Reel Transcript Guide · Published 29 October 2026

How to Keep a Proposed Action Separate from a Completed Action in an Instagram Transcript

Preserve the words that show whether a speaker is proposing an action, making it conditional or reporting it as completed. Do not rewrite “I might send the draft” as “I sent the draft.” Replay the wording around the action, keep any conditions and corrections, and put your interpretation in a separate note. A transcript records the speaker’s account; it does not independently prove that the action happened.

Watch the silent video guide: action status

Keep the action’s spoken status visible

A transcript can contain a plan, a request and a claim about an earlier event in the same passage. Cleaning the text should not collapse these into one completed action. W3C’s transcription guidance supports accurately representing spoken wording rather than changing it. The action-status worksheet below is our original editorial method for reviewing that wording. It is not a grammar certification, an official annotation standard or a way to verify events outside the recording.

Three fictional draft statements

The statements in this table are invented for teaching. They are not taken from a Reel or a service test. Treat them as separate examples rather than a sequence of events. The distinction depends on the actual words, not a label added after transcription.

Our action-status review workflow

1. Locate the action: keep the source version and a usable location before editing. Search results help find the passage; they do not establish what happened.
2. Replay the full wording: listen around the action, including short words that can change its status. Do not decide from the main verb alone or assume a draft’s wording is correct.
3. Retain conditions and limits: keep phrases such as “if the check is finished” when spoken. Do not move a condition into an optional note while presenting the action as unconditional speech.
4. Check the speaker’s correction: a person may revise a statement in the next sentence. Preserve the actual correction rather than replacing the passage with whichever version is easier to summarize.
5. Separate review from verification: a working note may describe the statement as a plan or a reported completion. Label it as your interpretation and keep any outside evidence separate from the transcript.

Do not let a summary replace the recording

A heading such as “Draft sent” can be stronger than a passage that only says the speaker intends to send it. If you write a summary, check that it preserves the status and conditions of the source. Keep it visibly separate from the transcript. Do not silently substitute a summary for the spoken text or make a quotation look more definite. If the source is ambiguous, retain an open review question rather than selecting the most convenient interpretation.

When the wording changes within a turn

A fictional speaker might say, “I sent it—sorry, I mean I prepared it.” Review and retain that correction as part of the spoken account. Do not use only the first clause as proof of sending. This example is invented, and punctuation is an editorial aid rather than audio evidence by itself. In a real passage, use the recording to establish the words and their order. If the relevant part is unclear or unavailable, say what could not be checked.

Keep outside evidence in its own record

A separate receipt or message could be relevant to a project, but it should not be inserted as though it were spoken in the Reel. Identify that material separately if you use it. Our Instant Reel Transcript tool returns text from supported public links. It does not confirm that a file was sent, that a recipient received it or that a future promise was fulfilled. This guide concerns editorial accuracy, not legal interpretation of promises or obligations.

Questions about action status

Can I shorten “might send” to “sent” for readability?

No. That changes the statement. Preserve the spoken wording and label any separate summary honestly.

Does “I sent it” prove delivery?

It records a speaker’s claim. Independent delivery verification is a different task and should not be implied by the transcript alone.

What if the condition is unclear?

Keep an unresolved review note and a source reference. Do not publish an unconditional action as though the missing condition had been checked.

Sources and scope

Checked: 29 October 2026. Primary guidance: W3C WAI — Transcribing Audio to Text, on accurate spoken wording. The A01 examples, action-status card and workflow are original editorial guidance, not official grammar rules, legal advice or an accuracy benchmark.