Style Guide

For Clean Verbatim Transcription

Introduction 4

General Expectations 4

Difficult Audio 4

Spelling and Formatting 5

Spacing 5

One Space Between Sentences 5

Change of Speaker, New Line 5

Paragraphing 5

Spelling 5

TM-Specific Spellings 5

Commonwealth Spelling 5

Spelling Words Out 5

Email Addresses 6

Research 6

Exception for Medications 6

Clean Verbatim 6

Conversation to Include 6

Automated Voices 6

Exclude Background Speakers 7

Stutters and Stammers 7

Filler Words 7

Thinking Sounds 8

Informal Speech 8

Conjunctions and Interjections 8

Contractions 8

Informal Pronunciation 8

Incorrect Grammar 9

Slang and Unconventional Words 9

Profanities 9

Crutch Words 9

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 1 of 23 False Starts 9

Cleaning Up False Starts 10

Exceptional Cases 10

Interruptions 10

Continued Interruptions 10

Unfinished Interruptions 11

Feedback Words 11

Tags 11

Punctuating Tags 12

Speech Tags 12

[inaudible] 12

[crosstalk] 12

[foreign] 12

Bilingual and Entirely Foreign Files 13

Guess Tag 13

Solid Block of Tags 13

Speech Tag Summary 13

Nonspeech Tags 14

[silence] 14

[music] and [applause] 14

[laughter] 14

Numbers and Symbols 15

General Rules 15

Numbers 15

Symbols 15

Exceptions 15

Numerical Ranges and Series 15

Consistency 16

Conventional Formatting 16

Numbers That Are Always Spelled Out 16

Fractions 16

Inexact Numbers 17

Very Large Numbers 17

Numbers That Are Always Numerals 17

Money 17

Percentages 17

Decimals 17

Scales 18

Time 18

Measures of Time 18

Dates 18

Addresses 18

Religious References 18

Math Equations 18

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 2 of 23 Punctuation 19

Sentence Structure 19

Run-On Sentences 19

Sentence Fragments 19

Single Dashes 19

Punctuation between Single Dashes 19

Colons and Semicolons 20

Commas 20

When to Use a Comma 20

Before a Conjunction between Two Complete Sentences 20 Oxford Comma (a.k.a. Serial Comma) 20

Direct Address 20

Interjections and Adverbs 21

When NOT to Use a Comma 21

Comma Splices 21

After a Conjunction 21

Between a Subject and Verb 21

To Represent Speaker Pauses 21

Quotation Marks 21

Interrupted Quotes 22

Media Titles 22

Other Punctuation 22

Apostrophes 22

Hyphens 23

Spoken Punctuation 23

No Parentheses or Ellipses 23

Tips and Reminders 23

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 3 of 23 Introduction

The following Style Guide outlines formatting guidelines for Clean Verbatim transcription style, tag usage, grammar, and punctuation. These rules have been implemented to meet the particular demands for transcription at TranscribeMe, and Transcribers and QAs are expected to adhere to these standards in their submitted work.

General Expectations

You will be held to the following expectations in your work at TranscribeMe:

● Style guidelines on the right of the WorkHub screen must be strictly followed. This includes adhering to the correct style, Clean Verbatim or otherwise, and the proper spelling (i.e., American or Commonwealth English). Check the style guidelines for every file.

● Accuracy:You must strive to capture all speech relevant to the file. For words you cannot understand, use the appropriate tag(s) as detailed in the Speech Tags section.

● Research every name, company, and term mentioned in the audio to determine the proper spelling and formatting. If you find multiple accepted spellings, choose one and be consistent.

● Spelling and grammar:You should demonstrate a strong grasp of English grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Carefully proofread and spell-check each file before submitting it.

● Be consistent in each file. This includes consistency in spelling and punctuation style.

● Communication:When you encounter something unusual, such as an entirely silent or foreign file, please send a Help Desk ticket.

