Figure 14.4 DNA Is Transcribed to Form RNA DNA is locally unwound by RNA polymerase to serve as a template for RNA synthesis. The RNA transcript is formed and then peels away, allowing the DNA that has already been transcribed to rewind into a double helix. Three distinct processes—initiation, elongation, and termination—constitute transcription. RNA polymerase is much larger in reality than indicated here, covering about 50 base pairs.