General Transcription Style Guide (Clean Copy)

1. Special instructions. Customer requests always override Speechpad rules.

2. Blank/no speech/difficult audio. Please return any job that has blank audio, is mostly unintelligible, has only music, and/or is 100% foreign language and send an email to worker@speechpad.com. If there is 15% to 20% of silence, please email us as well.

3. Media. It is a violation of Speechpad's terms of service to download and distribute any audio or video from the job board. This includes via email, YouTube or other social media sites.

4. Customer contact. Contacting any Speechpad customer or anyone referenced in an audio/video file under any circumstance will result in immediate termination of your account.

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6. Running out of time. If you are running out of time, you can request an extension by clicking on File>Request extension. If there is no extension, please email us.

7. Questions and concerns. Please contact worker@speechpad.com with any questions or concerns about your account, your ratings, or files. We're always here to help.

General

• • You are expected to produce a highly accurate, client-ready transcription. The final document should meet the standards for quality and professionalism that our clients expect.

  • Always use U.S. spelling unless otherwise specified in the special instructions.

  • Turn off smart quotes in Word before pasting into our console. Our console only recognizes straight quotes as correct.

  • SAVE YOUR WORK. Pressing the save button multiple times during work can save you from losing your work.

  • Enter two spaces (two hard returns) between paragraphs and speaker changes.

Ex.

Jill: Hi, how are you? (enter)

(enter)

Krystal: Fine, I guess. How are you?

• • Type everything that's spoken. Do not leave out conversations or other material unless specifically requested by the customer's job instructions. 

  • Do not paraphrase or rewrite what the speaker says. Transcribe their words exactly as spoken, even if the grammar is incorrect. 

  • If a word is mispronounced, correct the spelling of the word to its proper form.

  • Replay difficult sections of audio while considering the context.

  • Do not type descriptive tags or sound effects. e.g. [laughter], [cough], [doorbell rings].

  • Transcripts should be clean copy with all instances of "um", "ahh", false starts, and stutters omitted. 

• • You may start a sentence with a conjunction. e.g. And, But, Or, Yet, So, etc., if that sentence would be a run-on otherwise. Also, commas can be used after these conjunctions, depending on the context.

  • Add a comma after “so” when it’s at the beginning of a sentence and introduces a new thought, conclusion, or change in direction. NEW! 

✅ With comma (complete sentence after "so"):

So, what do you think?

So, we decided to try a new method.

(“So” is followed by a pause or signals a transition.)

❌ No comma (not a complete sentence after "so"):

She was so happy she cried.

(In these cases, “so” is part of the sentence, no comma needed.)

• • Use a comma before “so” when it connects two independent clauses (complete sentences). NEW! 

✅ With comma (two complete sentences):

She was running late, so she skipped breakfast.

(“She was running late” and “she skipped breakfast” are both complete sentences.)

• • Use Oxford commas: "Would you like a pumpkin, a watermelon, or an apple?" "She has apples, bananas, and figs."

  • If a speaker says only part of a word, do not attempt to guess or transcribe the partial word. Instead, omit it entirely.  

Ex.

❌ Jill: He was really frustrated a -- 

       Krystal: I know. 

✅ Jill: He was really frustrated...

       Krystal: I know. 

• • Try using audio enhancers such as FXSound for PC or Boom 2 for Mac to reduce background noise. Express Scribe has special audio processes to reduce background noise and boost volume.

  • We also highly recommend using headphones like these or in-ear buds like these. They can mean a world of difference for "poor quality" audios.

• • Break up paragraphs logically.

Example of text that should be broken into smaller paragraphs:

It's crazy. It's crazy. Raising content is exploding. The channels through which we can connect and communicate and converse or train or lead or facilitate are exploding. And if we imagine, this is just a few things that we know, iPhone, Twitter etc. But this logarithmic scares me. How many web conferencing vendors are there? We think WebEx and GoToMeeting, and there's almost 200 or 650 learning management systems. It's not just not possible to even keep all of these stuff straight. And I have a thesis that if content is overwhelming, we've gotten to this place where we can keep ourselves stupid just watching movies for the rest of our life. If mobility and the channels through, which we can connect are overwhelming and I think they are, we can go to communication channels like Facebook and LinkedIn and yet there are hundreds of social networks, some with hundreds of millions of users, and you've never even heard of them. And the expectations in the world are changing. What does mobility and access to information mean in terms of expectations about what I need out of a training session? Wait a minute, why am I spending my time with you?

