Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What Do We Do?: We Provide Audio Transcription Services, Which Means That We Convert Audio and Video Files Into Text
What Do We Do?: We Provide Audio Transcription Services, Which Means That We Convert Audio and Video Files Into Text
We provide audio transcription services, which means that we convert audio and video files into
text.
In our system, you can pick the files you prefer to work on. You must have a PayPal or Payoneer account
as we make payments only with PayPal or Payoneer. Payments are made every weekend, on Friday.
Also, we cover the PayPal fee so you will receive the exact amount which you earned and there will be no
fee to receive payment. To send a request for payment, go to the WORK section (STATS page). There
you can send a request for payment.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Every time a client uploads a file, you will receive an e-mail. After that, you need to go to the transcription
jobs page and choose the files you want to transcribe.
2. There you will also see the information about the turnaround time, text format (clean or full verbatim) and
timestamping type if one is required.
3. After your transcription is uploaded, you will see your current earnings on the stats page.
4. Payments are made every weekend, on Friday. There will also be a statistics page where you will see
how much you have earned for each file.
5. All of your transcriptions are going to be checked by editors. You will receive a rating and comments to
help you improve your work.
6. If your average rating is better than 4.5, you can try to become an editor.
7. Sometimes, the quality of audio or video files is horrible, so please let us know about that. We will contact
the client and provide a refund for that file.
8. Use US (American) spelling. Only use different spelling if a client asks that in the comments (use
Grammarly).
Example: DOCX or PDF
CLEAN VERBATIM
The transcribed text does not include:
Speech errors
False starts (unless they add information)
Stutters
Repetitions. Note: Keep repetitions of words that express emphasis: No, no, no. I am very, very
happy.
Filler words: Words often excessively used by the speaker but when you take them out, you’re
left with perfectly understandable sentences. uh, um, *you know, *like, *I mean, *so, *kind of, well,
sort of… Be mindful of the context. Some of these filler words do not always function as filler
words.
Expressions should be kept regardless of verbatim type: Oh my God, Oh dear, Oh my, Oh boy,
Oh, et cetera.
Slang words must be written as "got you" instead of "gotcha", "going to" instead of "gonna",
"want to" instead of "wanna", "because" instead of "'cause" et cetera.
"Yeah", "yep", "yap", "yup", "mm-hmm" must be written as "yes"; "alright" must be written as "all
right."
Never spell "Ok" or "OK." It must always be spelled as "Okay."
Avoid starting phrases with conjunctions in clean verbatim. If you really need to add the
conjunction, just expand the sentence. For example: "I went outside but forgot to bring my
umbrella."
Note: For CV: Omit all the "yeah", "yes" reactions to retain a fluent text unless they are answers to given
questions.
DO NOT remove filler words if they change the meaning of the phrase.
FV EXAMPLE:
CV EXAMPLE:
Example: DOCX or PDF
TIMESTAMPING TYPES:
Timestamping time format must be: [00:00:00] (always in bold)
ALWAYS CONSIDER THE WHOLE FILE WHEN YOU'RE TIME STAMPING.
For example, if you do the 20-30 minutes part, your time stamping should start at 20, not 00
Every 2 minutes:
Example: DOCX or PDF
Example: DOCX or PDF
NOTE: If there's a comment next to the audio file saying, "Please use the embedded time" or "burned-in
time," you will need to download the file in order to watch the video and use the correct time.
MAJOR RULES:
1. If you cannot hear what word is being said, mark that as inaudible or unintelligible and specify the
time. Do NOT make up your own markings. Only use [inaudible 00:00:00] and [unintelligible
00:00:00]
Use [inaudible 00:00:00] when speech cannot be heard due to poor recording or noise
(keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + K).
Use [unintelligible 00:00:00] when speech can be heard but it cannot be understood due to the
speaker's manner of speech, accent, et cetera (Ctrl + I).
2. When a speaker is using conjunctions like "and", "so", or "but" to connect longer stretches of thought, it's
often a good idea to create sentence divisions in those places. Also, don't forget to cut out the
conjunctions in those places when they're not necessary. Divide sentences in a way that the
meaning is clearest to the reader.
3. Longer speeches should be separated into smaller paragraphs. Paragraphs shouldn't be longer than 500
symbols (about 100 words or 3-4 lines in the transcription tool).
4. Never paraphrase or reconstruct the speech in the audio you are transcribing.
5. Do not correct grammatical errors made by the speakers.
NOTE: Do not use [sic] tag
6. Always use the correct spelling for misspoken words.
Mark: Hello.
Speaker 1: Some text.
Speaker 2: Some more text.
