NOTE:
Since Youtube and ChatGPT are transcribing for us (and following some of these language conventions themselves already), we can relax our focus on these rules and just proofread so that the transcript makes sense to readers. In other words, don’t worry about following the conventions any more → worry about formatting every sermon page consistently.
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- Think: will this change help the sentence make sense/more readable?
Original Sentence | Edited Version |
If you and I are justified by works, it is not a once and for all act; it will be a gradual process. | If you and I are justified by works, it is not a once and for all act; it would be a gradual process |
That today we no longer is subject to prosecution. | That today we no longer are subjected to prosecution. |
So, all Paul needed to do was to take the Old Testament and – in the sense – said to the people, … | So, all Paul needed to do was to take the Old Testament and – in a sense – say to the people, … |
That was how Paul, he explained the sequence to the Galatians. | That was how Paul explained the sequence to the Galatians. |
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- "So, three things God reminded Paul, (1) “I am with thee” (2) therefore “no man shall set on thee to hurt thee:” and (3) “I have much people in this city.”
- If you have forgotten whatever I’ve said, remember these four points: (1) God encouraged His servant Paul through the blessings of new friends, Aquilla and Priscilla. (2) He encouraged His servant through new converts, Justus, Crispus and his family, and many of the Corinthians. Today we learned that (3) God encouraged His servant through the blessing of His presence. This awareness of God’s presence in our lives not only will encourage our hearts, but it will spur us to remain faithful to Him, to press on and persevere, no matter what happens. And finally (4) the blessing of God’s deliverance.
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- If Pastor quotes a Scripture verse accurately and either adds the Scripture reference to the end of the sentence as an aside, or without giving the Scripture reference, then drop the last punctuation mark in the verse, and insert the reference in brackets after the quote.
- If Pastor’s quotation is almost perfect, then you can note his substituted words with square brackets.
- BUT if he quotes a verse loosely mid-sentence, so that it’s more of a paraphrase, do not change it at all, neither reference it.
Examples
- Add reference in brackets: Eg. “This is the reason why “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
- Add reference in brackets: When the seventy disciples returned, they said to Jesus, ‘Lord, even the devils are subject unto us [because] of [Your] name’ (Luke 10:17).
- No change: Eg. “This is the reason why God loved us so much that He gave us His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish forever but have eternal life.”
NOTE: Examples of how the transcriber will type Pastor’s original words are given in the form: Eg. “[original words]” → “[transcribed text]”
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- Transcribe everything except the opening prayer. (From after the opening/pastoral prayer, to the end of the closing prayer. If Pastor says anything relevant before he opens in prayer, you may cut out the prayer itself and leave those words.)
The following corrections should be made if Pastor:
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- BUT if he is paraphrasing a Bible verse, use square brackets. Eg. 1 Timothy 5:20 originally says, “Them that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.” Instead, Pastor says “[the elders] that sin rebuke before all, that others also may fear.”
- 2. says the wrong thing, correct it. Eg. “Paul took Timothy to Ephesus– oh sorry, Paul took Silas, not Timothy.” → “Paul took Silas to Ephesus.”
- 3. uses very awkward wording/repetition that is unnecessary for the reader, you may remove it. Eg. “If you can turn with me to Acts 9:7. Okay? Acts 9 verse 7.” → “If you can turn with me to Acts chapter 9 verse 7.” Try to do this as little as possible!
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Original Sentence | Edited Version |
If you and I are justified by works, it is not a once and for all act; it will be a gradual process. | If you and I are justified by works, it is not a once and for all act; it would be a gradual process |
That today we no longer is subject to prosecution. | That today we no longer are subjected to prosecution. |
So, all Paul needed to do was to take the Old Testament and – in the sense – said to the people, … | So, all Paul needed to do was to take the Old Testament and – in a sense – say to the people, … |
That was how Paul, he explained the sequence to the Galatians. | That was how Paul explained the sequence to the Galatians. |
- 5. says something that he later realises he ought not to, he will let Josh know to remove from the transcript before publishing online.
Any questions, just message Josh or Nikko!
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- Play the sermon on Youtube and listen at 0.75 speed (or whatever speed suits you).
- Open a Bible app/website before you start, so you can copy the verses over accurately whenever Pastor reads them.
- Olive Tree Bible Study - pasted verses do not have verse numbers, hyperlinks, or line breaks. https://www.olivetree.com/
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Include the following at the top of transcripts: (DEMO)
Title: The Need to Confront Sin III
Scripture text: Galatians 2:17-19
Message Outline: (no verse references after each points)
- The Thought-Provoking Defence
- The Logical Testimony
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TRANSCRIBERS:
- Please paste transcription into the corresponding toggle below.
- If you’re unsure about how to type something, you can paste it below, comment in your transcript with the timestamp, or just message Josh or Nikko.
PROOF-READERS:
- Highlight the toggle (the date of the sermon) green when the transcript has been proofread for typos/corrections.
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- Remember: The more accurately you type what you hear the first time, the more time you save later having to reread and listen to the original recording again to find out what Pastor actually said.
- Listen carefully! You will probably forget or skip a word or two while your fingers try to catch up to your ears, so set a manageable speed to listen to on Youtube.
Transcription Conventions
*Please don’t be overwhelmed: these ‘rules’ are not to achieve perfect punctuation, but rather to help the reader (as much as possible) to understand exactly what Pastor is saying. Remember that the reader may never have heard Pastor preach before.