Difficult Audio

Some files may be difficult to transcribe due to poor audio or the speakers' speech patterns (thick accents, speaking fast, etc.). We don't expect perfection in such cases, but please give your best effort even when transcribing poor-quality audio. Here are some tips for handling tricky audio: 1. Replay problem sections,adjusting the audio speed down and up. Using a built-in audio enhancing program or extension may help reduce background noise or clarify fuzzy audio. 2. Context is key.Relistening to the entire file is crucial to deciphering words you struggled with the first time. Perhaps the word or phrase was said more clearly later in the file, you become accustomed to the speakers' voices, or you deduce what was said based on context. 3. Read for clarity.If what you have transcribed makes little or no sense, you have likely misheard something. For example, if you type, "Funs of people will be there," listen again and decide what fits:

"Tons of people will be there." Don't transcribe words that don't make sense in context. 4. Use tags when necessary.If you cannot decipher the words after trying the above steps, then use the appropriate tag(s) as described in the Speech Tags section. Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 4 of 23 Spelling and Formatting

Spacing

One Space Between Sentences

At TM, we leave one space between sentences, not two. Only press the spacebar once after each sentence. You can use the Find function to search for extra spaces. Change of Speaker, New Line

To indicate a change of speaker, simply create a new line in the transcript by pressing Enter/Return once. Pressing Enter twice is also fine but unnecessary. It will look like this (speaker identification is not added at the transcription phase):

Hi, I'm Don.

Hi, I'm Jill.

And my name is Dave. Welcome to our podcast.

Paragraphing

In addition to creating a new line for each change of speaker, we also split long single-speaker monologues into paragraphs at obvious changes of topic. As with a change of speaker, hit Enter once to create a new line. Although paragraph sizes will vary, a paragraph shorter than 40 seconds is likely too short, while monologues over 2 minutes may need to be broken up at a logical topic change. Spelling

Regardless of the speakers' accents in the audio, we transcribe using American spelling and punctuation unless otherwise specified (see Commonwealth Spelling below). For grammar and spelling issues not addressed in this Style Guide, TM defers to the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) and Merriam-Webster dictionary (M-W). Note that purchasing a subscription for CMOS or M-W is not required. TM-Specific Spellings

Please adhere to these spellings in your work at TM: Yes okay / all right / a lot / etc./ US and USA / email / internet / healthcare No OK or 'kay / alright / alot / et cetera / U.S.or U.S.A / e-mail / Internet / health care Commonwealth Spelling

We also receive special accent files that require Commonwealth English spellings. These files will show the accent's associated country code in the style guidelines: GB (British), AU (Aussie), NZ (Kiwi), SCT (Scottish), or IE

(Irish). To gain access to such files, you must pass the corresponding Accent Exam on your Exams tab. Spelling Words Out

Individual letters are capitalized. If a speaker spells out a word, we transcribe the letters spoken, with each capital letter separated by hyphens. Don't hyphenate acronyms, codes, or serial numbers unless the Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 5 of 23 conventional format for the acronym or number includes a hyphen (see Research and Conventional Formatting for more examples).

The next letter after J is, obviously, K.

I expect you to treat each other with respect, R-E-S-P-E-C-T. Email Addresses

Format email addresses as per standard convention. If a speaker says, "My email is Frank at Yahoo dot com," then transcribe: My email is adzc9e@r.postjobfree.com. If the speaker spells out, "My email is F-R-A-N-K at Y-A-H-O-O dot com," then transcribe: My email is adzc9e@r.postjobfree.com. However, if the speaker both says and spells out the address for clarification, e.g., "My email is Frank, F-R-A-N-K, at Yahoo, Y-A-H-O-O, dot com, C-O-M," then transcribe: My email is Frank, F-R-A-N-K, at Yahoo, Y-A-H-O-O, dot com, C-O-M. Another example: My email is Frank, F-R, A as in apple, N as in Neptune, K, at yahoo.com. Research

It is your responsibility to research any names and terms mentioned in your file to ensure you format them properly. Format company names as in the main text of their website (not the stylized logo), or refer to the copyright at the bottom of their web page. See Conventional Formatting for more examples. adidas / iPhone / MEDITECH / Toys"R"Us / 7-Eleven / NBA / Johnson & Johnson Exception for Medications

For brand-name medications stylized in all caps, we capitalize the first letter only. Generic drug names are lowercase. We recommend referencing drugs.com to distinguish brand names from generic. Tylenol / Tums / Zyrtec / acetaminophen /ibuprofen /cetirizine Clean Verbatim

The default transcription style at TranscribeMe is Clean Verbatim (CV), an approach to transcribing that ensures the transcript is clear, succinct, easy to read, and accurately conveys the audio's speech. For our Clean Verbatim product, we want to clean up the speech to make it easier to read, but we don't edit what was said. The most common features of speech altered in CV are stutters, stammers, filler words, informal pronunciation, feedback, and false starts. This section will describe how to transcribe your audio file using TranscribeMe Clean Verbatim. Conversation to Include

