Skip to content
DepoStack
Join the waitlist

The hand-off and the five passes.

Who does what, what travels with the job, and which pass catches which error.

Practice only5 drills in this lesson.Format and hard cases, Spot and sort

Read first.

NCRA defines the scopist by one skill: “unlike an editor or a proofreader, a scopist has the ability to compare a court reporter’s shorthand to the finished transcript.” A proofreader reads the text for sense. The reporter decides every open question and certifies.

Sources: NCRA, Scopists; The guide: Three roles, one signature.

The certificate belongs to one person. NCRA Advisory Opinion 34 says a reporter should not certify a transcript that has not been “personally produced by that reporter (or under that reporter’s direction and control) or verified by that reporter.” We found no rule that gives a scopist or a proofreader a certifying role.

Sources: NCRA Advisory Opinion 34; The guide: Three roles, one signature.

What travels with the job: DepoStack’s checklist (no published standard lists it)

  • The CAT file and the notes, and synced audio where the reporter provides it.
  • The case’s names and terms, with their source.
  • The exhibits, or at least the exhibit list.
  • The reporter’s preference sheet, including the verbatim choice.
  • The deadline, the delivery format, and any confidentiality terms.

Sources: The guide: The hand-off to the scopist; JCR, what does a scopist do? (Linda M. Lee).

Five passes, in order. Each has its own job; a later pass is not a second try at an earlier one.

  1. Scope against the notes and the audio.
  2. Finish the research before the read.
  3. Proofread cold, from the text.
  4. Sweep mechanically: speaker IDs, bylines, special terms, doubled words.
  5. The reporter’s read: decide each flag, read the final, and sign.

DepoStack’s synthesis: no source lists the five together, but each rests on cited practice.

Read more in the guide: Five passes, in order; Three roles, one signature; The hand-off to the scopist.

Drills.

Format and hard cases: choose the line or the action; the feedback names whose rule applies.

Spot and sort: tap a word on the page, read what your check found, then decide whether to correct it, never correct it, or flag it.

On a page, the arrow keys move between words; Enter or Space taps one.

The drills answer back with JavaScript on. Without it, every sample is here, and each drill’s answers and reasons are in its key.

Your progress stays in this browser only. There is no account, and nothing you tap is sent anywhere.

Drill 1: Research in the middle of a read

Format and hard cases

You are on page 140 of a proofread when you meet a drug name nobody researched, and you stop to search for it. Which pass should have settled it?

Answers, with the reasons

  1. Pass 1: scope against the notes and the audio

    Scoping catches the machine’s errors line by line. Names and terms have their own pass, finished before anyone reads for sense.

    Source: The guide: Pass 2: finish the research before the read.

  2. Pass 2: finish the research before the read (the answer)

    The baker’s dozen tips: “All research should be completed prior to commencing proofreading. You will lose the flow necessary for contextual reading if you’re stopping every half page to double-check a spelling or perform an online search for a term.”

    Sources: JCR, proofreading tips: a baker’s dozen; The guide: Pass 2: finish the research before the read.

  3. Pass 3: proofread cold, from the text

    This is the pass the search interrupted. The read needs its flow; it is not where research happens.

    Sources: JCR, proofreading tips: a baker’s dozen; The guide: Pass 3: proofread cold, from the text.

  4. Pass 5: the reporter’s read

    The reporter answers open questions, but a term nobody researched is not yet a question. It is unfinished research.

    Source: The guide: Pass 5: the reporter’s read.

Drill 2: Whose job is a Bates number?

Format and hard cases

The draft reads “Bates 0041 to 0043.” On the audio it is “0014 to 0043.” Who should catch this, and when?

Answers, with the reasons

  1. The scopist, scoping against the audio (the answer)

    Linda M. Lee’s rule for scopists: “Pay close attention to all dates, numbers, Bates stamps, and monetary values, making corrections as needed (it is not a proofreader’s responsibility to double-check these for accuracy).”

    Sources: JCR, what does a scopist do? (Linda M. Lee); The guide: Pass 1: scope against the notes and the audio.

  2. The proofreader, reading cold

    A proofreader reads the text and spot-checks the audio. In Lee’s words, checking numbers for accuracy “is not a proofreader’s responsibility.”

    Sources: JCR, what does a scopist do? (Linda M. Lee); The guide: Pass 3: proofread cold, from the text.

  3. The spellcheck, in the sweep

    Automated checks do not cover numbers. Stenograph’s help page says “Numbers are ignored by Check It and there will be no suggestions generated for numbers.”

