Transcription Transcription MCQ 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In closed captioning transcription for broadcast television, what is the maximum recommended characters per line according to FCC guidelines?
- 22 characters
- 32 characters (Correct answer)
- 40 characters
- 52 characters
Correct answer: 32 characters
FCC best practices recommend a maximum of 32 characters per line to ensure readability on standard screen sizes.
Question 2: A transcriptionist hears the spoken phrase 'for all intensive purposes.' What is the correct transcription under verbatim rules versus edited style?
- Verbatim: 'for all intensive purposes'; Edited: 'for all intents and purposes' (Correct answer)
- Both styles require 'for all intents and purposes'
- Both styles retain 'for all intensive purposes'
- Verbatim: omit the phrase; Edited: correct it silently
Correct answer: Verbatim: 'for all intensive purposes'; Edited: 'for all intents and purposes'
Verbatim style captures exactly what was said (the eggcorn 'intensive purposes'), while edited style corrects to the standard idiom.
Question 3: What does the abbreviation 'HIPAA' stand for in the context of medical transcription compliance?
- Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Correct answer)
- Hospital Information Privacy and Access Act
- Healthcare Integrated Patient Accounting Administration
- Health Information Processing and Authentication Act
Correct answer: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
HIPAA stands for the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, which governs the privacy and security of protected health information.
Question 4: When a speaker in an audio recording says a number and it is unclear whether they said 'fifteen' or 'fifty,' what should a professional transcriptionist do?
- Default to the higher number
- Default to 'fifteen' as it is more commonly misspoken
- Use [15 or 50?] to flag the ambiguity for review (Correct answer)
- Transcribe whichever fits the surrounding context without flagging
Correct answer: Use [15 or 50?] to flag the ambiguity for review
Flagging ambiguous numbers with a bracketed note ensures the client can verify accuracy rather than the transcriptionist making an unchecked assumption.
Question 5: Which of the following is a correct example of how to transcribe a direct quotation within a transcript?
- She said that she was tired.
- She said, 'I am tired.' (Correct answer)
- She said [I am tired]
- She said — I am tired —
Correct answer: She said, 'I am tired.'
Direct speech that a speaker quotes should be enclosed in single quotes (within dialogue) or double quotes per the applicable style guide.
Question 6: A transcriptionist is asked to produce an 'intelligent verbatim' transcript. Which elements should be removed?
- All contractions and informal language
- Filler words, false starts, and excessive repetitions (Correct answer)
- Proper nouns and acronyms
- Numbered lists and bullet-point structures
Correct answer: Filler words, false starts, and excessive repetitions
Intelligent verbatim (also called clean verbatim) removes filler words (um, uh), false starts, and unnecessary repetitions while preserving the speaker's words.
Question 7: In a transcription of a multi-party conference call, how should simultaneous speech (crosstalk) be handled?
- Transcribe only the loudest voice and ignore others
- Mark the section [CROSSTALK] and transcribe as much as is audible from each speaker (Correct answer)
- Pause the transcript until the crosstalk ends
- Assign all crosstalk to the last identified speaker
Correct answer: Mark the section [CROSSTALK] and transcribe as much as is audible from each speaker
Professional practice is to mark [CROSSTALK] and capture what is audible from each speaker, ensuring clients know speech overlapped.
Transcription Transcription MCQ 4
In closed captioning transcription for broadcast television, what is the maximum recommended characters per line according to FCC guidelines?