CLT Grammar & Punctuation for Legal Transcription 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In verbatim legal transcription, how should a speaker's interrupted or unfinished sentence be indicated?
- Omit the unfinished sentence entirely
- Use an em dash (—) at the point of interruption (Correct answer)
- Replace it with '[INCOMPLETE]'
- Use three dots (...) to represent missing words
Correct answer: Use an em dash (—) at the point of interruption
An em dash marks an abrupt interruption or break-off mid-sentence in verbatim transcription, indicating the speech was cut short.
Question 2: Which sentence shows the correct use of an apostrophe for a joint possessive in a legal document?
- The plaintiff's and defendant's agreement
- The plaintiff and defendant's agreement (Correct answer)
- The plaintiffs' and defendants' agreement
- The plaintiff's and defendant agreement
Correct answer: The plaintiff and defendant's agreement
When two parties jointly possess something, only the last noun takes the apostrophe-s (e.g., 'the plaintiff and defendant's agreement').
Question 3: In U.S. legal transcription, how are dates most commonly formatted in formal documents?
- MM/DD/YYYY (e.g., 06/24/2026)
- The 24th day of June, 2026
- June 24, 2026 (Correct answer)
- 24 June 2026
Correct answer: June 24, 2026
U.S. legal transcription standard practice writes dates as Month Day, Year (e.g., June 24, 2026), with a comma after the day.
Question 4: Which sentence correctly uses a hyphen in a legal transcript?
- The attorney cross examined the witness.
- The court-appointed guardian filed the motion. (Correct answer)
- It was a well known fact—documented in the record.
- He was a twenty five year old defendant.
Correct answer: The court-appointed guardian filed the motion.
'Court-appointed' is a compound modifier preceding a noun and requires a hyphen per standard hyphenation rules.
Question 5: When should parentheses be used in a legal transcript?
- To indicate loud or emphatic speech by the witness
- To enclose interpolated notes, clarifications, or stage directions (e.g., (Pause)) (Correct answer)
- To replace em dashes in interrupted testimony
- To mark all colloquial expressions in testimony
Correct answer: To enclose interpolated notes, clarifications, or stage directions (e.g., (Pause))
Parentheses enclose editorial insertions, notations, or stage directions such as '(Pause),' '(Witness nods),' or clarifying information added by the transcriptionist.
Question 6: In formal legal transcription, how should contractions generally be handled?
- Always expand contractions to their full form (e.g., 'do not' instead of 'don't')
- Retain contractions exactly as spoken by the speaker (Correct answer)
- Replace all contractions with abbreviations
- Contractions are prohibited and must be flagged for attorney review
Correct answer: Retain contractions exactly as spoken by the speaker
In verbatim legal transcription, contractions are retained as spoken to accurately reflect the speaker's words; in some edited formats they may be expanded, but verbatim is the default standard.
Question 7: Which of the following correctly uses a colon to introduce a list in a legal transcript?
- The exhibits included: photos, documents, and maps.
- The exhibits that were admitted were: photos, documents, and maps.
- Three exhibits were admitted into evidence: photos, documents, and maps. (Correct answer)
- Photos: documents: and maps were admitted.
Correct answer: Three exhibits were admitted into evidence: photos, documents, and maps.
A colon is correctly used after a complete independent clause that introduces a list; it should not interrupt the flow of the main clause.
CLT Grammar & Punctuation for Legal Transcription 2
In verbatim legal transcription, how should a speaker's interrupted or unfinished sentence be indicated?