    Source: Stenograph help: Check It.

  4. Nobody: the reporter reads it last

    The reporter’s read makes the record final. It is not a substitute for checking the numbers against the audio.

    Sources: The guide: Pass 5: the reporter’s read; The guide: Pass 1: scope against the notes and the audio.

Drill 3: Doubled words and speaker labels

Format and hard cases

After the read, you find “the the” on page 88 and an answer labelled as Mr. Bravo’s. Which pass is built to catch these?

Answers, with the reasons

  1. Pass 3: proofread cold, from the text

    Reading for sense is exactly when these slip by: “It’s easy to read right past such errors when you’re focused on reading for context.”

    Source: JCR, proofreading tips: a baker’s dozen.

  2. Pass 4: sweep mechanically (the answer)

    The baker’s dozen tips: “After you’ve finished your initial proofreading, go back and double-check bylines and speaker identifications,” and spellcheck “is very good at catching double words such as ‘the the’ and ‘that that.’”

    Sources: JCR, proofreading tips: a baker’s dozen; The guide: Pass 4: sweep mechanically.

  3. Pass 2: finish the research

    Research settles names and terms. It does not sweep for doubled words or speaker labels.

    Source: The guide: Pass 2: finish the research before the read.

Drill 4: Who signs?

Format and hard cases

A scopist edited every page against the audio, and a proofreader read it cold. Who certifies the transcript?

Answers, with the reasons

  1. The scopist, for the pages she edited

    We found no rule that gives a scopist a certifying role. Texas makes the reporter “responsible for any acts of the unlicensed person relating to court reporting.”

    Sources: Texas Code of Ethics for court reporters, § 13(a); The guide: Three roles, one signature.

  2. The proofreader, who read it last

    The proofreader reads for sense, continuity, and consistency. We found no rule that gives a proofreader a certifying role.

    Source: The guide: Three roles, one signature.

  3. The reporter (the answer)

    Under Rule 30(f)(1), “The officer must certify in writing that the witness was duly sworn and that the deposition accurately records the witness’s testimony.” NCRA’s 2026 AI guidance calls the reporter “the sole creator, guardian, and certifier of the official record.”

    Sources: Fed. R. Civ. P. 30, 30(f)(1); NCRA/COPE AI guidance, July 2026; NCRA Advisory Opinion 34.

  4. The firm that sent the job out

    Texas says a firm “must not change the record of a certified shorthand reporter.” The certificate is the reporter’s.

    Source: Texas Code of Ethics for court reporters, § 3(c).

Drill 5: A byline after an objection

Spot and sort

One label on these lines puts the questions in the wrong mouth. Tap it, then sort it.

Synthetic testimony Page 31
  1. Line 8 Q. Did you see who opened the van?
  2. Line 9 MR. BRAVO: Objection. Form.
  3. Line 10 MS. ALPHA: I’ll rephrase.
  4. Line 11 BY MR. BRAVO:
  5. Line 12 Q. When did you first see the van open?
  6. Line 13 A. The afternoon of the delivery.
  7. Line 14 Q. Who was with you?

Your check. The notes show Ms. Alpha kept examining after the objection; Mr. Bravo asked no questions today. The audio agrees.

Tap a word on the page.

Answer key

The word: line 11, “BRAVO:”.

  1. Correct it (the answer)

    A byline error the notes and the audio confirm is the machine’s or the writer’s, and it is yours to fix. Bylines and speaker IDs are also what the sweep after the read checks.

    Sources: The guide: The one rule: fix the machine, never the witness; JCR, proofreading tips: a baker’s dozen.

  2. Never correct

    A byline is not anyone’s words; it is the transcript’s label for who is asking. Leaving the wrong one misattributes every question under it.

    Sources: The guide: The one rule: fix the machine, never the witness; The guide: Pass 4: sweep mechanically.

  3. Flag it

    The notes and the audio agree on who examined, so you can fix it. Flag only what you cannot confirm.

    Source: The guide: The one rule: fix the machine, never the witness.

Recap.

  • A scopist compares the shorthand to the transcript; a proofreader reads the text; the reporter decides and certifies.
  • We found no rule that gives a scopist or a proofreader a certifying role. The work can be delegated; the responsibility cannot.
  • Five passes, each with its own job: scope, research, read cold, sweep, and the reporter’s read (DepoStack’s synthesis).
  • Numbers belong to the scope against the audio; doubled words, bylines, and speaker IDs to the sweep after the read.

Free practice, not a credential. No certificate or credential: this course awards none, and we found no recognized credential for steno scopists.