Transcription Ultimate Transcription 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the purpose of a 'verbatim note' in a transcription style guide?
- To instruct transcriptionists to invent missing words
- To specify exactly which non-verbal sounds and filler words must be included (Correct answer)
- To allow paraphrasing at the transcriptionist's discretion
- To define formatting for headings only
Correct answer: To specify exactly which non-verbal sounds and filler words must be included
Verbatim notes in style guides define which utterances — such as laughter or 'um' — must appear in the final transcript.
Question 2: A speaker says, 'We sold, uh, I mean we purchased, three units.' In clean verbatim, this becomes:
- We sold, uh, I mean we purchased, three units.
- We purchased three units. (Correct answer)
- We sold three units.
- We sold, we purchased, three units.
Correct answer: We purchased three units.
Clean verbatim removes fillers and false starts, keeping only the corrected, intended statement.
Question 3: Which keyboard shortcut in most transcription software rewinds audio by a few seconds?
- Ctrl+Z
- F4 (or configurable rewind key on the foot pedal) (Correct answer)
- Alt+Tab
- Spacebar
Correct answer: F4 (or configurable rewind key on the foot pedal)
Most transcription software assigns a configurable rewind function, often F4 or a foot pedal back-pedal, for quick replay.
Question 4: When transcribing a legal deposition, numbers below 10 are typically written as:
- Digits (1, 2, 3)
- Words (one, two, three) (Correct answer)
- Roman numerals (I, II, III)
- Abbreviated (1st, 2nd, 3rd)
Correct answer: Words (one, two, three)
Legal transcription style typically spells out numbers below ten to match formal written convention.
Question 5: What does a 'turnaround time' (TAT) of 24 hours mean in the transcription industry?
- The audio must be exactly 24 hours long
- The completed transcript must be delivered within 24 hours of receiving the audio (Correct answer)
- The transcriptionist works 24 hours without stopping
- Payment is due 24 hours after delivery
Correct answer: The completed transcript must be delivered within 24 hours of receiving the audio
Turnaround time is the contracted window between audio receipt and transcript delivery.
Question 6: In general transcription, how should background music that interferes with speech be noted?
- Transcribe the song lyrics
- Ignore it entirely
- Insert a notation like [background music] and mark overlapping speech as [inaudible] if needed (Correct answer)
- Stop transcribing until the music ends
Correct answer: Insert a notation like [background music] and mark overlapping speech as [inaudible] if needed
Notating background noise informs the client why certain words may be unclear or missing.
Question 7: What is 'speaker diarization' in the context of automated transcription tools?
- Converting speech to a different language
- Automatically identifying and labeling different speakers in an audio file (Correct answer)
- Removing background noise from audio
- Generating timestamps for each sentence
Correct answer: Automatically identifying and labeling different speakers in an audio file
Diarization segments audio by speaker identity, labeling who said what throughout the recording.
Transcription Ultimate Transcription 3
What is the purpose of a 'verbatim note' in a transcription style guide?