Example of text that is broken into smaller paragraphs:

It's crazy. It's crazy. Raising content is exploding. The channels through which we can connect and communicate and converse or train or lead or facilitate are exploding. And if we imagine, this is just a few things that we know, iPhone, Twitter etc. But this logarithmic scares me. How many web conferencing vendors are there? We think WebEx and GoToMeeting, and there's almost 200 or 650 learning management systems. It's not just not possible to even keep all of these stuff straight. And I have a thesis that if content is overwhelming, we've gotten to this place where we can keep ourselves stupid just watching movies for the rest of our life.

If mobility and the channels through which we can connect are overwhelming and I think they are, we can go to communication channels like Facebook and LinkedIn and yet there are hundreds of social networks, some with hundreds of millions of users, and you've never even heard of them.

And the expectations in the world are changing. What does mobility and access to information mean in terms of expectations about what I need out of a training session? Wait a minute, why am I spending my time with you?

• • Promotional ads and commercials should be transcribed unless they are not relevant to the overall file. If in doubt, include the promotional ads and/or commercials.

  • Capitalize pronouns referring to God. No need to capitalize pronouns referring to Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

  • When the speaker says "slash" and it is used to connect alternatives or non-contrasting items, please use a forward slash (/) instead of spelling it out.

Ex.

Hemingway/Faulkner generation (spoken "Hemingway slash Faulkner generation")

Assyrier/Syrianer citizens (spoken "Assyrier slash Syrianer citizens")

• Use hyphenated, capitalized letters for spellouts and separate the spellout from the complete word with a comma.

Ex.

Karen: His name was Bobby, B-O-B-B-Y.

• When names or words are given after a letter to ensure that the letter is heard correctly, there is no need to transcribe it.

Ex.

Spoken: My name is Abernathy, "A" as in "apple", "B" as in "bird", "E" as in "egg", R, "N" as in "November", "A" as in "apple", "T" as in "tango", Y.

Transcribe as: My name is Abernathy, A-B-E-R-N-A-T-H-Y.

• When a hyphenated name is the subject of a spell out, the words "dash", or "hyphen", should be typed out for clarity.

Ex.

S-M-I-T-H-dash-J-O-N-E-S

Filler Words

• • Filler words such as “like, you know, I mean,” etc. must be included unless they are used three times or more per sentence and they are not necessary to the meaning of the sentence.

Examples of excessive use (all instances must be removed):

"Like, I'm gonna, like, get my, like, hair done, like, tomorrow."

"Oh my gosh, like, I shouldn't, like, have, like, said that."

Examples of non-excessive use (all should be left in):

"Like, I mean, you know, I'm going to get my hair done tomorrow."

"I mean, you know, she said that she sort of works there."

• Fillers should have commas around them, as in the examples above.

Speaker Identification

• • Do not use a speaker tag if there is only one speaker in the audio. Speaker tags should be used for speaker changes only.

  • Never put speaker tags in all caps unless stated in the instructions.

  • Use the speaker's first name as the speaker identification if their name is known. 

  • If the speaker has a title, use the title and last name when provided. 

Ex.

Dr. Fitzpatrick:

Prof. Dumbledore:

Sen. Smith:

Sgt. Matthews:

• • However, if other speakers refer to them by their first name without the title, please use their first name instead. NEW! 

Ex. Albus instead of Prof. Dumbledore

• • In focus group transcripts, identify the focus group leader as "Facilitator:" or "Moderator:" if you do not know their name.  

  • Use generic "Man:" or "Woman:" for unidentified speakers and number them if you can easily track their voice such as "Man 1:" "Man 2:"

  • For any audio where it is difficult to track the individuals over the course of the file, use generic speaker tokens, "Man:" "Woman:" "Male Speaker:" or "Female Speaker:".  

  • Use only the following speaker identification formats, unless otherwise instructed to do so:

• • You might be able to find the interviewee's name in the file name. In interviews, it's always better to use "Interviewee:" rather than generic labels. Since most of our audios are question-and-answer interviews, "Interviewer:" and "Interviewee:" should be the standard format unless the names are known.

  • "Together:" may be used when speakers simultaneously say the same thing.

Ex.

Together: Yay.

• • If there are two speakers with the same name in the transcript, please use their last names to differentiate them. If their last names aren't known, please use Interviewee 1, Interviewee 2, etc.

Ex. The speakers are Lois Lambert and Lois Kruschinsky.

Lois L.: Hi there, Lois

Lois K.: Hey, Lois. I'm so glad we could finally do this call.

• If two speakers have the same names and last initials, please use their first and last names.

Ex. The speakers are Susan Kruger and Susan Kaufman.

Susan Kruger: Hi, Susan.

Susan Kaufman: Hey, Susan. It's weird. It feels like I'm talking to myself.

Format for Interviewee Only

If the customer requests to only transcribe the interviewee, please follow the format below. These customers still want to know where the interviewee is answering another question, so please add a speaker tag for the interviewee/s only. Also, please take note that silence tags are not needed for the interviewer's portions.

