought as normal. For unfinished questions, place a question mark after the dashes with no space in between. - ex: I think-- So did you--? Sorry, you go ahead. Did you have a good time-- I didn't catch that. What did you--? --at the party the other night? Oh, yeah. It was great.
Guess Tag (13)
- if you're not sure what is said but you can make a reasonable guess that fits the context, put your guess, followed by a question mark, into brackets: [your text here?] - it can be a single word, like [this?] or a phrase, [something like this?]. - ex: She vacationed in [Mongolia?] and [Siberia?] for spring break [last year?]. - if you can't tell if a speaker is saying one thing or another, do not put in two guess. Pick which ever one makes the most sense.
Conjunctions and Interjections (8)
- include all conjunctions (a word that connects two words or phrases, ex: and, or, but) and interjections (an abrupt remark, ex: ah, aw, oh) - if a speaker finishes their thought with or, so, or but offset it with a comma (put a comma before the word). ex: "And I wanted to get a new dog, but." "Aw, that's too bad. So was the the only reason, or?"
Spelling Words Out (5)
- individual letters are capitalized (ex: the next letter after J is, obviously, K) - if a speaker spells out a word, capitalize and hyphenate between letters (ex: R-E-S-P-E-C-T)
Punctuation - Commas - When to Use a Comma - Interjections and Adverbs (21)
- interjections (an abrupt remark) and adverbs (usually relate to when? how? where? etc.) are usually offset with a comma (or two). - ex: Oh, I don't know about that. Fortunately, he agreed with my idea. He wasn't paying attention and ran into a fence, basically. The toddler was wearing a sturdy helmet, thankfully, the day she fell off her tricycle.
Stutters and Stammers (7)
- it's important to include repetition to add meaning or emphasis (ex: it's very, very important to include... yeah, yeah, yeah) - no stutters like re-repeated, s-s-sounds and no stammers like should, should not be, be tr-transcribed
Research (6)
- it's your responsibility to research the spelling of names and terms - ex: adidas, iPhone, MEDITECH, Toys"R"Us, 7-Eleven, NBA, Johnson & Johnson - tip: always check the copyright at the bottom of their web page for spelling
Numbers That Are Always Numerals (17)
- money, percentages, decimals, scales, times, dates, addresses, religious references, and math equations should be written numerically, with our approved symbols when spoken.
Emails (6)
- my email is frank at yahoo dot com, write [email protected] - if they spell out their email, still write it as [email protected] - if they say and spell out their email, write it as "frank, F-R-A-N-K, at yahoo, Y-A-H-O-O, dot com, C-O-M"
Informal Pronunciation (8)
- never transcribe gonna, gotta, wanna, kinda, sorta, coulda, 'cause or cuz, goin', ya - only exceptions are GOTCHA, YA'LL, AIN'T, AND I'MA - ex: "I coulda just gone myself, but." Transcribe it as "I could've just gone myself, but." "Well, y'all ain't gonna believe this, but I'ma talk ta him 'bout that right now." Transcribe is as "Well, ya'll ain't going to believe this, but I'ma talk to him about that right now."
Slang and Unconventional Words (9)
- nonstandard words and slang should be included as spoken - try to spell it out as best as you can - ex: "We had an absolute-freaking-lutely fantabulistic day"
Numbers and Symbols (15)
- numbers -> spell out single-digit numbers (zero through nine), and format multi-digit numbers (10 and above) as numerals. - symbols -> use the symbols for percent, dollars, pounds, and euros if the speaker says the word. Do not use a symbol if the speaker did not state it. - ex: I paid $500 for my college physics course and got a B plus. - do not use symbols for general reference, nonstandard numbers, ranges, or currencies not listed above. - ex: What percent of my time would you need? It'd be around 30-something percent. I can't believe you paid 60 bucks for a pair of socks.
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Addresses (18)
- numbers in an address should be formatted as numerals. - ex: He lives on 2 Bourbon Street. Mail it to 414 East 63rd Street, Apartment 5.
Specific Spelling (5)
- okay, all right, a lot, etc., US and USA, email, internet, healthcare
Spacing (5)
- one space between sentences - create a new line when the speaker changes
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Colons (20)
- only use a colon: 1. When you have a complete sentence introducing a list. ex: I will need very few supplies for school: pens, paper and highlighters. 2. For a complete sentence introducing another complete sentence or thought. ex: Let me assure you of this: our potential with Africa is limitless. The word is out: smoking causes cancer.
