There is a major difference between a new scopist and a well-seasoned, well-trained scopist who has been in the business for many years. In this Stenovate help article, we discuss the Dos & Don'ts that help take new scopists to the next level.

It's also important to note that every reporter may have different preferences for punctuation, process, and collaboration in general, so

Of course, you should absolutely get a preference sheet from the reporter. If they don't have one ready for you, point them to Stenovate's free Ultimate Preference Quiz, which will provide them with their own customized preference sheet.

The Dos

The Don'ts

Unfortunately, you would not believe how frequently we see scoped work void of standard punctuation (like commas).

For example, two independent clauses that are more than 3 or 4 words joined by a conjunction require a comma by very basic English punctuation standards.

Example

A. I suppose I waited too long, (COMMA) and the level of difficulty for the GED passed me by.

If you know this, please add the comma! It truly does help with readability.

If you don't know this (and we say this lovingly), please obtain additional training ASAP, ideally from someone like Margie Wakeman-Wells, author of Bad Grammar / Good Punctuation.

Learn and apply the nuances of scoping and proofing imperfect grammar. People do not speak the way you'd write a perfect English paper. It takes skill and experience to ensure that a transcript is optimized for readability and consistency.

We already mentioned Margie Wakeman-Wells' phenomenal book Bad Grammar / Good Punctuation. Another excellent resource is Morson's Guide for Court Reporters. If you're not familiar with either of these resources, we strongly advise getting intimately familiar with at least one of these books, if not both.

Keyboard maps turn your regular keyboard into a scoping power tool, so you never need to use your mouse, arrow keys, etc., dramatically reducing scoping time! This is the BEST time saver for scoping.

As reporters, our goal is to make an accurate verbatim record. (Extra emphasis on verbatim.)

While some reporters prefer a readability cleanup over strict verbatim, like repeated words, the default for a scopist should be to strive for a truly verbatim record, unless a reporter or their preference sheet indicates they're comfortable with a cleaned-up version.

It's best to have a default mindset of "verbatim, verbatim, verbatim" while you scope!

Missing and/or wrong words is the top complaint we hear from reporters when we receive negative feedback about scopists. The complaint list is as follows in order by top complaint:

Missing or wrong words are what reporters fear most, making them feel as though they need to relisten to an entire scoped transcript. Most reporters understand that no one is perfect (and no one will do everything exactly as they would themselves), but if there are missing or wrong words every few pages, it's a big cause for concern and won't likely result in a repeat reporter client.

We've noticed some debate on social media about whose responsibility it is to look up proper names, medical terms, and items in question.

When it comes to scoping, a even a newbie scopist, at a minimum, should be able to use Google effectively. The purpose of hiring and paying a scopist is to save time on the scoping process, which includes ensuring that names are spelled correctly and consistently.

If the file requires extensive research, such as digging through voluminous exhibits to confirm spellings, it may be necessary to negotiate a new rate with the reporter. However, general research is part of the job description.

If you have checked the Internet and any available documents and still cannot find a name or term within a few minutes, leaving a note for the reporter is okay, but please avoid returning files with abundant marked spots for the reporter to research, especially when most things today can easily be confirmed with a quick Internet search.

Some of the scopists who impress us the most are the ones who discover something that wasn't even on our reporter radar!

For example, if a reporter writes Tommy Smith, mentioned once in a proceeding as a CPA in Kansas City, a very quick Google might reveal a Tomi Smyth (female) with an accounting firm in Kansas City! (LinkedIn is a gold mine.)

The reporter may not have even thought to inquire or request a spelling because they heard a common name that didn't send their reporter brain into overdrive. Since Tommy and Smith are not commonly spelled in unique ways, it's easy to overlook while they're busy writing every word but something that should be checked during editing.

By scoping with "questioning eyes," you may find more than you think! Reporters will undoubtedly love you for it!

[Fill in]

Use conflicts when unsure of what's being said, giving the reporter options.

Example: ^red door ^red floor ^red gore
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Wherever you find conflicts (usually in blue text unless you have updated your color settings), place your cursor directly in front of the word, and you'll notice options show up in the bottom right-hand corner.

Press 1, 2, 3, etc., so the reporter does not have to resolve their conflicts when you return the file.

These appear in yellow text (unless you changed your color settings) when a reporter drags in an extra key or accidentally misses a key, but CC guesses what the reporter meant to write.

These are frequently correct and don't "look" like an error, but when a reporter uses F8 to scan for hidden text or other items that need correcting, CC will stop on these unless the reporter turns off this setting (not ideal because they'd want to check these on rough drafts).

Keep titles together with names using a sticky space to avoid a line ending with a title (like Mr.) and having the name beginning the next line. Example: Mr.<Sticky Space>Smith.

In Case CATalyst, you can press F4 and then K to add a sticky space anywhere in the transcript.

Always spell-check a file once it's scoped before sending it back to a reporter or their proofreader. This only takes a few minutes, at most, and can catch things that are easy to gloss over when you're focused on the audio, like two answer banks in a row.

Every reporter has slightly different preferences, but the best rule of thumb is to avoid placing any extra text, especially long comments, to your reporter directly within the body of the transcript, like this:

We frequently see marked "check-spots" from scopists that look something like this:

While we understand this is common, it's certainly not a best practice. These bold-style flagged areas don't look good during real-time, and they're glaring errors if, heaven forbid, a reporter accidentally turns in a transcript without removing the text.

Here are three great alternatives to in-line text to flag a spot for a reporter to check:

Without needing to add any commentary within the body of the transcript or hidden text, a reporter should understand that you believe this text needs to be checked.

We mention conflicts above, in the "Dos." They're a great way to provide options to your court reporter if you're feeling torn and thinking "It could be this, or it could be this." Provide both options by inserting text with a caret in front of each option, like this. The text turns blue, and Case CAT will stop on the conflict during an F8 scan.

Hidden Text is an excellent option to provide subtle notes that will be highlighted during an F8 scanstop. It's particularly useful for longer comments or citing a source of a confirmed spelling like a URL or exhibit and page numbers.

We mention using the Sticky Space above, and this "don't" is simply saying to ensure that you're not allowing Mr. to end a line and "Smith" to start on the next line. Use the sticky space (or Eclipse equivalent) we already discussed.

Here's another use case where CC's Sticky Space feature is golden. Be sure to have at least one word in front of a dash on a new line.

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