WordX

General Style Guide

File Naming

Files for WordX should be created as they are in the following example: 051202vi.w01.

In this example 05 is for the month that the call occurred in: May.
12 is for the day of the month the call occurred on: the 12th.
02 signifies the year the call took place: 2002.
ic is the code used to show that this is a Style InterCall call.
w01 is the code for the call and signifies that this was the first call of the day.

Each account will have its own code:

• pc for Style Premiere
• ic for InterCall
• anything else, (os, in, ge, ac, cs) is generic style (GE)

Anything that is not IC or PC is transcribed in the generic style.

Generalities

ALL FDCH TRANSCRIPTIONS ARE SOLD AND MARKETED BASED ON THE FACT THAT THEY
ARE VERBATIM TRANSCRIPTS. THIS MEANS THAT ALL FILES TRANSCRIBED SHOULD
CONTAIN THE EXACT INFORMATION HEARD ON THE AUDIOS WITHOUT DEVIATION. ALL
WORDS, PHRASES, SENTENCES AND FILES SHOULD CONTAIN EXACTLY THE INFORMATION
HEARD WITH NOTHING ADDED OR EDITED.

• All uploaded files should be named using the same naming convention: first the name of the
call itself, followed by the specific file name. For instance, section 1300 for call 101002pc.w01 should be
uploaded as "101002pc.w01-1300.txt."

• Please be cautious when identifying speakers. The biggest problem for us and our clients
is when a speaker is misidentified. When you're using the digital files, it's easy to note the time a participant
first speaks. You can then quickly go back to that point to compare voices later in the event. Our transcripts
are of no use to our clients if we don't have the correct speakers throughout.

• Whenever you’re not 100 percent certain about the identity of the speaker, use the following
notations:

o PC and IC Style: Male or Female: Thanks, Bob.

o GE: UNIDETIFIED PARTICIPANT: Thanks, Bob

If you have not confirmed the spelling of a name, through a participant’s list or through Internet research, use
the following:

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 PC and IC style: Put the name in parenthesis i.e. (Martin): So Bob,
GE Style: Martin (ph): So Bob,

This shows that Martin was not confirmed, but Bob was. This rule needs to be used for ALL names, whether
they are common or not.

• We need transcribers to find the correct spellings of products, locations, analysts, corporate
executives and journalists. Sometimes this won't be possible, and we don't want you to guess, but you should
be able to find them more often than not. And it's very important to our clients that we consistently follow
the capitalization and spacing of terms and proper nouns, such as PricewaterhouseCoopers.

• The word "okay" should never be transcribed in a transcript, but rather the abbreviation "OK."
And it’s “OK,” not “ok,” “Ok,” “O.K.” THERE ARE NO EXCEPTIONS TO THIS RULE.

• We always use “all right” instead of “alright.”

• Periods, question marks, and colons should always be followed by two spaces, except in the
case of colons that are used in a title (such as the title of a book or magazine article).

• Words such as "ain't" also must be transcribed as they are heard. However, words such as
"yeah," "yep," or "uh-huh" should be replaced with "yes."

• Similarly, please use the proper words when speakers say "kinda," "wanna," "'cause,"
"gonna," et cetera.

• Please don’t change whether or not the speaker used a contraction. So if they say, “We’d
better get started,” leave “we’d” and don’t change to “we had.” Similarly, don’t change “I would like to get
started” to “I’d like to get started.”

• Utterances and stutters like "um" and "ah" should be omitted. Also, one word stutters, such
as "If – if Billy wants to come" or "If – if – if Billy wants to come" should be eliminated – therefore, the
transcript should read, "If Billy wants to come." Stutters of more than one word, as in "If Billy – if Billy wants
to come" should be transcribed as spoken. Again, one word stutters are omitted; more than one word,
included.

• Don't be afraid to start a sentence with "but" or "and." It's how people speak, and avoiding it
leads to sentences that are difficult to read.

• All text should be flush left – no tabs or indentations.

• A complete spell-check must be performed before any text is sent in.

• Always place the word "END" in all caps at the end of each completed file.

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• Remember, all transcriptions are VERBATIM, with the few exceptions detailed here. This
means that all text should be represented in the manner in which it is spoken/heard. Again, this includes
representing contractions AS THEY ARE SAID and not substituting full words; transcribe "they're" when it is
spoken instead of "they are," et cetera.