At TranscribeMe, we transcribe the main speaker(s) and their dialogue with anyone else in the file, even if the conversation seems irrelevant. This will sometimes require breaking up another main speaker's dialogue. For example, if the interviewer (a main speaker) mutes the phone to have a side conversation with a coworker while their interviewee (another main speaker) continues talking, all three speakers' dialogues must be transcribed. Automated Voices

We transcribe relevant automated voices, such as prerecorded phone messages. Treat such speech as you would human speech, putting each "voice" on a new line.

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 6 of 23 Exclude Background Speakers

If people are speaking in the background but the file's main speakers have no interaction with them, do not transcribe the background speech. Background speech can include conversations of other diners not at the speakers' table in a restaurant, a PA system announcement, or voices coming from a TV or radio. But if the main speakers interact with or acknowledge the other speaker(s), they become relevant to the transcript and must be included.

For example, if a waiter at a restaurant takes your main speakers' orders, this exchange must be transcribed, but don't transcribe the same waiter taking an order at another table. Likewise, transcribe speech coming from a PA system, TV, or radio if the main speakers comment on it. Stutters and Stammers

We remove repetitive words and sounds made while a speaker is stumbling over their thoughts. If, however, the repetition adds meaning or emphasis, include it.

Said: Re-repeated s-s-sounds such as st-st-st-stammers and stutters should,should not be,be tr-transcribed. But it is very, very important to include words that are repeated for emphasis.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. People do do that sometimes.

Type: Repeated sounds such as stammers and stutters should not be transcribed. But it is very, very important to include words that are repeated for emphasis. Yeah, yeah, yeah. People do do that sometimes.

Filler Words

Remove filler words such as uh, um, er, hmm, uh-uh, or mm-hmm unless it adds crucial meaning, e.g., being the only answer to a direct question. In such cases, we adhere to these spellings: Affirmative: uh-huh / mm-hmm

Negative: uh-uh / nuh-uh / mm-mm

Note in this example how filler words are excluded unless they are the only answer to a question. Said: Did you go to the store?

Mm-hmm.Yeah, I went last night. Mm-hmm.

Hmm.Did you get milk?

Uh-huh.

Uh-huh. Okay. Thanks. Hmm.Are you ready for, uh, dinner now? Mm-hmm.Hey, did you see the news tonight?

Type: Did you go to the store?

Yeah, I went last night.

Did you get milk?

Uh-huh.

Okay. Thanks. Are you ready for dinner now?

Mm-hmm. Hey, did you see the news tonight?

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 7 of 23 Thinking Sounds

Do not transcribe meaningless thinking sounds.

Said: I want a...buh… tk tk tk...pizza.

Type: I want a pizza.

Informal Speech

People often speak in ways that do not conform to formal writing conventions. This section will outline how to handle common transcription situations that aren't addressed by standard grammar rules. Conjunctions and Interjections

Include conjunctions and interjections at the beginning, middle, or end of sentences as spoken. If a speaker finishes their thought with or, so, or but, we offset it with a comma. And I wanted to get a new dog, but.

Ah, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So why didn't it work out? Well, it was just like, "This dog won't work."

Aw, that's too bad. So was that the only reason, or? Oh, and he kind of smelled too, so.

Ugh. That's a shame.

Contractions

Transcribe contractions as spoken. If a speaker says they're, transcribe they're NOT they are. If they say they are, transcribe they are, etc. The contractions for could have and the like are could've NOT could of, etc. No could of / should of / would of

Yes could've / should've / would've

Informal Pronunciation

Transcribe informal words with their proper spelling, not based on pronunciation or accent. We make an exception for the following frequently used words, with these spellings: gotcha, y'all, ain't, and I'ma. Note that we only use these spellings if the speaker actually says it that way; if they say got you, then transcribe got you. No gonna /gotta /wanna /kinda /sorta /coulda /'cause or cuz /goin' /ya Yes going to / got to / want to / kind of / sort of / could've / because / going / you Yes gotcha / y'all / ain't / I'ma

Said: Pacifically, I axed 'im if he was gonn' go ta 'em stores where they be sellin' milk. I coulda just gone myself, but.

