How to Pass the CrowdSurf Transcription Test

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Are you seeking to know how to pass the crowdsurf Transcription test? If so, you’re definitely in the right place.

To start with, what is transcription? Transcription is regarded as the task of translating an audio or video file into written form.

In other words, it is a job where you are required to carefully listen to an audio or video file and then type what you hear all within a short period of time.

Transcription is a freelance job offered by various platforms which include GoTranscript, TranscribeMe, Upwork, Crowdsurfwork, etc. and can be done anywhere and at any time.

In addition, you do not require previous transcription experience in order to sign up to these various platforms but you do need to submit good work in order to increase your performance rating through positive reviews.

What is Crowdsurf Transcription?

CrowdSurf is a platform which provides transcription services to institutions, students, businesses or any individuals who seek them and it does this through its large pool of freelance transcribers.

Transcribers are given tasks to create video captions for deaf, hard of hearing and second language viewers.

Crowdsurf hires and pays its freelancers using Work Market while work is done on their private editing platform, the CrowdSurfWork platform.

How long does it take to Get Accepted by CrowdSurf?

Joining CrowdSurf is very simple and takes about 5 working days for your account to be verified and for you to be accepted.

It requires little to no previous transcribing experience to join CrowdSurf but having some experience can surely give you can edge.

Firstly, to join CrowdSurf, you are required to sign up on Work Market and have your account verified. During verification, Work Market will require you to upload some identification documents such as a driver’s license, passport or ID to prove that you are from the country/location you have stated.

Verification is done by humans and therefore will take between 24hrs and 48hrs to complete.

Check out this video by Jennifer Marie where she shares crowdsurf transcription and captioner test and application process.

You will also be required to take the Crowdsurf Transcription Assessment.

The Assessment consists of 18 questions, which are a combination of 17 multi-choice questions and a video sample to transcribe which accounts for over 40% of your total marks.

After submitting you identification documents you will then be able to sit the test as you await approval of your verification request to work market.

When you click “Take test”, first question you are asked is “How did you get to know about CrowdSurf?” (You will chose an answer from the list provided).

[mailerlite_form form_id=3]

You are then provided some resources to help you when transcribing.

These include the Crowdsurf general guidelines, technology glossary and most common requirements catalogue.

Be sure to read through these documents because they will give you information on the Dos and Don’ts when transcribing.

They also consist of;

Guidelines

Section One – Most common requirements

Clean verbatim transcription

It includes words you should leave out of you transcription as well as the type of English grammar (American).

Transcript format

This includes information on how to begin (open) and end (close) the HIT (Human Intelligence Task)

Sentence format

Includes sentence spacing, beginning, punctuation, interruptions, dialogue and sentence breaks and what to do for those scenarios.

Names and industry Jargon

Instructions on how they should appear as you write.

Speaker change flag for tasks with multiple speakers
Punctuation marks
Silence sounds and non-verbal noises

Section Two – Spelling and Grammar

Accepted spellings

As part of clean verbatim transcripts, spelling should adhere to the rules you are given.

Accepted slang

The system automatically corrects the slung terms given, so you are required to write them as spoken.

Contractions
Homophones

Section three – Punctuation

General punctuation
Discouraged punctuation
Speaker interruption
Punctuation and numbers
Sentence style and break points

Section Four – Numbers

Writing out numbers zero through ten

Section Five – Sound quickies

Blanc Audio
Indiscernible Audio
Crosstalk
Laugh
Music or singing
Cough
Foreign language
Applause
Beep

Sections Six – Currency and time

Dollars and cents
Foreign currency
Bucks
AM and PM
12 O’clock
Military time

Section Seven – Math and science

Equations
Notations
Squares, cube, power, etc.
Negative numbers
Fractions
Trigonometric functions
variables

Section eight – Computers and software

Commands
Enter and Return
Comma
“Dot” and File name
Space Bar
Double click
Software names

Section nine – Internet and contact information

URLs
Emails
Telephone numbers
IP address
Hashtags
Handles

Section ten – Sample transcripts

Clean verbatim
Speaker change
Speaker interruptions
Spelling consistency
Computer coding
Sound tags
On-screen formatting

2. Gartner Glossary

A technology glossary which will help you in cases where you need to look up how to spell some words.

3. Most Common requirements.

As soon as you finish all 18 questions, you will be prompted on whether or not you would like to make any changes before your work is submitted.

If you are confident of your answers, you can proceed to see your results. These are computed instantly.

You will then be asked to wait for verification of your identification documents before your account is verified.

Once your Work Market account is verified, you will then be able to search for and take on tasks from CrowdSurf. On average, you will pass with 85% accuracy on your test.

How Much Can You Make on CrowdSurf?

With Crowdsurf’s favorable payment policy, transcribers are paid instantly on approval of work submitted.

This means that you get paid right away and will have money to spend by the day’s end. On average, one can earn between $0.08-$0.20 cents per audio clip and this will depend on the level of proficiency of the work done and submitted.

The highest earners make just over $1,000 per month working with CrowdSurf and there are various payment options through which they pay their transcribers such as Paypal, Skrill and Payoneer

Can I Retake a CrowdSurf Test?

No. CrowdSurf allows you to take the CrowdSurf transcription test once and if you want to retake the test, you have to email them with your MT ID so they can set you up with new test material or assign qualifications to you.