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Semicolons (20)
- only use a semicolon: 1. To join two closely related sentences without a conjunction. ex: I don't like ice cream; I prefer cake. 2. To separate items in a complex list where the items contain internal commas. The semicolon in such cases clearly distinguishes each list item. ex: I'm going to the beach, and I'm going to bring, A, an alligator-shaped beach towel, which I will like down on all day; B, a butter sandwich, so I'll have something to eat; and C, my favorite crime TV show downloaded to my tablet. Adelaide, Australia; Rotorua, New Zealand; Taveuni, Fiji; and Hauula, Hawaii are my favorite vacation spots.
Non Speech Tags - [laughter] (14)
- only use this tag if it is loud or relevant - don't tag every giggle unless it is crucial - ex: Someone once asked me, "What do you do if someone rolls their eyes at you?" and I said, "Well, I usually just roll them back." [laughter] Ew, Dad. That's gross. That's like the time you told me to put a frog [laughter] [inaudible] bath. Well, both you and the frog survived, didn't you? [laughter] I guess so.
Speech Tag Summary (13 + 14)
- please strive to discern what is said before using these tags. - research, transcribe, repeat! - ex: We're going to keep talking even though [inaudible], and then we can [inaudible]. What? I can't [inaudible]-- [foreign]. Hey, don't interrupt me. Was he even [speaking English?]? [Go ask them?] [crosstalk]-- Let's go over to that super [busy coffee shop?]. I'm sure [laughter] [inaudible].
Punctuation - Quotation Marks (21-22)
- remember to capitalize the first letter of quoted sentence. - at end of quote, punctuate it and then close it with quotation marks. - ex: So she said to me, "This is the best coffee shop in the world." "Why do we have to study math, Mr. Edwards?" the children asked. In a class for my master's, I had to start ever answer with, "My answer is blah, blah, blah." - if the sentence outside the quote requires punctuation other than a comma or period, place it outside the quotation marks. - ex: Did you really come all this way just to say, "I lost my pencil"? - if a quote is nested within another, use single quotation marks for the inner quote. - ex: I heard a guy say, "My favorite movie line is, 'Dreams die hard, and you hold them in your hands long after they've turned to dust,' but I can't remember what movie it's from." So I told him, "Dude, it's from Dragon Heart. The next part goes, 'I will not be that naive again.'" - do not use quotation marks for indirect quotes - ex: He told me that he really wanted me to come on this trip.
Punctuating Tags (12)
- speech tags -> [inaudible], [crosstalk], [foreign], and the Guess tag. - [silence] always sits on a line by itself with no punctuation. - [music], [applause], and [laughter] are placed on the same line as the surrounding text. Place the tag after the line's ending punctuation.
Numbers That Are Always Spelled Out - Fractions (16)
- spell out fractions... any whole number preceding the fraction will follow our standard number rules. - ex: eleven-thirteenths, three and a half apples, 12 and one-tenth of a percent
Tips and Reminders (23)
- tags -> always lowercase, always in these brackets [ ], if it's a [silence] tag then it sits in its own sentence - never paste into the work hub from an external text-processing document. If pasting from a website, first paste into your browser's search or address bar to strip formatting, then copy-paste from there into the hub. - spell-check every file with a program such as gram marly or word to avoid typos and other errors. - send a help desk ticket if you ever accidentally submit a file or encounter something unusual such as an entirely silent or foreign audio.
Tags (11)
- tags are always in lowercase letter and within [ ] brackets. - the only tag that isn't lowercase is the Guess tag, which adopts the text and formatting of whatever your guess is.
Non Speech Tags (14)
- the tags we use to represent non speech sounds are [silence], [music], [applause], and [laughter]. - ignore all non speech sounds such as coughs, sneezes, sighs, ringing phones, barking dogs, nuclear explosions, etc.
Numbers That Are Always Spelled Out - Very Large Numbers (17)
- the word million and larger numbers - billions, trillions, etc. are spelled out; however, the number part follows our usual rules. - ex: Five million chocolate bars. 15 billion gallons. 10,506,012 diapers.
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Measures of Time (18)
- this rule does not apply to measures of time. These follow our usual rules for numbers (spell out zero to nine; use numerals for 10 and above). - ex: It took me 30 minutes to drive two miles. It's five minutes past 3:00. I spent two weeks in Hawaii.
Punctuation - Quotation Marks - Media Titles (22)
- titles of books, movies, etc. are written as you normally see titles, with capitals for the first and important words, such as The Lord of the Rings or Cooking Light. Do not use quotations or italics for titles.