Jill: Jill answers the first question.

(leave blank for interviewer/camera crew's portions)

Jill: Jill answers the second question.

Jill's answer is broken into logical paragraphs without speaker tags.

(leave blank for interviewer/camera crew's portions)

Jill: Jill answers the third question.

Inaudible Speech

• • Use [inaudible 00:00:00] to indicate words or phrases you cannot hear or understand.

  • If you cannot understand a word after listening to it three times, do not guess at the word(s). It is easier for a fresh ear to determine the word(s) than to have a suggestion as to what it might be.

  • Transcribe what each person is saying anywhere simultaneous speech occurs if you can pick out what is being said, or use [crosstalk HH:MM:SS] if that section of the audio is unintelligible. Never use [SS].

Utterances

Only the following utterances should be used, and only if the speaker is answering a question. Otherwise, they should be left out.    

Affirmative: uh-huh, mm-hmm, yeah, yes, okay, right, yep, yup

Negative: uh-uh, hmm-mm, mm-mm, hun-uh, nuh-uh, nah

Interjections

• • Interjections such as okay, yeah, uh-huh, etc. that occur on their own should be left out if they are not answers to questions and are only interrupting the previous speaker.

Ex. 

• We do not omit them in these cases.

Ex.

Mike: Yeah, that was a good idea.

Joey: I know, yeah, that was quite interesting to hear.

Timestamps

• • Do not add timestamps unless requested by the customer.

  • Please use the Insert Timestamp tool when:

    • the customer needs milliseconds, and/or;

    • there are no burned-in time codes. (Always check for burned-in time codes. Refer to burned-in time codes section below)

  • The Insert Timestamp tool will automatically add milliseconds. 

  • If a customer requests no milliseconds, there's no need to manually remove the milliseconds if you are using the Insert Timestamp tool. Upon submission, the system will automatically adjust the timestamps to align with the customer's preferences.

  • Refer to the "Pauses and Silence" and "Lyrics, music, and poems" section on how to note [silence] and [music].

Burned-in time codes

• • These are entered manually. There is no shortcut for this.

  • Check if the video has burned in time codes. If so, the timestamps need to match the video time codes, including timestamps on inaudible tags, silence tags, music tags, etc. These jobs will need a starting timestamp. 

Ex.

This video starts at [14:59:24].

At [00:00:30], timestamp should be [14:59:54].

The transcript should look like this:

[14:59:24]

Today I'm talking with Sean. I think you [14:59:54] were in your late 20s when you decided to pursue writing.

Timestamping intervals

• • Read the customer instructions regarding the selected timestamping interval when you accept the job. If you need clarity or more examples for timestamp intervals, please click here.

• • 15, 30 and 60-second and 2-minute timestamps should be placed when they are heard.

Ex.

See Spot [00:00:15] run.

See Jane [00:00:30] go.

Today I'm talking with Sean. I think you [00:01:00] were in your late 20s when you decided to pursue writing, is that right? [00:02:00]

• • Timestamps should be placed above the paragraph and above the speaker tag when the customer requests timestamps for paragraphs, or above the speaker tag only when the customer requests timestamps for every speaker change.

Ex.

[00:00:17]

Interviewer: Hello, bloggers. Today I'm talking with Sean. I think you were in your late 20s when you decided to pursue writing, is that right?

[00:01:02]

Sean: Actually 30s. Not my late 30s, I'm in my late 30s now.

• • Timestamps should be placed at the beginning of each sentence and after the speaker token when the customer requests sentence timestamps.

Ex.

Marilyn: [00:00:01] My name is Marilyn.

Joe: [00:00:10] And my name is Joe.

Marilyn: [00:00:12] And we just want to tell you a little bit more about the conference, September 21st through the 24th in 2017. [00:00:15] We are having the most      exciting party you could ever imagine in any converging group of energies. [00:00:20] Well, basically it's about bringing your vision to light. [00:00:25] Where would you       like to be in five years? [00:00:30] Where would you like to be in one year? [00:00:35] But it's a five-year thing.

Approximate timestamps

If the customer requests for a specific periodic interval but before each sentence, timestamp approximately each interval and adjust accordingly.

1) Correct: [00:02:00] Text text text text. 

2) Wrong: Text text text [00:04:00] text. 

Correct: [00:03:58] Text text text text. 

3) Wrong: 

Sentence [00:06:00] ends here. 

     Next sentence starts here. 

     Correct: 

     Sentence ends here. 

     [00:06:03] Next sentence starts here.

Validation errors

• • Split point error - A transcript must not end with a timestamp.

  • Unpaired brackets - Each timestamp or silence/music tag should have open and closed brackets.

