Q&A Designators
How to format question-and-answer testimony in your transcript.
What are Q&A designators?
In a Q&A (question and answer) dictation, two speakers alternate: the examining attorney asks questions and the witness answers them. Your transcript must mark every turn with a Q. or A. designator so the reader always knows who is speaking.
Literary and Jury Charge passages are single-speaker dictation. Q&A is the only exam leg where you must track and label speaker changes, which makes it a distinct skill.
Formatting rules
-
Start each speaker turn on a new line with the
designator followed by a period and a space:
Q.orA. -
Capitalize the Q and A. Lowercase
q.ora.is scored as an error. -
Use a period, not a colon. Write
Q., notQ:. - One designator per speaker turn. Do not repeat the designator mid-sentence if the same speaker continues.
Example
Q. Would you please state your full name for the record?
A. My name is Margaret Ellen Sullivan.
Q. And Ms. Sullivan, what is your current occupation?
A. I am a licensed civil engineer.
Common mistakes
| Mistake | What happens |
|---|---|
| Missing a Q. or A. designator | Scored as an omitted designator (one error per missing designator) |
| Adding an extra Q. or A. where the speaker did not change | Scored as an added designator |
| Swapping Q. for A. or vice versa | Scored as a misplaced designator |
| Placing the designator in the middle of a sentence | Scored as a misplaced designator |
NVRA grading rule
The NVRA CVR grading guidelines list this as error type #7: "Each omitted, added, or misplaced Q and A." Every single missing, extra, or wrongly placed designator counts as one error toward your 5% allowance. In a 1,125-word Q&A leg, that means 56 errors maximum at 95% accuracy.
Designator errors are among the most preventable. Unlike mishearing a word, a designator error is a formatting habit you can drill until it becomes automatic.