Is there a universal industry-standard guideline that scopists should follow? Unfortunately, not.
There are actually several, and the scopist should have this question on a preference sheet before beginning work with a new-to-them reporter: Which authority do you use?
To add to the confusion, there are also some reporters who use a combination of rules from various authorities and a few who don't really follow any rules at all and just go with what they think looks best. The idea, of course, is for consistency throughout all transcripts for each reporter, and so this ties back to the preference sheet which will be discussed in more detail in another blog.
Which authority a reporter uses is generally dependent on what they were taught in court reporting school. Having been tested repeatedly on the rules, most of them are eventually memorized, etched deeply into the reporters' brains, and they may find it difficult to unlearn what they were taught or relearn new rules. For this reason, a scopist working for multiple reporters must be very flexible and have the ability to switch between the rule books as they scope for different reporters.
Some of the rules "match" between the authorities, while some may be totally different, depending upon which authority a reporter uses. So a diligent scopist really should have a small library of reference books, kept handy and used often, especially if they scope for various reporters using different rules or styles.
If you are a reporter, former reporter, or a scopist who learned a certain set of rules, you may find it much easier to scope for a reporter who uses the same guidelines that you learned; in other words, if you are a "Morson person all the way," you will likely find the scoping will go much faster if you pair with a Morson reporter. The reporter paying for the scoping services decides how they want sentences punctuated and formatting done for their colloquy, bylines, Q/A testimony, and so forth, so all the more reason to scope for a reporter who follows similar guidelines as you, the scopist.
Generally speaking, the main four authorities used are Morson, Wells, Gregg, and Chicago. For spellings, a scopist should consult a dictionary, and the one most often used is Merriam-Webster, found online for no charge.
MORSON - This is a manual (sometimes called LMEG) written by court reporting instructor Lillian I. Morson, introduced in 1974 as An English Guide for Court Reporters. The manual was revised in 1988 as Morson's English Guide for Court Reporters, First Edition, and revised again in 1997, Second Edition. There have been several reprints of each version, but the current one in use is the 1997 version. Morson is still taught in many reporting schools, and the latest version looks like this:
WELLS - This is a manual written by court reporting instructor Margaret L. Wakeman Wells in 2010 and is currently taught in some reporting schools. Generally speaking, some reporters entering school from 2010 forward may be taught from the Wells book, which she calls "The Reference Text," and it does differ in several respects from Morson. Ms. Wells also sells a companion workbook to her manual, along with some other reference books. Her one and only manual looks like this:
GREGG - This is a manual written by William A. Sabin, an author of many articles about style, usage, and grammar. The book was first published in 1951 as the Reference Manual for Stenographers and Typists by Ruth E. Gavin. The manual has undergone numerous revisions and reprints, but the most current version is called the "Tribute Edition" and was published in 2010. While the older 10th edition appears to be available as an online subscription, I do not believe the latest 11th (Tribute Edition) is online as of January 2016. The latest book looks like this:
CHICAGO - The Chicago Manual of Style (sometimes called CMOS) has several authors and was first published in 1906. The latest edition is 16, which can be purchased as a book or as an online subscription. The most current book looks like this:
These reference books can be found for sale online or at many bookstores. In addition, there are some Facebook groups that discuss the rules and awkward sentence constructions found in testimony. For Morson followers, you may want to join my Facebook group found at this link: https://www.facebook.com/groups/549098825259263/
Until next time ...
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