Dash Before 'Correction,' 'No,' or 'Strike That'
The Dash
Rulebase Summary
Put a dash before and a period after words like 'correction,' 'no,' or 'strike that' when they are used to signal an interruption or self-correction of the sentence. The corrected sentence that follows begins as a new sentence.
Examples
Q. When did you first, strike that. Where were you on March 5th?
Q. When did you first -- strike that. Where were you on March 5th?
Dash before 'strike that,' period after it.
A. I signed it on Tuesday. Correction. It was Wednesday.
A. I signed it on Tuesday -- correction. It was Wednesday.
Dash before 'correction'; new sentence follows.
Transcript Notes
Words like 'correction' and 'strike that' stand for complete thoughts ('I need to make a correction') and therefore take a period after them. When the attorney picks up the original question mid-sentence after saying one of these words, there are three formatting possibilities. The first option — lowercase continuation after a dash — makes the most grammatical sense. The important thing is to pick a style and stick with it throughout the transcript.
Style Guide References (1)
BGGP