• Please be aware, many words in the English language sound the same and are pronounced the
same, however they are not the same words and are not defined the same. Examples of homonyms are, but
certainly not limited to: they're, their, there; to, too, two; cue, queue; verses, versus; capitol, capital. The
context of the sentence should provide enough clues to help you determine what is actually being said.

Abbreviations

Please write "versus," not "vs."

Do not abbreviate "et cetera."

Any acronym with three or more letters does not take periods: USA, FBI, CIA, DOJ, DOD.

Acronyms of 2 letters take periods: U.S., U.N., U.K., L.A.

There are some exceptions, usually non-location two-letter acronyms, such as: PR (public relations).

For brand names or organizations, follow their preference, such as US West.

When abbreviations are plural, do not use an apostrophe.

Ampersand

The ampersand should be used only when it is part of a company's formal name: Baltimore & Ohio Railroad,
Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. The exception is Q&A.

Ampersands should never be used within the text in place of the word "and."

Apostrophes

Apostrophes should be used in the following manner: to demonstrate possession for plural nouns not ending in
s add 's; the officer's car. or plural nouns ending in s add only the apostrophe; churches' parishioners. Nouns
that are plural in sound but singular in meaning require only the apostrophe; measles' effects. When a plural
word occurs in the name of a singular entity use only an apostrophe; General Motors' employees.

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Apostrophes should be used when other letters are omitted, as in the case with contractions; I've, 'tis, rock 'n'
roll.

Apostrophes should also be used with omitted figures: Spirit of '76, the '80s. Notice that, in the case of a plural
such as '80s or 1980s, no apostrophe is used to indicate plural.

Capitalizations

Please don’t capitalize generic terms, such as voice-over-IP, the annual report, third quarter conference call, the
system group, V.P. of marketing, service architecture. If stated as part of a formal name, capitalize or in
relation to a specific person. If not, lower case.

Look to distinguish between proper names and descriptive terms. If they're stated as part of a formal name,
they're capped. If not, they're lower case. For example: "The vice president of the U.S., Mr. Cheney,
attended." "Vice President Cheney attended."

In general, don't over-capitalize, as it makes it harder to read a document.

Commas

Use commas in a series, but do not place a comma before a conjunction in a simple series: “red, white and
blue”; “Tom, Dick and Harry.”

Use a comma before the concluding conjunction if an element of the series uses a conjunction: “I went to
Bloomingdales, Macy's, and Harry and David.”

Use commas before conjunctions in a complex series: “The main points to consider are whether we showed a
profit, whether net loss was reduced, and whether our product line is complete.”

Use commas to separate a series of adjectives that are equal in a rank: “a warm, soft breeze”; “a cold, dark
hall.” (The easiest way to discern this is to try to replace the comma with the word "and" to see if it makes
sense.)

Commas are used to separate introductory clauses from main clauses:

• When the third quarter was over, we closed down operations in Arkansas.
• Well, good.
• Again, in the same order.
• OK, chime in.
• All right, here we go.

And please use a comma to off set direct addresses, such as:
• Hey, Jeff, thanks for joining.

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• Hey, everybody, it’s Scott.
• Hi, Scott.
• Tom, hello.
• And, hi, Tom. Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining us today.

Commas are also used to set off parenthetical phrases, such as:

• Then, please, chime in.

• It’s going to be a record quarter, they say, because of new sales.
• Margie, the company’s head of PR, will add her comments later.
• Maybe you could say, like, what it provides you?
• Can we attend from, say, 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.?

Finally, please use commas for city-state combinations and with dates, such as:
• She will go to Seattle, Washington, to attend the conference.
• She’s traveling to Mobile, Alabama; Biloxi, Mississippi; and Pensacola, Florida.
• The conference being scheduled for May 2008 will be well-attended.
• The conference starting on May 18, 2008, is expected to draw well-known speakers.

Dash

When a phrase that would otherwise be set off with commas contains a series of words that must be separated
by commas, use a dash: “Production duties – creating, –building and producing equipment – shouldn't interfere
with engineering duties.”

Place spaces on both sides of a dash whenever used.

En dashes are preferred over double dashes. Word can be set to automatically create en dashes when you type
two dashes in a row simply by checking the "replace as you type symbol characters for symbols" box under the
Tools/Auto Correct directory.

It is unnecessary to capitalize words which follow en dashes unless they are names or words which are typically
capitalized – proper names, product names, et cetera.

Ellipsis

Ellipses should be treated as three-letter words with spaces before and after.