Gotcha. Well, y'all ain't gonna believe this, but I'ma talk ta him 'bout that right now. Ya hear me?

Type: Specifically, I asked him if he was going to go to them stores where they be selling milk. I could've just gone myself, but.

Gotcha. Well, y'all ain't going to believe this, but I'ma talk to him about that right now. You hear me?

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 8 of 23 Incorrect Grammar

Transcribe incorrect grammar as spoken. This can range from violation of subject-verb agreement rules to plain bad English. Do not edit their speech, and do not use a [sic] tag. Them trees, they got so much locusts in them.

My dad want me go to store because want a apple.

Slang and Unconventional Words

Nonstandard words and slang should be included as spoken, using the most common or logical spelling you can find. If a speaker makes up a word, spell it out as best you can. Then you do the same steps, da, da, and then da. Sha-doo-bop. That's all it is. We had an abso-freaking-lutely fantabulistic day.

Profanities

We transcribe what is said without censoring. If you feel uncomfortable transcribing a file for any reason, you may cancel out.

Crutch Words

A crutch word is an utterance (often a verbal tic) that adds no meaning to what is said. At TranscribeMe, we ONLY remove the crutch words like and you know when they are inessential to the sentence. All other crutch words should be transcribed.

Said: You know,I mean,if the speaker, like,says this, okay,we kind of want to, like,make it, you know, sort of readable, right?

Type: I mean, if the speaker says this, okay, we kind of want to make it sort of readable, right? In these examples, there are no crutch words to remove: He was like, "What do you think?" (Like is often used to introduce a quote) She was gone for like a week. (Like is an approximation in this instance) Do you know what time it is?

False Starts

When a speaker corrects their speech or changes direction of thought mid-sentence, causing them to begin a phrase or sentence over again, we refer to their error as a false start. Indicate a false start by typing double dashes (press the hyphen key twice) followed by a space before the next letter. The dashes attach to the word before but not after them.

Here's an example of-- this is a false start.

Did you just say-- wait, can you repeat that?

Here's an example where the speaker decides to-- I'm changing direction mid-sentence. My son said the lion was his-- the tiger was his favorite animal at the zoo. Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 9 of 23 Cleaning Up False Starts

If a false start consists of three or fewer words, omit the error and transcribe the corrected sentence. In doing so, remember we only remove what's to the left of the dashes. Partial words should not be transcribed or included in the word count.DO NOT remove false starts of four or more words, even if the speaker--even if the speaker repeats the exact same thing.

Said: We're out of oran--apple juice, and I have to eat--leave soon. Do you want to go to the mall with--to the store with me to get groceries? I mean, we really need to get--really need to get more orange juice--more apple juice.

Type: We're out of apple juice, and I have to leave soon. Do you want to go to the mall with-- to the store with me to get groceries? I mean, we really need to get-- really need to get more apple juice.

When a speaker says multiple false starts in a row, we abide by the three-and-under removal rule for each false start.

Said: Here's an example of-- an example--here is a case--here is-- I guess I'm using a-- there's a lot-- this is a lot of false starts.

Type: Here's an example of-- here is a case-- I guess I'm using a-- this is a lot of false starts. Exceptional Cases

If a short false start conveys crucial meaning, include it. A common example is when a speaker says something to correct him- or herself before moving on such as or, I mean, I'm sorry, or excuse me. I went to the mall--I mean, to the store and bought groceries. He attended East Middle--or, wait, West Middle School. The most famous cartoon is Donald--I'm sorry, Mickey Mouse. Interruptions

In conversation, speakers often interject or talk over one another. If an interruption occurs as a speaker is finishing their thought, end their line with closing punctuation then begin a new line for the interjecting speaker as normal. We don't indicate the interruption in such cases. What is your name and your age, please?

Fernando, and I'm 54 years old.

Continued Interruptions

When a speaker interrupts someone in the middle of their sentence and the interrupted speaker continues the same thought after the interjection, we mark their broken-up speech with double dashes. Attach the dashes to the last word before the interruption, then create a new line for the interjecting speaker as normal (with a capital letter and no dashes). On the next line, we continue the interrupted sentence with double dashes, no space, then the next word in lowercase (except for proper nouns). Now I'm going to tell you exactly--

Wait a minute.

--what I did in the 30 years I worked for the company. Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 10 of 23 Unfinished Interruptions

If the speaker doesn't finish their sentence after being interrupted, mark the interrupted thought with double dashes, but begin their new thought as normal, with a capital letter and no dashes. For unfinished questions, place a question mark after the dashes with no space in between. I think--

So did you--?

