Punctuation - Basic
You are expected to demonstrate a strong grasp of basic sentence structure and punctuation in your work at TranscribeMe. This style guide is not intended to be an exhaustive or complete guide to English grammar and syntax; you should research appropriate grammar and spelling on your own. However, what follows may be helpful for situations specific to transcription and to prevent some common mistakes. Do not get so absorbed in punctuation that you mishear a word.
Run-On Sentences
Whenever possible, please break up long-winded or run-on sentences into several full sentences. In doing this, it is okay to start a sentence with a conjunction. Just be careful not to make the sentences too choppy.
Long run-on sentences, as well as sentence fragments, should be avoided in transcription whenever possible. But since we have to accurately portray what the speaker says, sometimes we are not able to control the length of the sentences and simply have to write out everything that the speaker takes the time to say. However, when you see an opportunity to break up a long sentence, take it.
Sentence Fragments
Do not break up long sentences by separating a dependent clause on its own. Dependent clauses are marked by words like because, although, or whenever.
Even if the speaker pauses between clauses, we want to use proper grammar in transcription, if we can do so without changing the actual words spoken. It helps to do an extra proofreading phase without listening to the audio to punctuate as grammatically correctly as possible without being influenced by the speaker's style of speech.
Commas
A common mistake in transcription involves when and whether to use a comma with a conjunction. Here are a few quick guidelines to prevent these common errors:
No Comma After a Conjunction
Never use a comma after a conjunction, unless it is required for a dependent clause that follows. In that case, the commas should come as a pair surrounding the clause.
But other words, such as interjections and adverbs, attached at the front or back of your sentence often do take a comma. Grammarly can usually help you decide how to punctuate such situations.
Well, I thought about it.
Fortunately, he really liked my idea.
No Commas Due to Speaker Pauses
Do not simply add commas whenever a speaker pauses. People speak in halting and unusual ways at times. Remember that you are creating a written transcript and the reader likely will not have the benefit of the audio to listen to while they are reading. Commas should follow the rules of writing to the extent possible.
Hyphens
The hyphen [-] is most commonly used to form compound words and to link prefixes to other words. Identifying compound words is important because failing to do so may alter the meaning of a sentence. Richard Lederer offers the following example to this end:
Father to be stabbed to death in bar
Father-to-be stabbed to death in bar
The two previous sentences have two different meanings based on the omission or inclusion of hyphens. In compound words, the hyphen shows that the words, when linked together, have a combined meaning. The main type of compound word you will encounter in transcription that needs to be hyphenated is the compound adjective. A compound adjective is when multiple words join together to make an adjective. These are usually hyphenated only when they directly precede the noun.
I have a custom-built computer. It is custom built because I built it myself.
Plurals and Possessives
Many people have trouble with when to use an apostrophe with an S. Here is a quick run-down of the guidelines:
When you have several of something, there should be no apostrophe.
Many people like to drink cokes.
How many Qs are in that sentence?
We have 35 TVs in our house.
The 1990s were a strange time.
When you want to show ownership, use an apostrophe.
It was my father's house.
Odysseus's story is an interesting one.
My TV's antenna is broken.
When showing ownership of a group of things or people where the plural of the word ends with an S, put the apostrophe after the S.
Both of our fathers' birthdays are today.
All 35 of my TVs' antennas are broken.
If the plural doesn't end with an S, add the apostrophe S as normal.
Do you know those people's names?
Everyone's new TVs have arrived.
Colons and Semicolons
The colon and the semicolon can be useful in formal writing. However, they should be used very sparingly in transcriptions. Please only use the marks in these specific instances:
Use a colon only when you have a complete sentence introducing a list.
I will need very few supplies for school: pens, paper, and highlighters.
Use a semicolon (instead of a comma splice) to join two closely related sentences without a conjunction.
I don't like ice cream; I prefer cake.
In a list with very complex items, you can "promote" the top level of commas to semicolons for clarity.
I'm going to the beach, and I'm going to bring A, an alligator-shaped beach towel, which I will lie 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.
Quotation Marks
Do use quotation marks for direct and hypothetical speech and spoken punctuation, e.g., if a speaker says quote or quote, unquote. Generally, quotations should be set off by a comma, and punctuation should go inside of the quote marks.
So she said to me, "This is the best coffee shop in the world."
Dashes
Single dashes may be used to set off additional information within a sentence - it will look like this - providing the speaker's intent is conveyed and the sentence outside of the dashes would still flow if the text between the dashes were removed. Note that when using single or double dashes to offset additional information or a sentence within a sentence, there should be one space before and after each dash.
No Parentheses
We DO NOT use parentheses to offset information. Please use commas or dashes.
