How to Review

Volunteer peer review is the final vital step. Once a page is accepted by a reviewer, it is complete. Completed pages are published on loc.gov to enhance search and accessibility. Review is also great way to become familiar with reading handwriting and our transcription rules.

How to review

Read the entire transcription and carefully compare it to the document image, checking for accuracy and completeness. We recommend going line-by-line, which is why we ask transcribers to preserve line breaks. Make sure the transcriber followed all transcription rules.

Register to review

Anyone can review; you just need to register. An account also allows you to track your contribution on your profile page and to tag documents.

Accepting a transcription

If a transcription is whole and accurate and you do not need to make any changes, click "Accept". The page is now complete! You can no longer edit, but the page is still available to read and tag. If you think a completed page in an active campaign can be improved, contact us to reopen it.

Editing a transcription

If you find errors or missing text click “Edit”. You can make changes to the text yourself or leave it "In Progress" for another volunteer. Correct any mistakes made by the transcriber and complete any words you can. Just like transcribing, click “Save” as you go and "Submit" when you're done. Another volunteer will need to review the page again. 

Should I add line breaks?

Line breaks aid reviewers and other readers in comparing the transcription to the lines of text in the image. They allow you to read across the transcription and image line-by-line. However, if the absence of line breaks is the only issue in a transcription, and you can review it as-is, you do not need to add them.

Can I review my own transcriptions?

You cannot review transcriptions you submit unless someone else edits the page and re-submits it.