Example:

[05:20:48 

Interviewer: So, the first one was about environmentalists who think that nature is this miracle that can't be touched. If you could take us to that thought.

[05:20:59]

[silence]

[05:21:17]

• • Check if any of your timestamps exceed the duration of the file or are out of place.

    • If the duration of the file is only 21:30, you cannot have a timestamp of [00:22:00].

    • An example of a timestamp that is out of place is [00:22:00] that comes before [00:21:15].

Grammar and Spelling

• • Colons (:) should only be used when you are typing a list of items within the sentence or when following a speaker tag.

  • Semicolons (;) should not be used in your transcripts. It is better to break up sentences logically than to use a semicolon incorrectly.

• Do not use exclamation marks. End the sentence with a period.

• Verify all names, customer-specific or industry-relevant terminology, and acronyms via a search engine, Wikipedia, dictionary, etc. If you're still unsure, check a dictionary. Examples of acronyms that do not have periods: NBA, CBS, FDA.

• Single spacing after end punctuation.

• You can install Grammarly for your browser for free. It helps with spelling and punctuation. No program will detect all of your mistakes so it's always a good idea to re-review your work before you submit it.

• Here's a great resource for fine-tuning your grammar. They even have practice exercises.

• Slang terms should be transcribed as spoken (e.g. gonna, wanna, shoulda, gotcha, get 'em, tell 'em, oughta, kinda, sorta).

• "Because" should always be typed out. Never use 'cuz, 'coz, or 'cause.

• "All right" should always be used. Never use "alright."

• "Okay" should always be used. Never use "Ok, or OK."

• The words "internet" and "web" should not be capitalized.

• Abbreviate "et cetera" to "etc." If it's used in the middle of a sentence, use both a period and a comma.

Ex.

He referred to the list of goods etc., when he told...

• Abbreviate "id est" to "i.e."

Ellipses

• Use an ellipsis, (three periods without spaces before or after), when there is an interruption in the sentence or if a speaker trails off and doesn't complete a sentence. This includes trailing questions as well.

Ex.

Then we decided to go see Harry and that was...

Do you think he was there to...?

• Use an ellipsis (...) when there is a change of thought mid-sentence.

• • [SP] should be used after the first instance of words, places, and names that you are not sure how to spell.

  • The general rule of thumb is that if the word is or could act as a heading, capitalize it.

  • If the speaker is talking about chapters, units, or exercises that are numerical, the titles should be capitalized e.g. Chapter 1. Note that these terms are followed by a number in numerical form, not a spelled-out number.

Ex.

Which chapter did you like best? Everyone else preferred Chapter 2.

• • Don't capitalize page, paragraph, or line because they are not serving as a title.

Ex.

Please open your books to page 45.

You'll find an example of that word in context in paragraph 2, line 4.

Did anyone notice the mistake on page 6 in the first paragraph?

• When referring to any other court by partial name, or to lower courts in general, don’t capitalize court. Ex. the argument in the trial court, the tax court’s decision, the federal court affirmed. 

• Capitalize court in legal documents in only four situations: 

  • When referring to the United States Supreme Court. Ex. the Court’s opinion in Marbury v. Madison. 

  • When stating a court’s full name.Ex. the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, the Michigan Supreme Court. 

  • When referring to the court the person is currently appearing before. Ex. Allied asks this Court to grant its motion for summary judgment against Peterson.

  • When you’re referring to the highest tribunal within the system in which you’re appearing.

Ex. If you’re in Arizona, capitalize court when referring to the Arizona Supreme Court. But if you’re in California, do not capitalize court when referring to the Arizona Supreme Court by less than its full name. 

Contractions

• • Do not alter the speaker's use of contractions and separate words.

Examples:

If the speaker says "I ain't" it should be typed as such.

If the speaker says "I won't" it should be typed as such.

If the speaker says "I will not" it should be typed as such.

If the speaker says "I am going" it should be typed as such.

• • Be sure to use the following contractions correctly when transcribing or reviewing. We have implemented a three-strike rule for these errors. If they are typed or reviewed incorrectly three times, your qualifications will be revoked:

"Your" (possessive)

"You're" (short for you are)

"Its" (possessive)

"It's" (short for it is)

"There" (directional)

"Their" (possessive)

"They're" (short for they are)

"Whose" (possessive)

"Who's" (short for who is)

Example:

You're welcome

You're a smart person

Your arm is broken

Your dress is pretty

It's cold outside

It's my house

Its coat was soft

Its leaves were red

There is the mailman

There are people there

Their money was stolen

Their house is red

They're in trouble

They're not here yet

She is someone who's pretty good-looking.

We had one person whose sole purpose was to basically vet and check that.