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- Eg. “Please turn to Acts chapter 22 verse 3.”
- If Pastor literally says “Acts 22, 3”, type it as “Acts 22:3”
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- If Pastor quotes a Scripture verse accurately and either adds the Scripture reference to the end of the sentence as an aside, or without giving the Scripture reference, then drop the last punctuation mark in the verse, and insert the reference in brackets after the quote.
- If Pastor’s quotation is almost perfect, then you can note his substituted words with square brackets.
- BUT if he quotes a verse loosely mid-sentence, so that it’s more of a paraphrase, do not change it at all, neither reference it.
Examples
- Add reference in brackets: Eg. “This is the reason why “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
- Add reference in brackets: When the seventy disciples returned, they said to Jesus, ‘Lord, even the devils are subject unto us [because] of [Your] name’ (Luke 10:17).
- No change: Eg. “This is the reason why God loved us so much that He gave us His only Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish forever but have eternal life.”
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If the Scripture verse Pastor quotes ends with anything other than a full-stop, AND he starts a new sentences immediately after, cut off the punctuation mark with a double quotation mark followed by a full-stop.
- Eg. “ “…the flesh, I more;” In other words, … “→ “ “…the flesh, I more”. In other words, …”
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- NOTE: Numbers like 22 and 41356 should be written with hyphens:
- Eg. “Twenty-two”, “Fourty-one thousand three hundred and fifty-six”.
- NOTE: numbers that are a specific year in history:
- Eg. “About twelve years before the reformation in fifteen zero five” → “About twelve years before the Reformation in 1505”
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- Names of God’s Word: the Bible, the Scriptures, the Word of God, the Book of Genesis
- Names of God: God, Lord, Thee, Thy, Thou, the One who was…, the Holy One, You, Your, the President, the Light, etc.
- Names of people/places/objects/events, etc: (Mosaic) Law (of God), Judaizers, Gentiles, Heaven, Old Testament, New Testament, Ten Commandments, Hell, Lake of Fire, Great White Throne judgement, Reformation
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- Eg. “Why could he say this? Because this was the truth.”
- Apostrophe after Jesus to mark the possessive: “We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.”
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… to make the sermon easier to read! (Don’t wait for Pastor to clearly move on to another message ‘point’ before starting a new paragraph. Also don’t wait until after you’ve typed the whole sermon before you start adding breaks, because you’ll have to reread the whole thing again.)
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… to numbers and ends of words, especially when the first thing you hear doesn’t sound grammatically correct, because Pastor’s grammar may be correct even though he doesn’t enunciate the occasional word fully. Eg. Not “forty”, but “fourteen”. Not “This morning’s message”, but “this morning message”.
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- Often, Pastor pauses midsentence even though there shouldn’t be a comma in written form. Please check the commas you type are necessary. Eg. “We thank Thee for Sunday school teachers that Thou has raised in our midst, to teach our children, the Word of God that they may grow.” → “We thank Thee for Sunday school teachers that Thou has raised in our midst to teach our children the word of God that they may grow.”
- Pay attention to how Pastor announces the passage he is about to read: it will either be a full sentence (needing a full-stop) or, more commonly, the opening of his sentence (needing a comma).
- Eg. Full sentence: ”Allow me to read for you, Galatians chapter 2 verse 6. “But of these…” ” or “Let us begin with verse 7. “And the days came…” “
- Eg. Opener of sentence: “Galatians chapter 2 verse 6 says, “But of these…” ”
- Commas needed after interjections. Eg. “As parents, oh Lord remind us…” → “As parents, oh Lord, remind us…”
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- Single quotation marks for when Pastor quotes or paraphrases someone (Bible figure or real-life).
- Eg. “It was like Paul was saying, ‘I am a Jew, just like you’.”
- Eg. “People have asked me, ‘What do you think of the weather?’ “
- Eg. “The word “continueth” simple means to keep, to abide, or to accomplish.
- Eg. “In other words, Paul was saying that he was a Jew just like them.”
- Single quotation marks when Pastor reads the title of the sermon and title of message points.
- Eg. “The title of our message is ‘One Gospel, Different Ministries’.”
- Eg. “Our first point is: ‘Paul’s defense before the crowd’.“
- Double quotation marks when Pastor reads scripture verses (but no italics). Eg. “Verse 1 says, “In the beginning…” ”
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- Use hyphens to enclose “asides” added midsentence or when Pastor cuts himself off to emphasise a point.
- Eg. “Our lives – our Christian lives – everything about us is all appointed by God.”
- Eg. “He was given back his sight – he was able to see.”
- Eg. “Notice Jesus said to Paul, “they” – the Jews – “would not receive your testimony about me.”
- Similar to the above point, semicolons can be used to the same effect: to replace commas and break up long sentences or join short phrases.
- Eg. “They were righteous, others were sinners.” → “They were righteous; others were sinners.”
- Eg. “Paul loved to do God’s work, such as teach and preach; to be with God’s people such as Jews and Gentiles; and to remember God’s goodness in saving him and empowering him.”
- For numbers, refer to General Conventions point 2^
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- Brackets for adding detail when you think something is unclear to the reader in writing (compared to spoken in sermon). Eg. “They were righteous; others were sinners.” → “They (Jews) were righteous; others were sinners.”
If you’ve any questions, just message Josh!