What Is a Scopist? (And How to Become One)

By Helen Woodhouse
Dec 11, 2023
5 min read

The work of a scopist is so behind the scenes that the job title doesn’t even appear in the dictionary. The role may seem invisible, but it’s vital to the accuracy of court transcripts. Read on to learn what this job involves and how to become a scopist.

What Is Scoping?

What indeed? As previously stated, you won’t find this type of scoping in the dictionary; the kind we’re discussing is a highly specialized form of editing.

Not to be confused with court transcript proofreading – the step that follows scoping – scoping involves editing raw transcripts produced by court reporters who type what is said in real time using stenography machines. The shorthand type produced by the machines is translated into English using Computer-Aided Transcription (CAT) software. The early forms of that software used minicomputers that looked like oscilloscopes. This led to the job of producing more understandable documents from those “scopes” being referred to as “scoping.” In turn, the person performing that vital job became known as – can you guess? – a scopist.

What Does a Scopist Do?

Now that you understand what kinds of documents a scopist works with, you probably have a taste of their responsibilities.

Courtroom dramas on TV and in film may involve some rapid-fire dialogue that is generally clear and, having been scripted, easy to follow. However, in real-life courtrooms, witnesses – and even their lawyers – can experience nervousness and sometimes mumble their words, talk over each other, or ramble. Accents can be difficult to understand as well. The court reporter’s typed shorthand may miss or mishear what is said. And the CAT software is only as good as the information it’s fed, so words can be mistranslated. The scopist’s job is to check the translation for those missing, misheard, or mistranslated words.

Scopists don’t sit in a courtroom to hear the dialogue. They are remote freelance professionals who perform their vital job by comparing the translation produced by the CAT software to an audio recording of the proceedings. They also format and edit the translation to ensure a readable document with an accurate record of what was said.

This leads us to another crucial scoping skill: striking a balance between readability and accuracy. The nature of court documents is that the words spoken by a witness or defendant – and their phrasing – can be important. And the consequences can be just as serious if what the judge orders is misheard.

How to Become a Scopist

Becoming a scopist may require specialized skills, but it doesn’t require a college degree. Working freelance and remotely can provide a great, flexible career since rigid business hours don’t control your schedule. This allows you to organize your life around family and other commitments. Scoping is such a vital and specialized job that it also tends to pay well.

As you’ll see, scoping is a good opportunity if you’re a proofreader or editor because you already possess many of the skills required. Let’s take a closer look at how you can become a scopist.

Skills

To clean up raw courtroom translations and turn them into a document that’s easy to read, a scopist must have:

A good grasp of grammar, spelling, and punctuation – something as simple as a missed comma could misrepresent what was said
A willingness to break, rather than enforce, grammar and punctuation rules in favor of accurately recording what was said
An understanding of formatting requirements
A keen awareness of homophones – a particular issue due to the nature of scoping
Good listening skills – necessary for checking audio recordings
Research skills and attention to detail – checking the spelling of names, acronyms, etc.
Technology proficiency – scoping involves working with audio files and CAT software in addition to the editing and word processing software you might be used to
Soft skills, such as the ability to work to a deadline

Furthermore, while not crucial to begin with, understanding legal terminology will greatly assist you and save you a lot of research time.

Qualifications

Although a college degree is not necessary to become a scopist – neither is certification – specialized training is essential to gain a number of the skills we have listed. Many institutes, such as the Internet Scoping School (ISS), provide online training. Alternatively, some court reporter schools run programs for scopists.

Equipment

Aside from a computer and access to the internet (for receiving and returning documents), you’ll need to invest in some specialized equipment:

CAT software – likely the highest expense
Headphones – for listening to audio recordings

And, while not essential, a foot pedal will also help you control the audio playback while you type and, therefore, speed up your work.

Where to Find Jobs

Once you’ve acquired the necessary skills and training, the next step is to find work as a scopist. As customary with most freelance editorial work, you have several options:

Join an online community or registry – even while you’re waiting for work, the support from other scopists will be invaluable
Search or advertise on job boards (e.g., stenosearch.com)
Create a LinkedIn page to highlight your skills and mark yourself as available for work
Seek out court reporters directly and inform them of your skills and availability

Proofreading and Editing Courses

As highlighted in this blog post, the work of a scopist is more specialized than that of an editor or proofreader; nevertheless, they have many common skills. If you’re intrigued by this seemingly overlooked yet vital career, you can start gaining the necessary skills with our Becoming A Proofreader and Becoming An Editor courses. You can even try them out for free with two sample lessons today!