In general, WordX prefers the use of a dash, specifically an en dash, when speakers lose train of thought or
change subject within text. Ellipses should be used at the end of a sentence when a speaker is cut-off or
interrupted.

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Exclamation Marks

We don't use exclamation marks unless the speaker is shouting.

Laughter

We don’t include laughter or anything other than words, so no: (LAUGHTER), (PAUSE), (No reply),
(BOOING) (CROSSTALK), (COUGHING), (CALLER DISCONNECTS).

Paragraphs

Keep your paragraphs short. Try to average around three to five sentences. Start new paragraphs when the
speaker changes who they’re addressing. There should ALWAYS be two hard returns between paragraphs and
when starting a new speaker ID.

Parentheses

For the PC and IC style, parentheses are used to indicate unknown spellings or when the you aren’t 100 percent
sure of the phrase, but are making a good guess: (Brzeninski). (This meeting is long.)

For GE style, unconfirmed spellings are indicated placing a (ph) – which signifies that the word has been
phonetically spelled – after the word, such as Brzeninksi (ph).

Certain items should never be (ph)ed or placed in parentheses.

- members of Congress
- country, city or geographical region (rivers, mountain ranges)
- towns or counties in the U.S.
- foreign head of state or sub-cabinet level ministers
- any major administration figure (cabinet level and other agencies)
- historical figure (Leon Trotsky, Marquis de Lafayette, Louis Pasteur, Archimedes, et cetera)
- any word that can be looked up in the dictionary (not just spellchecked)
- a Fortune 500 company (especially if you've heard of the company but don't know how to spell it.)
- CEOs of Fortune 500 companies
- names of major players (companies) in certain sectors – Internet, pharmaceutical, biotechs, communications
industry, semiconductor, financial services industry, et cetera.
- commonly used finance or investment terms – EBITDA, P/E ratio, 401(k), REIT, IPO, et cetera.

Rule of thumb: If it comes up in more than two transcripts, look it up, learn it and share your knowledge
with others.

Numbers

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Correct numbers are especially important in any financial transcript. Please be careful with every
number. You may want to take a beat and double-check yourself when you come across numbers while
transcribing.

In IC and GE styles when transcribing numbers, one through nine are written out, while 10 and above are
numerals.

**Please see the separate PC guide for PC numbers.**

So, 1 million is written as a numeral, because it's over nine. Exceptions to the 10-and-over rule include
currency ($5), percentages (6 percent) and ages (the 9-year-old girl). Note: Use numerals for numbers like
486,000 instead of the word "thousands." And when a number starts a sentence, you need to spell it out.

Also, when a sentence begins with a number, the number should be written out. Years should also always be in
numerals, even at the beginning of a sentence.

NEVER ASSUME A NUMBER REPRESENTS A DOLLAR AMOUNT IF IT IS NOT IDENTIFIED AS

SUCH.

Whenever a speaker identifies a dollar figure, the symbol for dollars should be placed in front of the numerical
value and should never appear as a word; “$4,000,” not “four thousand dollars” or “4,000 dollars” or “$4,000
dollars.”

If the speaker doesn’t say “dollars,” don’t add the dollar sign. However, if you’re sure the speaker is speaking
of currency, use the numeral. E.g.: “There were four price points: $5, 3, 2 and 1.50.”

When a speaker says “four bucks,” type “4 bucks,” not “$4 bucks,” “$4,” or “four bucks.”

For values less than a dollar, the word "cents" should be written out and no decimal placed before the number; 7
cents, not .07 or $0.07 or .07 cents.

Transcribe what’s said when a speaker says “a million” vs. “1 million.” It’s also better to type “half a million”
when that’s said vs. the more definite version of “$.5 million.” Other than those times when the speaker
purposefully isn’t giving a precise number -- “a million,” “a half billion,” “we told them a hundred times” --
please stick to using numerals.

All numerals four digits and above should have the appropriate commas placed within them; 1,000, not
1000. However, for years and addresses, commas are never used: the year 1999, 1100 Mercantile Lane.

Years should be transcribed in numerals – 1998, 1999; abbreviations and decades should be represented with an
apostrophe – '98, '90s.

When typing percentages, the word percent should be used, NEVER THE SYMBOL (%). E.g.: “The results in
percentages were 25 percent, 3 percent, 2 and 1.” So while not adding the word “percent” when the speaker
didn’t say it, you are typing the numeral vs. the word because we can be 100 percent sure the speaker is saying a
percentage.