All in all, you must ensure that you are ready before going ahead to take the test.

How to Prepare for a Crowdsurf Transcription Test.

Now of course just like any other test out there, if you want to pass a crowdsurf transcription test, you are going to have to prepare for it.

To pass this test, you’re going to have to meet a couple of requirements which may include fluency in English language, both spoken and written as well as attentive listening skills.

Right after receiving the email, log into your CrowdSurf application account, and take a transcription test which will require you around 30 minutes to complete.

You need to pass this test in order to secure an official CrowdSurf account. The test results and assessments normally take 5 business days.

Pros of CrowdSurf Transcription

a) Short Transcription Tasks.

Tasks are very short, ranging between 5 and 30 seconds only. This allows you to take on many tasks, one after the other, and earn more eventually.

b) Very Flexible Work Hours.

CrowdSurf offers its transcribers work at any time of the day. This comes in handy when distributing your time across all you daily activities. You are able to utilize any free time to make money.

c) You can take on Tasks Anywhere.

You can work anywhere anytime as convenient for you as long as you have the equipment i.e. a computer and good pair of transcription headphones, you will be able to work on the go since the tasks offered are also quite short as well.

d) Instant Payout.

Crowdsurf offers its transcribers instant payouts on submission and approval of tasks.

This will allow you to have money to spend every time you complete tasks for CrowdSurf.

e) Free Sign-Up.

Unlike some of the other transcribing job options, Crowdsurf is free and easy to join and create an account.

f) Little to no Previous Transcription Experience is Required.

To join CrowdSurf, you require little to no previous transcription experience. It is important though that you meet the other requirements as they will help you along the way.

g) User-Friendly Platform.

The CrowdSurf working and editing platform is very easy to access and work around.

h) Very Responsive Support and Feedback Service 24/7.

CrowdSurf support and contact channel is very responsive and thus someone will respond to you soon after you reach out to them.

Cons of CrowdSurf Transcription

Sweatshop wages for skilled work. At as low as $0.2 cents, which is the highest pay for most transcription tasks, it is quite a low pay as compared to other alternative transcription websites available.
The tasks require that you can read, type and understand English language fluently and in specific, American English.

Tips to Help You Pass the CrowdSurf Transcription test

1. Avoid Transcription Mistakes.

There are a number of transcription mistakes you may make and many of them you may make knowingly.

Some examples of these mistakes are;

Atomic typos. Atomic typos simply placed are one–letter mistakes which sound every similar and can be missed. They may consequently have a significant effect on your final transcript. Atomic typos are real words but not having the same meaning as the intended words in a transcript and because of this, your spell checker will definitely miss them and they will change the context of the video transcript entirely. Some examples of these are; typing ‘peace’ instead of ‘piece’, ‘conservation’ instead of ‘conversation’, etc.

Homophones. Homophones are words which sound exactly the same but have a totally different meaning. They are a common mistake transcribers make when transcribing. This is so because since the words sound the same, you can mistakenly take one for the other. Some examples of such are ‘there’ and ‘their’, ‘brake’ and ‘break’, ‘to’ and ‘two’, etc.

Spelling errors. These may be categorized in two groups, i.e. general spelling mistakes and misspelling names. General spelling mistakes are common when typing especially fast-typing. Luckily, spell checkers in typing software or tools like Grammarly will help you avoid these by correcting the mistakes automatically. For the case of misspelt names, one way you can tackle this is by doing research of the person whose name has been mentioned so as to understand how the name is correctly spelt.

Mishearing words. Ideally considered as the worst mistake of these, mishearing words can be really bad when transcribing because it renders your work inaccurate and as a result will affect your ability to get paid for the work you’ve done. It is when you hear a different word from that which has been spoken.

2. Invest Heavily on Good Quality Transcribing Earphones/Headphones.

This goes a long way in helping you get clear sound, cutting out any noise in your background. You can check out these amazing transcription headphones here.

3. Practice a lot.

Practice will help you improve your transcribing skills. These include typing skills and listening skills. The more practice you do, the sharper you will get with both skills and this will in turn cut out these mistakes and improve your efficiency as a transcriber.

4. Do Not Ignore Any Mishears When Transcribing.

This has a direct effect on the end product of your transcript and should therefore be handled with caution.

If you haven’t heard what has been said clearly, replay that section of the video and have another go.

5. Make Use of the Guidelines Catalogue.

Do this every time especially when you are just starting out as a transcriber. This catalogue with direct instructions on the Dos and Don’ts must be followed keenly and will guide you to eliminating any further mistakes in you work as well.

You can also check out this video by Max Pro Tips to get additional tips on how to pass the Crowdsurf transcription test.

Conclusion: How to Pass the CrowdSurf Transcription Test

The CrowdSurf Transcription test is very easy and doable as well. I would definitely recommend that you try it out after doing a small bit of practice to get yourself acquainted with the guidelines and other provisional documents given by CrowdSurf.

The pay may not be much in accordance with the work done but bottom-line, with its extremely flexible schedule, it is a job which can earn you some extra cash for your hard work.

I hope you found this article on how to pass the CrowdSurf transcription test helpful.

Now I would like to hear from you.

Have you tried taking the CrowdSurf transcription test?

Let me know in the comment section below.

Also don’t forget to share this article with your friends and family. Chao!

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