Conventional Formating (16)
- transcribe common terms and names according to standard convention, even if it closes with our usual style for spelling, numbers, symbols, and punctuation. - ex: 50/50, 24/7 Mazda 6, Windows 7 type 2 diabetes a Title IV school Military time -> 0600 hours (Said: oh six hundred hour) Phone numbers -> USA: 1-508-555-2232 Social security numbers -> USA: 123-45-6789 Serial numbers -> Patient ID number 0543289 - so many more examples on p. 15!
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Money (17)
- transcribe money in numeric form. Do not use a currency symbol unless it is stated. And only use these currency symbols ($, check p. 17) - ex: Said - eleven fifty. Transcribe - The hat cost 11.50. I wish I had $5 million, but I only have about 15K. 8 grand / 12 sterling / 5 bucks / 8 cents - inexact numbers are still spelled out. - ex: My car is worth thousands, but my house is worth hundreds of thousands.
Medications (6)
- uppercase the first letter of drug names - if it's generic, lowercase the first letter
Punctuation - Commas - When to Use a Comma - Before a Conjunction between Two Complete Sentences (20)
- use a comma before a conjunction connecting two complete sentence. You may omit the comma for short sentences of fewer than 10 words. - ex: She looked over my proposal, and she approved of the whole thing. She looked over my proposal and she approved it.
Punctuation - Other Punctuation - Apostrophes (22)
- use apostrophes as per standard English conventions. Plurals generally do not take an apostrophe. Most possessives are formed by adding apostrophe S, but for plurals ending in S, make the possessive by adding just an apostrophe. - ex: Eight cats / 12 TVs / the 1990s My father's house / the TV's antenna / Kansas's state legislature All 12 TVs' antennas / our fathers' houses - if a year is abbreviated, an apostrophe takes the missing digits' place - ex: It happened in the summer of 19-- or rather, in the fall of '08. I wish I'd been alive in the '70s.
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Religious References (18)
- use numerals and follow conventional written formatting for chapter/verse references of religious texts. - ex: Acts 27:1. (Said: Acts 27 verse 1) 2 Corinthians 11:28-30. (Said: Second Corinthians chapter 11, verses 28 to 30).
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Dates (18)
- use numerals for dates. If a speaker says a date in short format, use slashes. - ex: He was born in the 2nd century CE. That's August 5th, 8/5. (Said: August fifth, eight five). I was born in the late '80s, 12/11/88 to be exact. (Said: eighties, twelve eleven eighty-eight).
Numbers That Are Always Numerals - Math Equations (18)
- use numerals for math equations, but fractions are still spelled out. Also, spell out math symbols as spoken, e.g., plus, minus, divided by, or negative. - ex: One-half times 4 minus 4 equals negative 2. It's 3 to the 3rd power.
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Single Dashes (19)
- use single dashes to offset information within a sentence when either a complete sentence or a list of items is inserted into the main sentence, providing we convey the speaker's intent and the sentence outside the dashes would still flow if the text between the dashes were removed. Place a space before and after each dash. - ex: As soon as we go to the bookstore - there are several of them down this street alone - we can go home. We talked to three major tech company founders - Bill Gates of Microsoft, Sergers Brin of Google, and Steve Jobs of Apple - about what they feel made those companies succeed. - if the additional information is neither a list nor a complete sentence, use commas rather than dashes. If the surrounding sentence would not be cohesive if you removed the additional information, treat it as a false start. - ex: The teacher, who is obviously really smart, thought my idea was inventive. As soon as we go to the bookstore-- there are several of them down this street alone. After the store, we can go home.
Non Speech Tags - [music] and [applause] (14)
- use the [music] tag to note music relevant to the audio, such as the introductory theme music to a podcast. Do not use this tag for background noise unless the main speakers mention it. - use the [applause] tag to represent relevant applause. - ex: [music] Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Frankenstein. [applause] He's discovered a permanent cure for allergies [applause] and is ready to share it with the world. Thank you for the introduction, Mary. Play the slides, please. [music]
Non Speech Tags - [silence] (14)
- use the [silence] tag to denote at least 10 seconds of no speech, music, applause, or laughter. During that time of [silence] ignore all other sounds that we don't have a tag for. - the tag should be put on its own line. - ex: Okay, class. Take five minutes to write your answers. [silence] Time's up. Let's see what you wrote.