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When a speaker is referring to a range of numbers, do not use an en dash, use the word "to"; 200 to 300, one to
six.

When a speaker is referring to the "first quarter," the "second quarter," et cetera, these should all be represented
as they are here, not as 1st quarter, 2nd quarter. Only when a speaker uses the words first, second, et cetera,
when referring to a date should they be represented numerically; March 31st, June 3rd.

Phone numbers should be written in the following manner: 123-456-7890; do not set apart area codes with
parentheses.

Quotation Marks

Magazines, newspapers, and book titles should all be placed in quotations: "USA Today," "Newsweek," "The
Catcher in the Rye." Titles of movies and television shows should also be contained in quotations; "The Quick
and the Dead," "Pulp Fiction," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Seinfeld."

Use quotation marks when a speaker is directly quoting someone: Then Jack said, "OK, let's do that."

Also apply this rule when a speaker personifies an object, such as a computer: The computer prompts the user
by saying, "Press Enter."

Commas and periods always appear within quotation marks.

The dash, semicolon, question mark and exclamation point go within the quotation marks when they apply to
the quoted matter only. They appear outside when they apply to the entire sentence.

Follow these examples for punctuation and quotation marks:

* You anchored "CBS Evening News"?
* How do you now feel about "CBS Evening News," now that they have a new anchor?
* He also appeared on "60 Minutes" and "60 Minutes II."

Note punctuation placement with quotation marks:

* She released her book, "The List"; it was her second book.
* She released "The List," her second book.
* The review said the following about "The List": "It will be a best seller."
* The book store is having a signing for "The List."
* Have you read "The List"?
* The author was asked, "What was your inspiration for writing 'The List'?"
* Reviews this week were on "The List" and "Double Cross?"
* The review of “Double Cross?” is on page A9.

Unknown Speakers

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Please note that the method for identifying unknown speakers varies greatly for each client. Please refer to the
relevant style guide before identifying an unknown speaker.

INTERCALL GUIDE:

NUMBERS:

• All digits under 10 (1-9) should be written out. Fractions can remain in number form.

• Four digit numbers should have a comma (4,200)

PERCENT:

• Should be written out (two percent)

INAUDIBLES:

• Inaudibles should be noted as such (inaudible) or (Inaudible) when beginning a sentence.

If there is phrase or term you are fairly sure of, but not 100% put it in parenthesis. Don’t
use (ph).

UNCONFIRMED NAMES:

• All unconfirmed names should be in single parenthesis. (John Smith). (Suchandsuch

Company). Don’t use (ph) or (?).

SPEAKER IDs
• The entire speakers name is to be used for each ID and not in all caps, i.e.
Melane Riddle:

If the name is unconfirmed,

(Melane Riddle):

Please don’t use QUESTION: instead of the questioner’s name. The name should be used
the same as the speakers.

If you are un sure of the speaker, use Male/Female

GENERAL FORMATTING:
• Every word is to be typed, including the operator’s instructions.
•
• The operator is to be IDed as Operator: not MODERATOR:

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 •
• Please don’t use a colon anywhere in the document other than after the speaker IDs. It
messes with our formatting macros.

PREMIERE GUIDE

SPEAKER IDs
• The entire speakers name is to be used for each ID and not in all caps, i.e.
Melane Riddle:

If the name is unconfirmed,

(Melane Riddle):

Please don’t use QUESTION: instead of the questioner’s name. The name should be used
the same as the speakers.

If you are un sure of the speaker, use Male/Female

INAUDIBLES:

((inaudible)) two sets of parentheses.

NUMBERS

In general numbers one through ten should be typed as a word unless they are referred to as a
“digit” or a “number”, or are an amount of money (dollars or cents). Any number 11 and above
should be typed in digit form. Please refer to the sections regarding numbers on the following
pages for other exceptions to this general rule.
o There were eight children in the class.
o If you have a question, please press the 1 on your push-button phone.
o The price per share last quarter was $3 even. This year it has increased by 4 cents to a
price of $3.04 (said as “Three-o-four”) per share.
o There are 12 girls on the team this year

Fractions should be typed as digits. Do not convert fractions to decimals.

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 o Only 3-1/2% of the shareholders agreed to the sale.
o Someone said that 2/3 of those who were scheduled actually came.

