Transcription Test

Call or Text - (530) 913-3051

E-mail us at: info@pioneer-transcription-services.com

Take our Transcription Test:

Interested in taking our transcription test?  Whether you want to take the test for your own practice or because you are interested in working with us on an ongoing basis, you are more than welcome to take this test. 

Our guidelines for formatting are as follows:

Use [inaudible] if you cannot hear what is being said. Use [unintelligible] if you can hear what is being said but you just cannot make it out.  Please put a time code directly after the inaudible or unintelligible so that we can go and see if we can make it out.

If unsure of a spelling of a name please spell it phonetically and then type [phonetic] directly after it the first time it appears in the transcript.  Please timestamp directly after the word phonetic as well.

If no sample is given for formatting please use 1” margins all around and a Times New Roman 12 point font.

Please use the words all right rather than alright.

Please use the spelling yeah rather than yea.

Please use the spelling okay and not ok.

Please type out going to and because instead of using gonna and ‘cause unless the instructions specifically say STRICT verbatim.

For numbers one through nine, please spell them out. For numbers 10 and above, please use the numerals.

When the day follows the month, express it in cardinal figures (1, 2, 3, etc.), e.g., on March 6 (not March 6^th or sixth).

Please use hm-hmm for the affirmative and uh-uh for negative. Please type the words [affirmative] and [negative] after.

Please capitalize Bay Area when it occurs.

Please note the correct spelling is workers’ compensation not worker’s compensation.

Google is your friend. Please try to find unfamiliar names using Google. If you cannot find a spelling for a name or a place please send me a note in an e-mail with your completed job regarding any unknown spellings or other things that I need to double check on the job.

Please proofread your jobs carefully. While we do run quality control procedures on our jobs, it is first the typist’s responsibility to make sure they are turning in a quality transcript they can be proud of.

When a speaker’s thought trails off at the end of a sentence, please use an ellipsis. (He could easily have saved the situation… )

When speakers interrupt each other, please use a dash at the end of the first speaker’s words and then an ellipsis when it picks up again. 

Q:  When did you do—

A: We were there on Tuesday. 

Q: …that?

When a speaker changes thoughts abruptly in the middle of a sentence, please use an em-dash with no spaces on either side of the dash. (We were about to go to the—No, he didn’t go.)

For repeated words use a comma.  (We, we, we went to the store.)

 

Instructions for the Transcription Test:

Click the link that says Transcription Test File. If it asks for a password it is: schedule

Download the audio file.  You might need to right click it.

Follow the rest of these instructions for typing the audio.

Type it into a Word document.

Use Times New Roman 12 point font.

Use one-inch margins all around.

Use Q: and A: for speaker identification.

Single space with a double space between the speakers.

Use full justification.

Use a hanging indent .5 for the text of each speaker, tabbing in the first paragraph so that all paragraphs line up on both the right and left side.

Do cleaned up verbatim, meaning transcribe every word spoken, but leave out the ums and uhs.

You only need to transcribe the first half of the audio.

Return completed test to: devitt@jps.net

Audio for The Test:

You can download the audio for the test here.