FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Where to start?
To become a transcriber, you must do our test job using our guidelines. You need to
transcribe this video.

Do you need experience to become a transcriber?

You don't need to have any experience, you just need to have good English skills.

Do you hire outside the UK?

Yes, we hire anyone worldwide. It doesn’t matter where you live.

Are there any requirements for how fast I need to type to become a transcriber?
No, we don’t have such requirements. We give around 6 hours to transcribe 10 minutes of an
audio or video file, so we are sure it’s enough time even for slow typers.

How many transcriptionist jobs do you have??

We have plenty of jobs. We receive new orders from our clients every day and you will
always have something to transcribe on our website.

Why does your test job contain a non-native speaker and why is the video quality so low?
Because we have a lot of orders like that and we need to test your ability to transcribe files
with strong accent.

How will I be paid?

We pay every Friday through Paypal and Payoneer.

Why are not all shortcuts working on the GoTranscript tool?

On some computers, some buttons are reserved, for example F1. Try to change shortcuts.

What happens if I fail the test job?

You can try again after a few days. Try working hard to improve.

What happens after I pass the test job?

Sign up to our website as a client with the same e-mail that you used to send the test job.
After that, check your e-mail and follow the instructions to start working on transcriptions.
GoTranscript Transcription Guidelines

THE FILES YOU'LL HAVE ACCESS TO ARE CONFIDENTIAL AND THEY'RE

NOT TO BE SHARED! BREAKING THIS RULE WILL LEAD TO THE WORKER'S
REMOVAL FROM THE GT TEAM.

Updated 2019-11-18: Do not use [sic] tag.

Updated 2019-11-19: US spelling usage clarification

What do we do?
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 do payments only with PayPal or Payoneer. Payments are done every
weekend, on Friday. Also we cover PayPal fee so you will receive exactly amount which
you earned and there will be no fee to receive payment. To request payment go to WORK
area to STATS page. There you can 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 done 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. We prefer to use US (American) spelling. Use different spelling if a client asks that in
the comments or the main speakers have UK (British), Australian or Canadian accent.
Use Grammarly.

Text format descriptions

Full verbatim
The text is transcribed exactly as it sounds and includes all the utterances of the speakers.
Those are:

 Speech errors: "I went to the bank on Thursday-- no, Friday."

 False starts: I, um, wanted-- I have dreamed of becoming a musician.
  Filler words: um, uh, kind of, sort of, I mean, you know…
 Slang words Kinda, gotta, gotcha, betcha, wanna, dunno…
 Stutters: I-I went to the bank last Tu-Thursday.
 Repetitions: I went- I went to the bank last Friday.
 Only use these forms for the affirmative/negative:
Mm-hmm, Mm (affirmative) or Mm-mm (negative)
Uh-huh (affirmative) or Uh-uh (negative)

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
think, *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, 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 phrase. 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:
Speaker 1: Hey, Maya, I'd like to ask you something.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Someone told me, applicants must now present an ID before they can sign up.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: But I'm not sure if that is true.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Okay, uh, is it true?
Speaker 2: Yep.
CV example:
Speaker 1: Hey, Maya, I'd like to ask you something.
Speaker 2: Okay.
Speaker 1: Someone told me, applicants must now present an ID before they can sign up. I'm
not sure if that is true. Is it true?
Speaker 2: Yes.
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
Every time the speaker changes:
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]
o Use [inaudible 00:00:00] when speech cannot be heard due to poor recording
or noise (keyboard shortcut: Ctrl + K).
o 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.
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).

Exception: transcribe lyrics like a poem.

4. Never paraphrase or reconstruct the speech in the audio you are transcribing.
5. Do not correct grammatical errors made by the speakers.
NEW! NOTE: Do not use [sic] tag
6. Always use the correct spelling for misspoken words, egregious phonetic, and
pronunciation errors that inhibit readability or understanding.
Example: If a speaker pronounces "niche" [neesh] as nitche, or instead of
"Department of Agrarian Reform", the speaker said, "Department of Agricultural
Reform", please use the correct word and spelling based on your research and on the
context of the audio.
7. Everything with a time-stamp (e.g. [pause 00:04:24] [unintelligible 00:04:24]
[00:04:24] [inaudible 00:02:24]) should be bolded. Nothing else besides the speaker
labels and marks with time-stamps should be bolded.
8. Never use () instead of []
9. Every sentence should end with a punctuation mark. Except when the sentence ends
with a double dash which means the sentence was incomplete, an unintelligible or
inaudible mark when you cannot be sure whether the sentence is a question or not.
10. The beginning of every sentence should be capitalized.
11. Never change spoken contractions (e.g. y’all, ain’t, don’t, can’t, it’s, et cetera.)
Example: If the speaker says "it's", it should be kept as "it's" regardless of the
verbatim
12. Never use exclamation marks.
13. Speaker labels
o If there is more than one speaker, their names (if they are known) must be
used. If not - mark them as "Speaker 1", "Speaker 2" and so on.
o Always use a speaker label, even if there's only one speaker. Speaker:
o Make each speaker's role in the audio as descriptive as possible. For example,
"Interviewer", "Interviewee", "Participant 1", "Host", "Facilitator",
"Caller", "Receiver", et cetera.
o If the speaker's full name is used at some point (for example, David
Butterfield:), later in the transcription, the last name can be dropped (for
example, David Butterfield: becomes just David:). The same goes for the
titles (Doctor, Pastor, et cetera). This is optional and is not considered to be an
error.
o If you cannot identify who exactly is speaking, add a question mark before the
speaker label. For example, ?Speaker 2, ?Interviewee 3. But if you cannot
identify who is speaking throughout most of the transcript, it's better to then
mark the speakers with a generic label like Interviewee or Participant. Still,
it's important that you are able to at least identify the person asking questions
or leading the discussion.
o Speaker labels must be written in bold, followed by a colon and a space.
NEVER use the Tab button, only one click of the Space button.