Punctuation - Other Punctuation - No Parentheses or Ellipses (23)
- we don't use parentheses to offset information within a sentence, and neither do we use ellipses. They may, however, be used for conventional formatting, e.g., 401(k) or Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
Profanities (9)
- we transcribe what is said without censoring
Numbers That Are Always Spelled Out - Inexact and Exact Numbers (17)
- when a person gives a rough estimate of a large number, spell it out in words. - ex: Tens of thousands of birds ate a couple hundred pancakes. It costs hundreds of dollars to fix dozens of fallen fences. - exact numbers used as part of an estimation still follow our usual rules. - ex: Eight or so cats. 30-some thousand bean bags. 50-plus years old.
Punctuation - Commas - When to Use a Comma - Direct Address (20)
- when a speaker addresses someone, offset their name (or title, etc.) with a comma or a pair of commas. - ex: I told you, sir, that this wouldn't work. Jim, you didn't even give it a chance. Thanks for your input, Nancy.
False Starts (9)
- when a speaker corrects their speech or changes direction of thought med-sentence, causing them to begin a phrase or sentence over again, we refer to their error as a false start. Indicate the false start by typing double dashes (--). Attach it right after the word, but leave a space after the double dash. - Ex: "Here's an example of-- this is a false start."
Punctuation - Other Punctuation - Spoken Punctuation (23)
- when a speaker dictates punctuation, please punctuate as instructed in addiction to using standard punctuation throughout the text. In other words, use the punctuation dictated, but don't limit yourself to only that punctuation. This style is often used in medical notes. - ex: Said: Patient presented with a runny nose, comma, sore throat, comma, and red, itchy eyes, stop. Type: Patient presented with a runny nose, sore throat, and red, itchy eyes. - if the spoken punctuation is used for emphasis, then type the word(s). - ex: Said: She was quote unquote friendly to me, and I wanted to respect that, period. Type: She was, quote-unquote, "friendly" to me, and I wanted to respect that, period.
Continued Interruptions - Double Dashes (10)
- when a speaker interrupts someone in the middle of their sentence and the interrupted speaker continues the same thought after the interjection, we mark their broken-up speech with double dashes. Attach the dashes to the last word before the interruption, then create a new line for the interjecting speaker as normal. On the next line, we continue the interrupted sentence with double dashes, no space, then the next word in lowercase. - ex: Now I'm going to tell you exactly-- Wait a minute. --what I did in the 30 years I worked for the company.
Punctuation - Quotation Marks - Interrupted Quotes (22)
- when a speaker interrupts their quote by inserting additional information before continuing, use commas or single dashes as per our usual rules to offset the interruption, and do not capitalize the second part of the quoted sentence. If each part of the quote is a separate sentence, then start the second quote with a capital letter. - ex: He told me, "I walked all the way out there," which is quite a long walk, I assure you, "to the mall." Then he goes, "But once I got there" - I can't remember how long it took him - "it was already closed." She told her team, "Let's decide next week," but a minute later, she said, "Actually, let's decide now." - if a quote is interrupted by another speaker, use double dashes inside the quotation marks. - ex: So I told him, I says, "I was on my way to the polls--" As in voting? "--and I got into a car accident."
Punctuation - Commas - When to Use a Comma - Oxford comma (a.k.a Serial Comma) (20)
- when transcribing a list of three or more items, place a comma after each item, including the final item before the conjunction. If the list items are separated by conjunctions, do not use commas. - ex: We had apples, bananas, and strawberries in the fruit salad. We had apples and bananas and strawberries in the fruit salad.
Punctuation - Sentence Structure - Run-On Sentences (19)
- whenever possible, break up long-winded or run-on sentences into separate sentences. In doing this, it's okay to start a sentence with a conjunction (words to connect two words e.g. and, but, or), but don't make sentences choppy.
Consistency (16)
- where multiple numbers occur within the same sentence or paragraph, format them consistently in the immediate context. Even if it breaks the rules, you must be consistent so it's easy to read and understand. - ex: A mixture of buildings - one of 103 stories, five of 50 or more, and a dozen of only 3 or 4 - has been suggested for the area. He had 15 ties but only 2 socks. It's $3 for one and I had five of them.
Solid Block of Tags (13)
- with poor audio where it's difficult or impossible to follow the dialogue (e.g., due to loud noises in the audio, mumbling speakers, excessive crosstalk, or a completely foreign conversation), instead of cluttering the transcript with consecutive tags, simply mark with one tag and punctuation. In other words, if you have more tags than actual text, it's best to use just one tag. - ex: Heard -> Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes. [crosstalk] the [crosstalk] But [crosstalk]. [inaudible] [laughter] [inaudible]. I think [crosstalk]. [crosstalk]. Yeah, [inaudible]. Okay. Are we all finished? Type -> Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes. [crosstalk] Okay. Are we all finished?