Grammar Versus Faithful Transcription
A candidate is transcribing a 400-word dictation drawn from an office note. The passage contains four grammatical lapses: 'The committee have decided', 'neither of the two clerks were present', 'he is senior than me', and 'less than twenty candidates appeared'. The marking scheme allows errors up to 5 per cent of the dictated words and treats any word that differs from the dictated text as an error, even if it improves the grammar. The candidate has typed 300 words with 4 errors and has 10 minutes left. She estimates that correcting the four lapses would take about 2 minutes and add four differences. She also knows that the office's fair-copy rule requires grammatical correction when a text is being prepared for signature, but the transcription test is marked against the dictated text.
1. Should the candidate correct the grammar in the transcription test? Explain using the marking rule and the remaining time.
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Do not correct in the transcription test. The marking rule is explicit: any word differing from the dictation is an error, even if grammatically better. Correcting four lapses would add four differences to the four existing errors - eight errors against a 20-error allowance. That is survivable, but it is unnecessary risk, and a marker working from the dictated text may count each change separately.
The test measures accurate reproduction at speed, not editorial judgement. The right sequence is to transcribe as dictated, finish the remaining 100 words, and use the 10 minutes for proofreading against the shorthand notes. If the office later needs a fair copy for signature, correct the grammar then, on a separate copy, so the two purposes do not contaminate each other. Mixing the roles is the error the candidate should avoid.
2. If the same passage were being prepared as a fair copy for signature, identify the corrections and justify each one.
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For a fair copy: 'The committee have decided' → 'has decided' in formal office style, because the committee is treated as a single body; British usage can allow 'have', so consistency with office style matters. 'Neither of the two clerks were present' → 'was present', because 'neither' is singular. 'He is senior than me' → 'He is senior to me'; 'senior' takes 'to', not 'than'. 'Less than twenty candidates appeared' → 'Fewer than twenty candidates appeared' in formal written style, because candidates are countable; 'less' is defensible informally but not in a fair copy.
The principle is to correct clear errors of agreement, preposition and countability, and not to rewrite style. The candidate should mark each change for the signatory rather than silently altering the text, so that the office retains a record of what was changed and why.