List of proofreader's marks

This article is a list of standard proofreader's marks used to indicate and correct problems in a text. Marks come in two varieties, abbreviations and abstract symbols. These are usually handwritten on the paper containing the text. Symbols are interleaved in the text, while abbreviations may be placed in a margin with an arrow pointing to the problematic text. Different languages use different proofreading marks and sometimes publishers have their own in-house proofreading marks.[1]

Abbreviations

AbbreviationMeaningUse
spSpellingUsed to indicate misspelling
spoSpell outUsed to indicate that an abbreviation should be spelled out, such as in its first use
stetLet it standIndicates that proofreading marks should be ignored and the copy unchanged
flFlush leftAlign text flush with left margin
frFlush rightAlign text flush with right margin
eq #Equalize spacing
lsLetterspaceAdjust letterspacing
italItalicsPut in italics
romRomanPut in Roman (non-italic) font
bfBoldfacePut in boldface
lcLower casePut text in lower case
capsCapitalizePut text in capital case
scSmall capsPut text in small caps
wfWrong fontPut text in correct font
wc/wwword choice/wrong wordIncorrect or awkward word choice
hr #Insert hair space
s/bshould beSelection should be whatever edit follows this mark
trtransposeTranspose the two words selected

Symbols

Symbol NameSymbol(s)MeaningExample of Use
Dele[lower-alpha 1]

Delete
Pilcrow (Unicode U+00B6)Begin new paragraph
Pilcrow (Unicode U+00B6)¶ noRemove paragraph break
Caret[lower-alpha 2] (Unicode U+2038, 2041, 2380)‸ ⁁ ⎀Insert
#Insert space
Close up (Unicode U+2050)Tie words together, eliminating a spaceI was reading the news⁐paper this morning.
] [Center text
]Move text right
[Move text left
Insert em dash
Insert en dash

Manuscripts

Depending on local conventions, underscores (underlines) may be used on manuscripts (and historically on typescripts) to indicate the special typefaces to be used:[2][3]

  • single dashed underline for stet, 'let it stand', proof-reading mark cancelled.
  • single straight underline for italic type
  • single wavy underline for bold type
  • double straight underline for SMALL CAPS
  • double underline of one straight line and one wavy line for bold italic
  • triple underline for FULL CAPITAL LETTERS (used among small caps or to change text already typed as lower case).

See also

Notes

  1. For more details, see Eduardo Marín Silva (4 October 2021). "Proposal for the inclusion of the DELETE SIGN for proofreading and discussion of the intended use and behavior of already encoded signs" (PDF). Unicode Consortium.
  2. The circumflex character ^ and latin letter v are sometimes shown but these are not correct.

References

  1. "Proof Correction Marks" (PDF). British Standards Institution. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 December 2017. Retrieved 13 May 2016.
  2. "Proofreading Marks Chart  Some of the Most Common Proofreading Marks". graphic-design-employment.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
  3. Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2020. Bloomsbury. 5 September 2019. ISBN 9781472947512.
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