Compound Adjectives

• When someone uses two or more words to modify a noun, such as "in network" to refer to a provider of health care, the two words are treated as a compound adjective, and are hyphenated. However, if the words are used by themselves elsewhere in the transcript they should not be hyphenated.

Example: 

"I was searching for a health-care provider who could provide services in the network that my insurance company would accept. In other words, an in-network provider for       my health care. I really like Dr. Smith, but the insurers tell me he's an out-of-network provider."

Quotations

• • When a speaker is quoting something that was or is being said, use quotes.

Example:

Brian: I was going to go to the store, but my mother stopped me and said, "Please get some bread, too."

• • When a speaker is quoting a phrase.

Example:

Daniela: I love eating a sandwich with a Coke because as they say, "Things go better with Coke."

• • Punctuation should always go inside of quotation marks.

Example:

Bill Clinton is right when he, only moments ago, described it as "press hysteria."

Capitalization of Job Titles

• Capitalize a job title that comes immediately before the person’s name or is used as part of their name (usually replacing their first name). Ex. Dean of Students Thomas or Speaker of the House Jones.

• If the job title comes after the person’s name, or is used instead of the person's name, then it is not capitalized, as in: Sarah Smith, chairman of the board, or the governor of California.

• There are exceptions to this rule:

  • When a title is used in direct address, it is capitalized. Ex. "Is he going to pull through, Doctor?"

  • Or, if a high-ranking job title is replacing the name, it may still be capitalized out of courtesy. So you can write, "I saw the President today."

Custom Formatting

• From the job board, the description will say "requires transcript in .docx format, use a template if provided"

• Check if the job has a template. On the worker console, click on File > Export > Custom Template File... 

• If there is no Custom Template File, please use Times New Roman 12 pt. with no changes in margin, color, etc.

• Once done, import your custom-formatted transcription. Wait until the status bar turns green before submitting.

Titles

• • Type out "Junior" and "Senior" when part of a name.

  • As proper nouns, book titles, movie titles, music albums, TV shows, etc. should be in quotation marks:

Example:

Journals and Magazines: "Time," "U.S. News and World Report," "Crazyhorse," "Georgia Review"

Plays: "Waiting for Godot," "Long Day's Journey Into Night"

Long Musical Pieces: Puccini's "Madama Butterfly," Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite," "Waltz of the Flowers," Schubert's "Winterreise," "Ave Maria"). For musical pieces named by type, number and key — Mozart's Divertimento in D major, Barber's Cello Sonata Op. 6 — we use neither italics nor quotation marks.

Cinema: "Slingblade," "Shine," "The Invisible Man"

Television and Radio Programs, and Podcasts: "Dateline," "Seinfeld," "Fresh Air," "Car Talk"

Artworks: the "Venus de Milo," Whistler's "The Artist's Mother"

Famous Speeches: Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address," Washington's "Second Inaugural Address" (when that is the actual title of the speech)

Long Poems (that are extensive enough to appear in a book by themselves): Longfellow's "Evangeline," Milton's "Paradise Lost," Whitman's "Leaves of Grass"

Pamphlets: "New Developments in AIDS Research"

• Do not use quotation marks for an incorrect title or when it is used as an adjective. For example, New York Times or a New York Times columnist. The correct title is "The New York Times," and the correct title should be in quotation marks.

Online Handles and Links

• When someone says "hashtag," a pound sign should be used. #speechpad, #isapoundsign, #lookslikeasharp

• When a speaker provides his Instagram or Twitter handle, please add the at sign (@) prior to the name of the page or person. Ex. @speechpad

• Use all lowercase letters for websites URLs and email addresses. Type the website URL or email address as you would type it on the address bar or recipient section.

Example:

If the speaker spells out "S-P-E-E-C-H-P-A-D-DOT-COM," type it as speechpad.com

If the speaker spells out "S-U-P-P-O-R-T at speechpad.com," type it as support@speechpad.com.

If the speaker says, "Speechpad.com, type it as speechpad.com."

Biblical Words and Verses

• Words that should be capitalized are:

He, Him, His (God)

Book (Bible)

Word (Bible)

Christ

Christian

Jesus but not pronouns referring to him like he, his, him.

Holy Spirit

• Bible verses should always be numerical:

2 Samuel 24 (The speaker might say "second" or "two")

1 Corinthians 13:4 (The speaker may say "one" or "first")

Revelation 4:2 (The speaker may say "Revelation Chapter 4 verse 2")

John 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 (The speaker may say "second Timothy")

Psalm 36:1

John 3:16

Pauses and Silence

• Any pause in speech longer than 15 seconds is indicated with [silence] with timestamps that mark the beginning and ending of the silence, which can appear mid-sentence or at the beginning of a sentence. Short pauses of only 10 to 15 seconds in the middle of a sentence should be indicated using an ellipsis (...)