Sorry, you go ahead.

Did you have a good time--

I didn't catch that. What did you--?

--at the party the other night?

Oh, yeah. It was great.

Feedback Words

We define feedback words as any generic word or phrase spoken while another person is talking, when the purpose is merely to show that they are listening or to passively acknowledge what the other speaker says. We remove feedback unless it leads to further speech by the same speaker or someone responds to it. Common feedback words include, but are not limited to, phrases such as yeah, right, okay, got it, and great. Said: So I walked all the way to the mall yesterday. Right. Gotcha.

I got a new job working for--

A job. Sounds great.

--a family friend--

Yeah. Great.

--at one of the kiosks in the parking lot.

Okay. Great. Yeah.And which kiosk are you working at? Type: So I walked all the way to the mall yesterday. I got a new job working for-- A job. Sounds great.

--a family friend at one of the kiosks in the parking lot. Okay. Great. Yeah. And which kiosk are you working at? Notice in the above example that we include longer phrases and specific comments, such as in A job. Sounds great.We also transcribe words (which would otherwise be removed as feedback) if they lead into other speech by the same speaker, as in the example of Okay. Great. Yeah.And which kiosk… Tags

Carefully adhere to the following tag guidelines. DO NOT use tags that are not listed below. Your work may be rejected for misspelling or using incorrect tags.Ignore nonverbal sounds not addressed by our listed tags. Tags are always in lowercase letters, even at the beginning of a sentence, and within square [ ] brackets.The only exception to the tags-are-always-lowercase rule is the Guess tag, which adopts the text and formatting of whatever your guess is.

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 11 of 23 Punctuating Tags

● Speech tags - [inaudible], [crosstalk], [foreign], and the Guess tag - are punctuated like regular text because they take the place of speech.

● [silence]always sits on a line by itself with no punctuation.

● [music], [applause], and [laughter]are placed on the same line as the surrounding text (i.e., not on a line of their own). If these tags fall at the end of a line, place the tag after the line's ending punctuation. Speech Tags

[inaudible]

Use the [inaudible] tag in place of speech you cannot make out due to the speaker's accent, poor audio quality, a noise obscuring the words, or a term you couldn't figure out after researching. I thought it might be fun to [inaudible].

I'm sorry, I couldn't [inaudible] you said over the sound of the engine.

[crosstalk]

Use the [crosstalk] tag when you cannot make out what a speaker says because another primary speaker is talking over them. DO NOT use this tag to "represent" where a speaker interjected over another. Remember that each speaker gets their own line; assume in this example that you can hear everything the first speaker said but not the second speaker:

Did you go to the store when I asked you to, or--

[crosstalk].

--did you forget again?

But if you understand both, you don't need the [crosstalk] tag. It helps to focus on one voice at a time to pick apart the conversation.

Did you go to the store when I asked you to, or--

Oops. No, I forgot.

--did you forget again?

[foreign]

The [foreign] tag is used for anything you cannot understand because they are non-English words. If, after researching, you can't decipher a word or phrase and you know it is a foreign term, then use the [foreign] tag instead of [inaudible].

He told me he wanted a [foreign]. I was like, "I'm sorry, I don't know Polish." If a speaker uses a foreign term or phrase that you can find, include it, and there is no need for a tag. You may use special characters in this case, such as accents and macrons. However, DO NOT copy into the WorkHub from a web page; first copy/paste the text into your browser's search or address bar, then copy it from there into the WorkHub to remove any formatting that may be present.

● So he turns to me and goes, "Mi casa es su casa, as we say back home. Cómo estás?"

● The French and Italian words for hand, main and mano, come from the Latin manibus.

● One of the foundations of whānau is whakapapa, which has great importance in Māori society. Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 12 of 23 Bilingual and Entirely Foreign Files

We sometimes receive bilingual files, which may be noted in the file's style guidelines. In such cases, transcribe any English conversation you hear and use a [foreign] tag for non-English conversation. DO NOT transcribe any English words or place names, etc., that are interspersed in a foreign conversation. If your entire file is in any language other than English, submit a Help Desk ticket with the Job or Session ID. Guess Tag

If you're not sure what is said but you can make a reasonable guess that fits the context, put your guess, followed by a question mark, into brackets:[your text here?]. Unlike the other tags, the Guess tag is formatted

(i.e., capitalized or not) to reflect your guess. The text within the tag can comprise a single word, like [this?], or it may be a short phrase, [something like this?]. The full guess goes into one tag. She vacationed in [Mongolia?] and [Siberia?] for spring break [last year?]. If you can't tell if a speaker is saying one thing or another,DO NOT put two guesses within the same tag. Decide what is most fitting based on context.

