Advice for handwritten diptrans exam?
Thread poster: Judith Byrne
Judith Byrne
Judith Byrne
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
French to English
+ ...
Jan 10, 2017

Hello all,
I'm due to take the diptrans exam next week and my info docs have arrived but I still have a few questions...
I'm doing all three papers in one day. I decided not to do a specific diptrans prep course as I've been working as an in house translator/office admin for a small company for ten years or so, I felt I wanted something on paper for my own cpd and achievement. The bits I'm not sure about are the fact it's handwritten- obviously I've been computer based only at work,
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Hello all,
I'm due to take the diptrans exam next week and my info docs have arrived but I still have a few questions...
I'm doing all three papers in one day. I decided not to do a specific diptrans prep course as I've been working as an in house translator/office admin for a small company for ten years or so, I felt I wanted something on paper for my own cpd and achievement. The bits I'm not sure about are the fact it's handwritten- obviously I've been computer based only at work, although my original languages degree 20 years ago was translation based and, being back in the old days, I had to handwrite everything then. Looking for advice on this-
Is it ok to make marks all over the source doc?
Do you take your own paper?
I'm guessing you take your own pens and pencils! Is tippex allowed?
Is there a standard format for "I've made a mistake here"- do you just cross it out and carry on?
Is there a standard presentation e.g. Double line spacing? How do you show headings and italics if they appear in the source text in type?

Sorry if these seem daft questions, if anyone can shed any light on these I'd be very grateful,
Thank you v much!
Newbie

[Edited at 2017-01-10 17:34 GMT]
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Harris Morgan
Harris Morgan  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
Member
German to English
DipTrans Jan 11, 2017

Hi Newbie17, I am also taking the DipTrans exam next week, although I'll be translating on a computer.

Is it ok to make marks all over the source doc?
Do you take your own paper?
I'm guessing you take your own pens and pencils! Is tippex allowed?
Is there a standard format for "I've made a mistake here"- do you just cross it out and carry on?
Is there a standard presentation e.g. Double line spacing? How do you show headings and italics if they appear in the source text in type?


The only official answers I can find are from the DipTrans Handbook, which states:

all candidates are advised to
present their work well (paying attention to spacing and formatting) and, if handwriting their
examination, to write legibly and to ensure that crossings-out and insertions are clear.


I suspect the invigilator(s) and the instructions on the papers will explain the rest on the day, but if you don't get any specific answers on here and really want an answer, you could try getting in touch with your exam centre. If I were you, I'd err on the side of bringing all your stationery and some paper - there's no harm in leaving it outside if it's not allowed.

As the quote above shows, markers will expect handwriting candidates to have some crossings-out when they have made a mistake (and probably to add asterisks for insertions in the margin). I've never heard of a formal exam where it was forbidden to write on the test paper. On the "Exam Preparation" section of the CIOL site, none of the past papers I saw have much formatting except for bold headings and sub-headings. You could write over each word to make those look bold, but I seriously doubt you would be docked points for leaving them as normal writing.

[Edited at 2017-01-11 17:10 GMT]


 
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT
Tomás Cano Binder, BA, CT  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 13:18
Member (2005)
English to Spanish
+ ...
A draft, not an option Jan 11, 2017

Newbie17 wrote:
The bits I'm not sure about are the fact it's handwritten- obviously I've been computer based only at work, although my original languages degree 20 years ago was translation based and, being back in the old days, I had to handwrite everything then. Looking for advice on this...

To me, you do not mention one key question here: Will you have time to make a draft and then create the final version?

I took the DipTrans on computer, but based on my experience with the ATA Certification exam, which is equally challenging, I can only say that you will NOT have time to make a draft and then write your final copy. I took the ATA Certification when I had been a full-time translator for 14 years already, so it is not a question of experience, but of speed of handwriting.

The best way to invest your precious time will be to make use of the source-text paper itself and:

- Read the source text carefully, spot the challenging phrases, idiomatic bits, doubtful expressions, possible false friends you might fall into... making notes on possible ways of solving them in the target language. Give it 15-20 minutes.

- Identify difficult terms and solve them with the dictionaries you have at hand (I took two suitcases full of them), making notes on possible term candidates in relation to the specialisation and supposed target audience of the text. Do not spend more 15-20 minutes on this, i.e. choose some 7-8 terms to research in the dictionaries. For the rest of the terms, just give them your best shot from the top of your head (you can always revisit them at the end, if you have the time).

- As you translate, plan each sentence (ideally also the general idea of each paragraph) before you write.

(For your notes on the source-text paper, it would do no harm to bring with you a set of pens in different colours, so that you can identify different types of challenges with different colours.)

As for whether you will have enough time to even produce your translation, I daresay that you could end up with just some 10/15 extra minutes for your last checks and proofreading. Try to use them to pinpoint any omissions (they happen, believe me), concordance issues, spelling mistakes, doubtful punctuation, idiomaticity/fluency...

What I did both for the DipTrans and the ATA Certification was to do six or seven translations in the conditions of the exam, to better get a sense of the time needed for each stage and the free time I would have available at the end. In the case of the ATA Certification, I hired an experienced translator to check my results and this way pinpoint any possible pitfalls or areas of development.

Good luck!


 
Judith Byrne
Judith Byrne
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:18
French to English
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Thanks! Jan 11, 2017

Thank you both! Yes I've done some "timed conditions" translations from the diptrans past papers on the Ciol website, and the first thing it highlighted to me was timing! That will be my main issue I think. Thanks for the suggestion of coloured pens- that's a great idea too.

 


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Advice for handwritten diptrans exam?







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