If numbers are used in a series and the series contains a number above ten, type all numbers as
digits.

o The numbers 3, 5, 17, and 21 are commonly used.

o We gain anywhere from 8 to 12 new accounts each year.
o There were six, seven people at the meeting.
o They turn over three to five times a month.

When a sentence begins with a number, always type the number as a word, not a digit. When the
number is a percent or a dollar amount, type out the word “percent” instead of the symbol or the
word “dollar” instead of the symbol.
o Nineteen eighty-one is when he was born.
o Two-hundred seventy women attended the conference.
o Three children participated in the theater class.
o Seventeen percent response is excellent.
o Four hundred dollars was the amount of his invoice.

Hundreds, thousands, millions, billions. Add a comma for numbers five digits and above.

o "A hundred" should be typed as 100.

o "A thousand" should be typed as 1000.
o “A million” should be typed as a million.
o There were 345 students in this year's graduating class.
o The seven manufacturing plants employ a total of 436,000 workers.
o Farmers lost tens of thousands of acres during the big flood.
o The wound was 14 thousandths of an inch deep.

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 o It seemed like there were 58 million stars in the sky last night.

Always use digits with measurements.

o He ran 8 yards across the football field.

o The pot will hold 2-1/2 liters of water.
o It was a 50 pound sack of potatoes.
o The solution measured 2.5 millimeters.

Always use digits and the % with percentage.

o SG&A was up 5% over Q2 last year.
o I think that is 15-1/2% higher than the cost of widget B.
o Are there any write offs in that 7% COGS number you stated before?

MONEY

Always use the dollar symbol if the word dollar(s) is stated. If the number is cents only, type out
the word cents. If the word dollar is not stated but the context clearly implies that the amount
refers to money, type the dollar sign.

o "A million dollars" should be typed $1 million.

o "A hundred dollars" should be typed $100.
o The bicycle cost $332. (Spoken as, “three-hundred thirty-two dollars”)
o Each share is now worth 50 cents on the dollar.
o For every $20 he spends, about $4 of it is on soda. (Spoken as, “every twenty dollars”
and “four”)
o We made 40,000. (Note:no $. The meaning is not clear from the
context) -
o That’s an increase of 21.4. (Spoken as, “twenty-one four”)

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If a number is more of a generality, or if some other reference is made for the term dollars, do
not use the dollar symbol -- type out the words.

o They purchased the company for a quarter of a million dollars.

o We got the telephone for about 29 bucks.
TIME

Always use digits to type time.

If the speaker says "o'clock", type out the word rather than using the symbol. If the speaker
refers to any fraction of an hour, type as you would normally type time. Always use lower case
without periods for am and pm.

o We'll get started again after lunch at about 1 o'clock (spoken as “one o’clock”).
o Then we'll break for lunch at about 11:00 (spoken as “eleven”).
o We should finish for the day at around 4:30 or so.
o This statement was issued at 10:30 am last Thursday.

CALENDAR YEARS

If a speaker says, “the fifties”, type "the 50s" -- do not use an apostrophe. If a speaker says,
"21st century"‘, type “21st Century”. If a speaker refers to a specific year, type exactly as he/she
refers to it.

o I think it was 1982, or maybe '83, when we got into that market.
o That event was one of the highlights of the 20th Century.

AGE

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Always type an age as a digit.
o He was only 3 years old.
o They decided to use an 8-year-old in the play.

DATES

Always use digits to type dates.

Do not use “st,” “rd,” or “th” following the digits unless it’s necessary to maintain the speaker’s
meaning. When using “st,” “rd,” or “th,” do not use superscript.
o The next meeting will be on June 30.
o I think the meeting is on the 30th.

TITLES
o Sir and Doctor Titles should be added to the identifying name used at the left of the
text. Last name only should not be used.
GENERAL FORMATTING:
• Every word is to be typed, including the operator’s instructions.
•
• The operator is to be IDed as Operator: not MODERATOR:
•
• Please don’t use a colon anywhere in the document other than after the speaker IDs. It
messes with our formatting macros.

GENERIC STYLE

SPEAKER IDS

Speaker IDs should be in all caps. The first time the speaker speaks, the full name
should be used. After that, just the last name. MELANE RIDDLE:

INAUDIBLES

(INAUDIBLE) All caps, one set of parenthesis.

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UNCONFIRMED NAMES

Use (ph) after the unconfirmed name. Melane (ph).

Please submit finished works to filtranscriptionists@live.com and to

filtranscriptionists@gmail.com

Thanks!

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