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Formatting

When you are ready to format your transcription, the title and page numbers are added, and text is grouped into distinct paragraphs. Elements that must be considered when formatting the transcript include:  

Font Type and Size

AAS recommends using Calibri or Arial at 12 or 14 points, for size. The font type and size can be changed, just ensure your choices are accessible to all.

Paragraph Length
Speaker Labels

Speaker labels are the terms you use to identify speakers in your content. When labeling a speaker, use their full name, role, or a generic label such as “Speaker 1”. Only use generic labels if you cannot identify a speaker or their role. It’s best to write the speaker label in bold. For example: 

Jane: Hello.

Speaker 1: Hello, Jane.

Interviewer: Hello. 

Inaudible and Crosstalk Tags

Insert inaudible tags where you cannot hear the speaker’s words, and crosstalk tags when there is input from multiple speakers at the same time, making it impossible to comprehend what they are all saying. Mark the tags with a timestamp. You can always return to this part during the proofreading process. For example:

[inaudible 00:30] or [crosstalk 01:30]

Sounds

In clean verbatim transcriptions, you do not have to annotate background sounds and any other non-speech elements if they are non-essential to understanding the content.

  • If you determine nonverbal cues are essential to understanding the meaning of the dialogue, remember not to interpret the nonverbal cue.
    • For example, you would write “This clown is obnoxious [laughing]”. You would not write “This clown is obnoxious [laughing out loud].”
  • If there is a pause you need to document in your transcription, we recommend using “...” for this.
    • For example, you would write “I just... couldn’t imagine doing anything else.”
Capitalization  

For capitalization, use the standard grammar capitalization rules. Capitalize the first letter in names, places, companies, and job titles. Do not use all capital letters unless you are trying to signify shouting or screaming.

Grammar

Use “[sic]” to denote grammatical errors in the transcription. For example, if you heard “They is confused” in the recording, transcribe it as “They are [sic] confused.” Do not just write “They are confused.”

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