Example:

Jack: Are photographers doing their job when they take your picture?

Justin: I don't know if that's a statement or a question.

Jack: It's a question, sir. Can you answer my question?

[00:12:00] 

[silence] 

[00:12:30]

Attorney: Justin, do you need a break?

Justin: Sorry, this is just...frustrating. I've never had to...go through anything like this. Ask the same questions over and over again in a different manner. I'm just not used         to it.

[00:14:00] 

[silence] 

[00:14:30]

Justin: Guess what? Guess what? I don't recall.

Names of States/Abbreviations

• • Do not abbreviate state names. Write them in full. Exception: If the speaker says, “Philadelphia ‘P’ ‘A,’” type Philadelphia, PA, just like a spell out. People from Massachusetts commonly say, “MASS,” as part of their address. Typing Boston, Mass, is correct.

Example:

Cherie lives in North Carolina.

The baseball game is in California.

• • States should not have periods or spaces: NC, CA, WI.

  • United States: U.S.

  • United Nations: UN

Measurements

• Use figures for weight and dimensions, temperature, etc., and spell out the unit of measurement. Include hyphens when the measurement becomes a compound modifier.

Example:

A Volkswagen beetle is 4.08 meters long.

She was 4 inches taller than me.

Combine 1/2 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of soy sauce.

The dog weighs 3 pounds, 3 ounces.

The 5-foot-8-inch athlete was not tall enough to compete in that category.

We can reach temperatures of -25 to -50 degrees centigrade.

• When a speaker mentions a dimension e.g. width by height, type as width by height, not width x height. Ex. 8 by 10 paper.

• For ratios, please do not use a colon and spell it out. Ex. 2 to 1, instead of 2:1.

Numbers

• • Type out numbers zero to nine and use numerals for 10 and greater unless otherwise specified below.

  • Spell out any number that begins a sentence, except for years, ZIP codes or phone numbers.

     Example:

     Two hundred guests and 23 guides entered.

     Ten percent of them were women. (See Percentages, below)

     2017 was a great year.

     1-800-222-2222 is the number to call.

     Seven dollars and 47 cents.    

• • Use numerals when referring to phone numbers or numbers on a keyboard. Ex. Press 4 for other Products and Services. Press 1 to inquire for the balance of your card.

  • Decimals should be typed as numerals. 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 etc.

  • Use numerals for the following: ages and years (1999, 2000, etc.), time of day, degrees of temperature, house numbers, percentages, scores, serial numbers, and speeds.

  • Numerals should be used to denote bible chapters and verses, even if the numeral starts a sentence.

Example:

Revelation 4:2 (The speaker may say "Revelation Chapter 4 verse 2")

John 3:16

2 Timothy 3:16 (The speaker may say "second Timothy")

• • Spell out numbers that refer to a large but unspecified number, amount, or quantity.

Example:

He gave me hundreds of reasons.

There were thousands of people in the event last night.

• • Numerals with four digits can have a comma. Numerals containing five or more digits must have a comma.

Example:

I started with 1,000 tickets and somehow ended up with 20,000.

• • Use numerals if one or more numbers in a sentence is 10 or higher.

Examples:

She has 21 books, 11 oranges, and 3 cats.

She has two books, four oranges, and nine cats.

I'm the father of 6 children and they're aged 17 through to late 20s now. But at one stage, we had 6 children under 12.

It added up to $2.6 million worth of free publicity in the first 4 days of launching.

And I believe that probably 7 or 8 out of 10 websites…

Exception:

I'm the father of 6 children and they're aged 17 through to late 20s now. But at one stage, we had 3 children under 9. (Periods of Time and Age Section)

• • Type out numbers when indicating a range above 10.

Example:

If the speaker says, "three to four thousand dollars" it should be typed as "$3,000 to $4,000"

     If the speaker says, "five, ten, fifteen thousand" it should be typed as "5,000, 10,000, 15,000."

• Use the numeral and the word "grand" or the letter "k." Add the dollar sign if the speaker is talking about a dollar amount.

     Example:

There were around 10k people who attended his concert.

     People are spending $5 grand, $10 grand on .io names.

• When two numbers are back to back, one should be numeric and the other spelled out. 

     Example: Not one 10-year war but 10 one-year wars.

Time

• • Always use numerals when referring to time, especially when the abbreviation "a.m." or "p.m." is present. Double zeros are not necessary to indicate minutes of the hour when a whole number is used with a.m. or p.m.

Example:

I woke up at 5. (Spoken: I woke up at "five.")

Our hours are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Spoken: Our hours are from "nine a.m." to "five p.m.")

If you wish to attend, you must arrive by 6:25 p.m.

We were expected to report no later than 14:00 hours.

She leaves at 3:20 p.m. for the airport.