14. Occasionally, customers dictate instructions to format the transcription while they are speaking. These
instructions should be followed when possible, but never transcribed. Follow customer requests for
spoken directions such as a new paragraph, comma, period, or a bullet point (use a dash). Do not type
out the instruction.
15. Italicize film, book, magazine, song titles, as well as artworks, plays, TV and radio programs, foreign
expressions, et cetera. Example: I watched an episode of Friends the other day.
NOTE: There is no need to italicize social media sites, company names, the Bible, books within the Bible,
versions of it or other sacred writings (Koran, New Testament, Genesis, et cetera). John 1:2–3. If multiple
citations: John 1:3; 3:16; 6:14, 44.
Right: USA, PhD
Wrong: U.S.A., Ph.D.
Right American English: Dr., Mrs.
Right British English: Dr, Mrs (without the period)
17. Always research the proper capitalization e.g., iPhone, UCLA, SaaS
18. Always write links like this: www.facebook.com/groups/gotranscript. Never write it like this: w w w dot
facebook dot com slash groups slash gotranscript
19. Sound events
Sound events that are significant to the audio should also be noted. Use brackets [ ] for
notes. The notes are always written in lower case regardless of the position in a sentence.
Sounds that the speaker makes are always on the same line and always in the present tense.
[snaps fingers] [phone rings] [laughs] [chuckles] [giggles] [scoffs] et cetera. [laughs] is a normal
laugh; [chuckles] is a soft laugh.
Chorus, like [laughter] [applause] [cheering] and sounds not from the speaker like [phone ringing]
[coughing], et cetera, are always on a separate line.
Use [background noise] on a separate line for ambiance noise. Use [background noise] on the
same line if a significant unidentified sound occurs while the speaker is talking.
[crosstalk], [silence] - can be placed on a separate line or same line wherever they occur.
[silence] is used to demonstrate a short pause in speech; not less than 4 seconds but not longer
than 10 seconds.
[pause 00:00:00] bolded and time-stamped is used to demonstrate a pause significant in a
speech. It must be longer than 10 seconds for it to be marked. It is always on a separate line.
When the audio is cut or edited, use [sound cut] on a separate line or the same line; wherever the
sound cut was done.
If a foreign language or a word (in this case, a language that is not English) is spoken, mark it as
[foreign language] or [French language], [German language], et cetera if it can be identified.
Note: Authors/titles/personalities/common sense things are an exception from this rule and must
always be researched. For example: carpe diem, Jacques Chirac, Frédéric Chopin, alea jacta est,
et cetera.
20. Numbers
Spell out single-digit numbers, use numerals for all other numbers: zero, nine, 10, and so on.
Money: $1, $1.5 million, $1,000 (1 grand is 1,000, 5 bucks is $5, 8 quid is £8. Half a million
dollars is $500,000).
Years and eras: '90s, 1990s
Age: 70s, 30s
Percentages: 0.2%, 100%
Measurements: 3 degrees, 12 feet, 8 centimeters, 7 pounds, 1.5 kilos, 28 square meters
Mathematical equations and formulas: x = x + 2 or x ^ 3 = 8
Bible citation: John 1:2–3
Fractions: 1/3
Postal code: 91210
Phone number: 123-456-789
Combination: If a sentence combines small [0-9] and large numbers [10 and up], transcribe all
numbers in numerals.
21. Times of the day and dates: always capitalize AM and PM. Do this: 2:45 PM, 5:00 AM. When using
o'clock, spell out the numbers: eleven o'clock.
22. Double dashes or a single dash
Use double dashes -- when there is a change of thought (false start) or a speech error, or to
mark an incomplete sentence. Do this:
FV Speech error: I went to the bank on Tu-Thursday-- no, Friday.
FV False start: I, um, wanted-- I have dreamed of becoming a musician and--
CV False start that adds to information: Sage is-- You’re right, that boy is my son.
INCOMPLETE SENTENCE regardless of verbatim type:
I wanted to say something but--
Are you done with that or--
Use single dash -
When the speech is interrupted in a conversation, but the speaker continues his thought.
Do this:
27. Do not remove the word et cetera unless the client asks otherwise in the comment section.
28. If you do not prepare the transcriptions according to these requirements, you might be removed
from the team of transcribers.
Useful links:
https://gotranscript.com/transcribing-software - GoTranscript online tool for transcribers
http://www.nch.com.au/scribe/ - Software for transcribers
http://grammar.about.com/
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/
INTERESTED?
If you are interested in working with us, you need to read the provided instructions again and then finish
our test job (clean verbatim; no timestamping needed), which you can find here:
The test job link: https://gotranscript.com/transcription-jobs/apply
Let us know if you have any questions.