No He gave away [three/free?] kittens.

Yes He gave away [three?] kittens.

Yes He gave away [free?] kittens.

Solid Block of Tags

With poor audio where it's difficult or impossible to follow the dialogue (e.g., due to loud noises in the audio, mumbling speakers, excessive crosstalk, or a completely foreign conversation), instead of cluttering the transcript with consecutive tags, simply mark with one tag and punctuation. In other words, if you have more tags than actual text, it's best to use just one tag. But if you can pick out meaningful phrases, then please do so, even if multiple conversations are happening simultaneously. Focus on one voice at a time for best results. Heard: Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes.

[crosstalk] the [crosstalk].

But [crosstalk].

[inaudible] [laughter] [inaudible].

I think [crosstalk].

[crosstalk].

Yeah, [inaudible].

Okay. Are we all finished?

Type: Okay, class. Discuss amongst yourselves for a few minutes.

[crosstalk].

Okay. Are we all finished?

Speech Tag Summary

The [inaudible], [crosstalk], [foreign], and Guess tags stand in for speech you are unable to decipher. Please strive to discern what is said before using these tags.For example, if there's a loud noise in the audio but you can still hear the speaker, then transcribe the words, NOT a tag. If you can find the term(s) through research or by replaying the audio at a slower speed, then please do so. Likewise, if two speakers are talking over one another but you can understand one or both, then transcribe the words and only use the [crosstalk] tag for the words you couldn't catch. If the speakers include a foreign word or phrase that you can find with an internet search, transcribe what they say.

Updated 08-Jul-2020 Confidential Property of TranscribeMe! TM Style Guide 13 of 23 The speech tags belong within punctuation on their respective speaker's line as the text would have been. If a speaker says something but you cannot understand any of it, the tag rests on its own line with appropriate punctuation. Remember that each speaker gets their own line. We're going to keep talking even though [inaudible], and then we can [inaudible]. What? I can't [inaudible]--

[foreign].

Hey, don't interrupt me. Was he even [speaking English?]?

[Go ask them?] [crosstalk]--

Let's go over to that super [busy coffee shop?]. I'm sure [laughter] [inaudible]. Nonspeech Tags

The tags we use to represent nonspeech sounds are [silence], [music], [applause], and [laughter]. Ignore any nonspeech sounds (coughs, sneezes, sighs, ringing phones, barking dogs, nuclear explosions, etc.) not addressed by these tags.

[silence]

Use the [silence] tag to denote at least 10 seconds of no speech, music, applause, or laughter. Remember to place this tag on its own line with no punctuation. During the period of silence, ignore other noises or utterances that aren't usually transcribed, such as filler or feedback words, thinking sounds, etc. If most or all of your file is silent, send a Help Desk ticket and include the Job or Session ID. Okay, class. Take five minutes to write your answers.

[silence]

Time's up. Let's see what you wrote.

[music] and [applause]

Place the [music]tag to note music relevant to the audio, such as the introductory theme music to a podcast. Do not use this tag for background music, e.g., something playing on the radio or at a restaurant (unless the main speakers mention the music). Use the [applause]tag to represent relevant applause.

[music] Please give a warm welcome to Dr. Frankenstein. [applause] He's discovered a permanent cure for allergies [applause] and is ready to share it with the world. Thank you for that introduction, Mary. Play the slides, please. [music]

[laughter]

The [laughter] tag is placed at the point where loud or relevant laughter occurs in the file. DO NOT place this tag on its own line, and don't tag every giggle or chuckle scattered throughout a conversation unless crucial to context. If the [laughter] obscures a speaker's words, you may have a [laughter] tag followed by [inaudible]. Someone once asked me, "What do you do if someone rolls their eyes at you?" and I said, "Well, I usually just roll them back." [laughter]

Ew, Dad. That's gross. That's like the time you told me to put a frog [laughter] [inaudible] bath. Well, both you and the frog survived, didn't you?

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