We're leaving at 6:00 in the morning. (Spoken: We're leaving at "six o'clock" in the morning.)

Periods of Time and Age

• • A decade should be written as "the 1980s" (not "the 1980's") and "the '50s" (not "the 50's").

  • Do not use a hyphen if the decade or century is a noun.

Example:

This vase is from the 17th century.

• • Hyphenate periods of time that are used as adjectives.

Example:

This 19th-century painting was done by Van Gogh.

• Ages should be written out as spoken and with numerals.

Example:

He is in his 50s.

She is 19 years old

He is 5.

She has a 30-year-old journal that she keeps in her cupboard.

• Transcribe ordinals as spoken in dates with numerals and their appropriate suffixes.

Examples:

It was on May 21st, 1801 that he proposed to her.

December 9th is the date of our anniversary.

Fractions

• • Spell out fractions, unless they are fractions of a percentage.

Example:

Do you plan to eat one and a half pizzas?

We used half of the bottle.

She left half of her heart where her lover had died.

• • If a fraction of a million or more, "million," "billion," "trillion," etc., spell out the fraction.

Example:

The population was over a half million.

• If a fraction is used with a number which is over one million, convert it to a decimal.

     Example:

     The official said they were hoping about 1.5 million people would visit the museum this year.

     He paid $3.75 million for the painting.

Percentages

• • Percentages should be numeric with a percent sign, except at the start of a sentence, when it should always be spelled out.

Example:

Ten percent of them were women

Fifty-one percent of the people voted, but only 6% of the votes were counted

He uses 10% of his brain.

It was reported that 10% to 15% of the students skipped class to go the protest.

• • Percentages that have non-whole numbers:

  • Convert simple fractions to percentages, only if the speaker is using percentages as a reference, (half is 0.5%, quarter is 0.25, three-quarters is 0.75).

  • Always use a leading zero before the decimal point for a percentage which is less than 1.

Example:

We have 10.5% (spoken "We have ten and a half percent")

That isn't 2% milk, it's 2.5% milk.

The test showed 4.365% of the sample was corrupt.

He uses 5.25% of his storage weekly. (spoken "He uses five and a quarter percent of his storage weekly")

There is a 0.75% chance of rain today. (spoken "There is three-quarters of a percent chance of rain today")

• • Use the percent sign and numerals when transcribing a range of percentages.

Example: Are you losing 10%, 15%, 20% interest? (spoken "Are you losing 10, 15, 20 percent interest?")

Currency

• • Use the dollar sign plus the numeral for dollar amounts under one million and spell out "million," "billion," and greater.

Examples:

Ali brought only $11.

April brought $6.12.

The budget of $13,000 will be sufficient.

Taxes will be reduced by a total of $13 million.

He owes $13,656,000.

• • Use the word "dollar" only once for a range up to 10.

Example:

I hope I find three or four dollars.

• • Use the dollar sign and numerals when transcribing a range of currency over ten dollars.

Example:

Evelyn expected a raise of $6,000 to $7,000. (spoken "Evelyn expected a raise of six to seven thousand dollars.")

• • Use the numeral and the word "cents" for amounts less than $1.

Example:

I need 15 cents.

She said it would be about 12 cents to 15 cents each.

• Type out the word "bucks."

     Example:

     I found a run-down hotel room for five bucks a night.

     Randy owes me 12 bucks.

     It cost me just a buck-fifty.

• • Spell out the name of foreign currency or use the correct symbol (e.g. euro, yen, and pound). You can go to this link to find the appropriate sign (e.g. Pound = £ and Euro = €)

• Several countries use the term dollar and the sign $ for their currency. To indicate which currency is being referred to (if it is not US dollars), we can use the ISO code which can also be found at this link.

  • For example, if a speaker refers to "500 US dollars, as opposed to 500 Australian dollars," we can express that as "500 USD, as opposed to 500 AUD."

Addresses

• Separate the street name, city, state and country with commas.

• Use numerals for house numbers, property numbers, zip codes, etc. 

Example: 402 Bannermans Road, Richlands, North Carolina, 28574 (spoken as "four-O-two Bannermans Road Richlands North Carolina two-eight-five-seven-four")

Lyrics, Music, and Poems

• Do not transcribe lyrics for music that occurs in the background while someone is speaking.

• Transcribe lyrics for music that occur on its own.

• If the lyrics cannot be understood or cannot be found on the web, use a [music] tag instead.

• Lyrics and poems can be copied and pasted from the internet but you should always listen to the lyrics or the speaker to be sure they are consistent with what's being sung/said by the singer/speaker.    

