| Scoping Made Affordable (SMA) |
| Step Two - Editing |
1. Punctuation and Grammar
**The LMEG is required to be purchased and thoroughly studied before entering this part of the program.
Punctuation is the majority of our job.
By this time you will have purchased and completed all of the study materials included in this book. You will be
ready now for more challenging sentence formatting problems. We often have to make sense out of attorneys and
witnesses that ramble through an entire paragraph that may end up having only one sentence.
Punctuation quizzes will be given to you on this, which will be followed by the answers. If you find yourself having a
difficult time understanding any part of this, I will be happy to answer your questions.
Understanding preferences and that you must go by what the court reporter wants is essential. You may not
always agree with the reporter; but it is the reporter’s name that goes on the transcript, not yours, so they have the
final or ultimate say.
2. Homonym or Soundalike Words
Having a good understanding of many soundalike words is very important in our job. Being able to read
contextually is essential for us to correct those soundalike words.
3. Compound Word Recognition and Contextual Reading Practice
Get back into refreshing your skills with compound words and their usage along
with contextual reading practice to train your eyes to look for the details which is so important in scoping.
4. Formatting Numbers
Depending on the context, numbers are formatted many different ways. This material will help you to be
comfortable with those different formatting styles. This will cover dates, measurements, Bates numbers, guns,
citing references and more!!
5. Formatting and Terminology
Scoping and court reporting terminology will be covered extensively to enable you to work easily and confidently
within this field. The students have been amazed at how much information has been put together for them.
A scopist needs to know how formatting is to be done in order to be successful.
Samples of each of the following will be provided to you:
*Title page
*Index page
Colloquy and Opening Statement
Swearing in witness
*Examination Header
Examination Q & A
*Certificate of Court Reporter
*These items are for you to simply see and know the formatting on. Scopists do not generally work on these
pages, although some scopists do them, charging the court reporters for that.
6. Practice Editing Files
Files will be provided for you to practice your editing skills on. These files will be followed by the completely edited
files so that you can see where your mistakes are at. This helps us to focus in on areas that are more challenging.
Everyone will likely struggle with different aspects of the editing process. They are an essential tool for
learning.
7. Classes on WiZiQ
Two classes will be held each week (and are recorded if you can't make it) to really
give you the personal instruction and guidance on the intricacies of scoping. These classes
can be attended repeatedly, even after you've finished your training.
8. Feedback on Your Editing Skills
Written and verbal feedback will be provided to students prior to taking the final scoping exam because there are
aspects to editing which require excellent listening skills that oftentimes need to be taught and practiced in order to
become proficient. SMA wants its students to have their skills honed well in order to successfully pass the final
scoping exam.
The final scoping exam will be done with audio.
© July 10, 2009, All Rights Reserved
**The LMEG is required to be purchased and thoroughly studied before entering this part of the program.
Punctuation is the majority of our job.
By this time you will have purchased and completed all of the study materials included in this book. You will be
ready now for more challenging sentence formatting problems. We often have to make sense out of attorneys and
witnesses that ramble through an entire paragraph that may end up having only one sentence.
Punctuation quizzes will be given to you on this, which will be followed by the answers. If you find yourself having a
difficult time understanding any part of this, I will be happy to answer your questions.
Understanding preferences and that you must go by what the court reporter wants is essential. You may not
always agree with the reporter; but it is the reporter’s name that goes on the transcript, not yours, so they have the
final or ultimate say.
2. Homonym or Soundalike Words
Having a good understanding of many soundalike words is very important in our job. Being able to read
contextually is essential for us to correct those soundalike words.
3. Compound Word Recognition and Contextual Reading Practice
Get back into refreshing your skills with compound words and their usage along
with contextual reading practice to train your eyes to look for the details which is so important in scoping.
4. Formatting Numbers
Depending on the context, numbers are formatted many different ways. This material will help you to be
comfortable with those different formatting styles. This will cover dates, measurements, Bates numbers, guns,
citing references and more!!
5. Formatting and Terminology
Scoping and court reporting terminology will be covered extensively to enable you to work easily and confidently
within this field. The students have been amazed at how much information has been put together for them.
A scopist needs to know how formatting is to be done in order to be successful.
Samples of each of the following will be provided to you:
*Title page
*Index page
Colloquy and Opening Statement
Swearing in witness
*Examination Header
Examination Q & A
*Certificate of Court Reporter
*These items are for you to simply see and know the formatting on. Scopists do not generally work on these
pages, although some scopists do them, charging the court reporters for that.
6. Practice Editing Files
Files will be provided for you to practice your editing skills on. These files will be followed by the completely edited
files so that you can see where your mistakes are at. This helps us to focus in on areas that are more challenging.
Everyone will likely struggle with different aspects of the editing process. They are an essential tool for
learning.
7. Classes on WiZiQ
Two classes will be held each week (and are recorded if you can't make it) to really
give you the personal instruction and guidance on the intricacies of scoping. These classes
can be attended repeatedly, even after you've finished your training.
8. Feedback on Your Editing Skills
Written and verbal feedback will be provided to students prior to taking the final scoping exam because there are
aspects to editing which require excellent listening skills that oftentimes need to be taught and practiced in order to
become proficient. SMA wants its students to have their skills honed well in order to successfully pass the final
scoping exam.
The final scoping exam will be done with audio.
© July 10, 2009, All Rights Reserved
| This part of your training will involve a good deal of instruction and lots of practice based on the instruction. Editing the spoken word in the court reporting world is different than editing a typical written piece of work. |
| Don't put a question mark where God put a period. |
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