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 new paragraph, comma,
period or bullet point (use a dash). Do not type out the instruction.

If a speaker spells a word or a name, Example: My name is Anna. A-N-N-A.

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.
16. Abbreviations and acronyms should not contain dashes or periods. Right: USA, PhD
Wrong: U.S.A., Ph.D.
17. Always research the proper capitalization e.g. iPhone, UCLA, SaaS
18. Always write links like this: www.facebook.com/groups/gotranscript. Never write
them like this: w w w dot facebook dot com slash groups slash gotranscript
19. Sound events
o 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.
o Sounds that the speaker makes is always in the same line and always in
present tense. [snaps fingers] [phone rings] [laughs] [chuckles] [giggles]
[scoffs] et cetera. Laugh is normal laugh; chuckles is soft laugh.
o Sounds not made by the person speaking are always on separate line [present
and gerund]: [applause] [cheering] [chuckling] [laughter] [phone ringing] et
cetera.
o Use [background noise] on separate line for ambiance noise. Use [background
noise] on same line if a significant unidentified sound occurs while the
speaker is talking.
o [crosstalk], [silence]- can be placed in separate line or same line.
o [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.
[silence] is used to demonstrate a short pause in speech; not less than 4
seconds but not longer than 10 seconds.
o When the audio is cut or edited, use [sound cut] on a separate line or the same
line; wherever the sound cut was done.
o 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
o Cardinal Numbers: Quantity/value/amount:
Spell out 0-9, use numeral for 10 and up: two million stars, 12 million stars,
1%, 20%.
o Ordinal Numbers: Rank/Position. Grade 8, Level 1, page 7, 1st floor, 5th of
May, First…[ mind the context]
o EXCEPTION: DO NOT spell out:
 Amounts. $1 million, $1.5 million, $12 million. (1 grand is 1,000, 5
bucks is $5, 8 quid is £8. Half a million dollars is $500,000). Use the
symbol for currencies [if known] and percentages, even if not
mentioned.
 Nominal Numbers: Numbers to identify something [not as a value or
position], Always use numeral.
 Number at the back of a footballer: 8
 A postal code: 91210
 A telephone number: 123-456-7890, 842-50-48
 o Spell out numbers that begin a sentence, except years, amounts, percentage:
Example: 1990 was the year of that event. Forty-eight kilos of rice.
o If a sentence combines small and large numbers, transcribe all numbers in
numerals.
o Thousands should be written in digits and with a comma. Do this: 1,000,
5,000. Note that there's a difference between "a thousand" (spelled out) and
"one thousand" (digits)
21. Measurement: For consistency, it only makes sense to use numeral even for small
numbers because numbers will always be used for measurements.
E.g. 3 degrees, 12 feet, 8 centimeters, 7 pounds, 1.5 kilos, 28 square meters
22. 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.
23. Time periods should be written with an apostrophe: '60s, '70s style; however, "that
man is in his 70s" (no apostrophe)
24. When the speaker uses symbols or equations (like a Math lecture), transcribers
should do their best to transcribe those things using the tool, like writing formulas
using regular symbols x = x + 2 or x ^ 3 = 8.
25. Double dashes or a single dash
o 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--
o Use single dash -
 When the speech is interrupted in a conversation, but the speaker
continues his thought. Do this:

Speaker 1: I thought he was-

Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: -gone.

FV Stutter: Why is this m-m-moist?

FV Repetition: Why is this- why is this moist?

26. Quotation marks

o Double quotation marks "" are used whenever there is a direct quotation.
Example: She said, "Don't bother telling me.” Quotations are introduced by a
comma, not a colon.
o Internal dialogues are seen as direct quotations as well. Example: And then I
thought to myself, "What if I can't make it?" (Notice how the question mark is
inside of the quotation. This is because the quotation itself is a question.
However, if the rest of the sentence is a question containing a quotation, then
the question mark would be outside of the quotation marks).
o When quoting, the first word of a complete sentence should be capitalized.
 o Do not use quotation marks in indirect quotations (when the speaker
paraphrases what has been said). Example: The man said that he was in a
hurry.
o Commas and periods always go inside the quotation marks.
27. If there are curse words in the audio, transcribe them word for word.
28. Capitalize logical divisions and nouns followed by numbers of letters that are part of a
series (E.g. Grade 8, Section B, Chapter 1, Article VI, et cetera). However, do not
capitalize smaller divisions: page 1, paragraph 7, et cetera.
29. If the conjunction [and, for, or, nor, so, yet] precedes an independent (main) clause,
use a comma before the conjunction.

Correct: Jack tried a new diet, but he still gained weight.

Correct: Jack tried a new diet but still gained weight.
Incorrect: Jack tried a new diet, but still gained weight.

30. Do not remove the word et cetera unless the client asks otherwise in the comment
section.
31. If you do not prepare the transcriptions according to these requirements, you
might be removed from the team of transcribers.

Ratings which are given by editors:

1 - from 0% to 83% accuracy
2 - from 83% to 88% accuracy
3 - from 88% to 92% accuracy
4 - from 92% to 96% accuracy
5 - from 96% to 100% accuracy

o Transcribers should know that mistakes like the following will be harshly
penalized by editors. Along with accuracy, editors will be rating your files
based on your grammar mistakes and/or lack of research.
o If a new transcriber finishes 3 transcriptions and has 3.4 or a lower average
rating, he/she will be removed from the team.

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.