• Sample Lyrics

Somewhere over the rainbow

Way up high

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Once in a lullaby

Somewhere over the rainbow

Blue birds fly

And the dreams that you dreamed of

Dreams really do come true ooh oh

• • Sample Poem (Silent in the Moonlight by Robert Bly)

Silent in the moonlight, no beginning or end.

Alone, and not alone. A man and a woman lie

On open ground under an antelope robe

They sleep under animal skin, looking up

At the old, clear stars. How many years?

The robe thrown over them, rough

Where they sleep. Outside, the moon, the plains

Silent in the moonlight, no beginning or end.

• There is no need to notate [music] in general transcription unless it lasts over 15 seconds. If the file is 100% music, please return it and email worker@speechpad.com immediately.

• This is the format:

     [HH:MM:SS]

[music]

     [HH:MM:SS]

• Use numerals for chords.

     Example: We're gonna have G7 with a flat 9, G7 with a sharp 9, G7 with a flat 5, and G7 with a sharp 5.

Video Presentations

• If there is a video or audio presentation that is audible, please type it.

• Add a start and end timestamp for video presentations.

     Example:.

     [00:01:20]

      Text text text

      [00:02:45]

• If the main speaker plays a video of himself, no need for speaker tags if it is immediately after he speaks.

Technical Files

• These include how-to programming guides, educational videos, and anything where you transcribe keyboard commands, links and code.

• Navigation headings and tool names should be capitalized.

• Keyboard commands should not be in all caps.

• Do not enclose them in quotation marks.

• When referring to symbols on a mobile keypad, transcribe the symbol. Ex. Press * to end this call.

• You must write these as they appear on-screen or on your keyboard.

Example:

Ctrl+Alt+Del

Not 

Control Alt Delete

Press the OK button.

Not 

Press the okay button.

Get-ChildItem

Not

Get child item

Mathematical Equations

• Unless requested by the client, we do not write mathematical equations with symbols, we spell them out except integers.

• Always use numerals (Ignore standard number rules).

• Intercepts may be typed with their parentheses since they may be difficult to read without. Ex: (0,1), (4, 5)

• Variables should be in lowercase letters unless shown differently in the video.

• Standard number rules apply if the sentence contains a number that is not part of an equation.

Example:

4x plus 3y equals 10

Not

4x + 3y = 10

F of x equals 2/3y

Not

F(x) = 2/3y

1 plus 1.5 equals 2.5

Not

1 + 1.5 = 2.5

We have two possible answers for this equation.

Not

We have 2 possible answers for this equation.

• “-” can be used instead of writing our “negative” only when referring to a numerical value.

Example:        

“-2.5” not “negative 2.5” 

Our answer is negative.

Foreign Language

• • Use the [foreign language HH:MM:SS] tag with the correct timestamp for foreign language.

  • You must notate start and end times for foreign language if it is 5 seconds or longer, [foreign language HH:MM:SS-HH:MM:SS].

  • If the audio/video is 100% foreign language, please return the file and send an email to worker@speechpad.com.

Files with Interpreters

• Some files may have a participant who translates or interprets for another speaker. (Sign language, foreign language, etc.)

• How you label this participant depends on their participation as an individual versus as a strict interpreter.

• Situation 1: Interpreter strictly "speaks" for another participant and does not participate as an individual - does not have their own speaker identification.

Example - strict interpretation situation:

Interviewer asks, "How do you feel about that?" 

Interpreter translates question to interviewee. 

Interviewee answers in a [foreign language]. 

Interpreter translates for the interviewee, "Well, how I feel is..."

Example - strict interpretation transcript looks like:

Interviewer: How do you feel about that?

Interviewee: [foreign language hh:mm:ss] Well, how I feel is...

• • Situation 2: Interpreter speaks for themselves and for another participant - does have their own speaker identification (only when speaking for themselves).

Example - own participant:

     Interviewer: How do you feel about that?

     Interviewee: [foreign language hh:mm:ss] 

     Interpreter: [foreign language hh:mm:ss]? (back and forth [foreign language] conversation with Interviewee) Well, how I feel is... 

Ambient Noises

• Please transcribe only if they add to context.

• If speakers create their own noises, try to spell them as phonetically as possible or use a [vocalization] tag.

• Some sound effects are easier to spell phonetically than others. Do your best, but no need to slave over trying to spell something phonetically. Just use a tag.

Example:

He sounds like a... [vocalization].  

(speaker imitates a monkey where the [vocalization] tag is.)

How does a squid go into battle? Well-armed. Ba-dum tss!

(speaker makes noise of hitting drums and a cymbal)

References: 

1. The Redbook § 2.12, at 69 (3d ed. 2013). 

2. The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation R. 8, at 85-86 (19th ed. 2010). 

3. ALWD Citation Manual § 3.33, at 27-28 (4th ed. 2010). 

4. The Winning Brief (3d ed. forthcoming).