BASIC RULES OF

TRANSCRIPTION

Spacing With Punctuation Marks

Do Not Type a Space ...
 following a period with an
abbreviation  

Example: No spaces in
between the
periods in “b.i.d.”
 following a period used as a decimal
point 

Example: No space after

a period in
“Temperature
96.1”
 between quotation marks and the
quoted material 
No space in
between the
quotation
Example: mark and
the letter I

No space in between the

period (.) and the
quotation mark.
 before or after a hyphen 

Example:

No space in between the

hyphen and the letter L and
the hyphen and the letter N.
 before or after a slash 

Example:
VITAL SIGNS: Temperature 96.1, BP
120/80, pulse 66, respirations 18.
 before or after a dash 

Example:
The patient’s blood pressure fluctuated
from 120-160/80-120 in the last
hour.
 between a number and percent sign 

Example:
The patient has burns covering 30% of
his torso.
 between parentheses and the
enclosed material 

Example:
The patient’s white blood cell count was
120 (normal value is 80).
 between any word and the
punctuation following it. 

Example:
The patient is afebrile.
 between the number and the colon
used to indicate a dilute solution or
ratio. 

Example:
The patient was given a shot of
1:100,000 epinephrine in the ER.
 on either side of the colon when
expressing the time of day 

Example:
Let’s meet at 4:00 p.m. at the coffee
shop.
 before an apostrophe 

Example:
The beneficiaries of the patient’s last
will and testament was shown to
include all nursing care staff during
the last three month’s of his life.
 before or after a comma used within
numbers 

Example:
The patient’s white blood cell count was
shown to be 12,000.
 before or after an ampersand in
abbreviations, e.g., C&S

Example:
The patient underwent D&C in the
operating room yesterday after
suffering a miscarriage.
 after the closing parenthesis if
another mark of punctuation follows 

Example:
The patient will undergo another course
of IV Levaquin (WBC 40,000).
Type One Space... 
 between words 

Example:
The patient was seen in the Emergency
Room yesterday.
 after a comma 

Example:
The patient is a well-developed, well-
nourished Caucasian female.
 after a semicolon 

Example:
Some people write with a word
processor, typewriter, or a computer;
but others, for different reasons,
choose to write with a pen or pencil.
 after a period following an initial 

Example:
The H.M.S. Bounty is the most majestic
ship during the early 1900s.
 after the closing parenthesis 

Example:
The patient’s will be given IV Levaquin
(WBC 40,000) to combat any existing
infection.
 on each side of the x in an expression
of dimension, e.g. 4 x 4 

Example:
The cyst measures 0.6 x 0.8 x 1.2 cm.
Type Two Spaces...
 after punctuation at the end of a
sentence 

Example:
The patient was admitted to the
Emergency Room last night for
abdominal cramps. She stated that
the cramps started about 30 minutes
after she had dinner.
 after a colon except when expressing
time or a dilution ratio 

Example:
The patient’s list of medications
included: Levaquin, Aricept,
hydrocortisone cream and Lipitor.