Reduct Transcription Guidelines - Grammatical Rules

Being grammatically correct is something that we strive for in all the transcripts, especially the use of punctuation marks. Even in everyday use, the simplest of punctuation marks can change the meaning of a sentence. For example, “Let’s eat Grandma,” and, “Let’s eat, Grandma.” The comma just saved Grandma’s life. While we don’t intend to save any lives with our punctuation marks, we can certainly try to use them in a better way.

While there might be some grey areas in the use of punctuation, we try to ensure the elimination of as many grey areas as possible. Our expectation is to follow existing and prevalent grammatical norms in our transcripts and to ensure as much unity and cohesion in all our transcripts. This can only be done if we follow these rules regarding punctuation. Here are some basic guidelines on correct grammatical and punctuation usage.

Full Stops (Periods)

Full stops end a declarative statement and its usage is pretty straightforward. One common error is using question marks instead of full stops in indirect questions.

Exclamation Marks

Exclamation marks should be used sparingly, and only when absolutely required

Examples

Yay! We finally completed it.

What a great offer! Sign me up for it.

Question Marks

Question marks are used at the end of interrogative statements and direct questions.

Examples

Can we go back to the previous section if we have enough time remaining ?

She asked him, “What did you mean?”

There’s always better ways of saying things, right?

Didn’t I just hear you say, “I have no money left”?

You wanna be as accurate as possible in matters as serious as grammar, you know?

Commas

Commas are used to indicate a short pause. But a short pause in the audio while you are transcribing DOES NOT warrant a comma all the time. Use commas after transition words.

Examples:

Generally speaking, we work eight hours a day.

Fortunately, we have got amazing people in our team.

The most common error regarding comma usage is with coordinating conjunctions, AKA

FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so).

When coordinating conjunctions are used to join two independent clauses, a comma always comes BEFORE the conjunction, never after.

Note: Excessive use of commas in unnecessary places do not help with the readability. So using commas sparsely and correctly helps to increase the accuracy level.

Commas and ‘so’

If a sentence begins with ‘so’, it is meant as a filler word. DO NOT use a comma after it.

Commas and question tags

Native speakers use question tags liberally. They are used to elicit a simple yes/no response. Always put a comma before a question tag.

Examples:

You went to the bar on Friday, didn’t you?

Tom doesn’t get angry a lot, does he?

You’re coming to the party, aren’t you? You don’t like me, do you?

She won’t lie to me, will she?

I’m in trouble, aren’t I?

If the statement is positive, the question tag is negative. If the statement is negative, the question tag is positive. A common error is failing to add the question mark at the end of question tags. Native speakers usually speak flatly when using question tags as if it is a statement, as opposed to raising the intonation as if asking a question. It’s important to add the question mark after a question tag, and a comma before it.

Commas after ‘yes’ and ‘no’ responses

Comma is used after ‘yes’ and ‘no’ when a speaker responds to a question. It’s important to use this rule in all cases of a yes/no response.

Inverted Commas

It is important to use double inverted commas or quotation marks “ “ when reporting direct speech. Note the correct usage of punctuation marks accompanying double inverted quotes:

Note the capitalization rules when using double inverted quotes in the above example, and the difference in direct and indirect speech!

Native English speakers use ‘like’ to signal the start of direct speech. Use quotation marks after ‘like’ if it is used this way.

Example

I told them I wanted it done right away. But they were like, “Chill, man. There’s no need to rush this.”

We use single inverted commas when speakers are emphasizing certain words in the audio.

Example

Do you see the menu on the top left of the screen? There’s an ‘about’ page and ‘how it works’ under it.

Apostrophe

An apostrophe ’ is used to denote possession and contractions.

Examples

Reduct’s employees

Jess’ clothes

My parents’ house (note the usage in words ending with S and plural nouns)

We’ve, they’re, aren’t, couldn’t

It is also used to denote decades: ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s.

Dashes

The use of a dash is pretty common in the type of transcription that we do. There are a lot of instances where a speaker may change the topic mid-sentence, or may be interrupted by another speaker, and the dash is used in all these cases. Use the dash liberally, but correctly. Make sure that there is no space before and a space after the dash when it is used in these situations.

Examples

Yeah, I would just contact- let me just have a quick look once.

They think it will be- that it might be escalated even further.

Let’s begin by- sorry, can you just give me a quick second here?

Here the Trumpeter

Swan- sorry, wrong slide- performing

its ritual mating dance.

We use dashes when a speaker switches direction in the middle of a sentence. Alternately, we use dashes if a speaker is interrupted, but continues the sentence after the second speaker interjects.

Example:

[Speaker 1]: I just love your service-

[Speaker 2]: Awesome.

[Speaker 1]: - and I’d love to keep in touch!

(Here, another speaker interjects with ‘awesome’ but the speaker goes on to finish the sentence. In such a case, the second half of the sentence starts with a dash with a space after it.)

We also use dashes if a speaker trails off in the middle of a thought. Use a dash to indicate that the speaker has left the thought unfinished.

Examples:

So we’ll be looking into this file which- sorry, I zoned out. Let me start again.

[Speaker 1]: But usually when it comes to hiring new people, we have a standard process. I can’t think of any-

[Speaker 2]: Okay. Let’s move on to the other topic.

(The first speaker trails off here. And the second speaker switches to a new topic.)

Always remember that

a comma cannot be substituted for a dash

. They serve entirely different purposes. Many people use a comma in place of a dash when they are starting out. It’s better to avoid that mistake.

You do not need to use a dash if the transcript finishes mid-sentence.

Capitalization

The first word of the transcript needs to be capitalized if it is the start of a new sentence. If it seems like a continuation of a sentence, start with small letters.

Examples:

go there in December. That’s when there aren’t many tourists and you get the place almost to yourself.

Note: The audio here is picking up in the middle of a sentence. As with transcripts that end in the middle of a sentence, you also don’t need to add a dash before ‘go’ when starting afresh with a transcript.

We usually go there in December

. That’s when there aren’t many tourists and you get the place almost to yourself.

Note: The audio begins with a new sentence and so it requires you to capitalize ‘we’.

It is very important to research the proper capitalization e.g. iPhone, UCLA, SaaS, and write them in the transcript in the same format.