Proofreading Marks

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The list of proofreading marks on this page includes those illustrated on page 285 of the textbook and some additional editing marks that you may find on your papers. Some proofreading marks call for fairly simple corrections, such as fixing problems with spacing, alignment, or type styles. Others refer to mechanical and grammar problems, such as punctuation, sentence structure, and word choice. For additional help with correcting mechanical and grammatical errors, click on the symbol or meaning to go to additional information.

SYMBOL

MEANING

EXAMPLES

SYMBOL

MEANING

EXAMPLES
Delete

delete

 Deletion example Lower case

set in lowercase

 Lowercase example
Close up

close up

 Close up example Italics

set in italics

 Italics example
Delete and close

delete and close up

 Delete and close example Set in roman

set in roman (not italics)

 Set as Roman example
Caret--insert

caret

 Caret example Set in boldface

set in boldface

 Set as boldface example
Insert space

insert a space

 Insert space example Hyphen

hyphen

 multi-colored
Space evenly

space evenly

 Space evenly example Insert en dash

en dash

 1965 – 1972
Stet--leave as written

let stand (the original is correct)

 Stet example Insert em dash

em (or long) dash

 Now—at last!—we
 know.
Transpose

Transpose

 Transpose example Superscript

superscript

 Superscript example
Separate

used to separate two or more marks and often as a concluding stroke at then end of an insertion

   Subscript

subscript

 Subscript example
Set left

set farther to the left

 Set left example Center

centered

 Centered example
Set right

set farther to the right

 Set right example Comma

comma

  
Set as ligature

set as ligature (as in Æ)

 Ligature example Apostrophe

apostrophe

  
Align horizontally

align horizontally

 Horizontal alignment example Period

period

  
Align Vertically

align vertically

 Vertical alignment example Semicolon

semi-colon

  
Broken character

broken character

 Broken character example Colon

colon

  
Indent or insert em

indent or insert em
quad space

   Quotation marks

quotation marks

  
New paragraph

begin a new paragraph here

   Parantheses

parentheses

  
No new paragraph

don't begin a new paragraph here

   Brackets

brackets

  
Spell out (or spelling)

spell out

 Spell oput example Query Author

query to author: has this been set as intended?

  
Capitalize

set in CAPITALS

 Capitalize example Push down

push down a work-up

 Push down example
Set in small caps

set in SMALL CAPITALS

 Set in small caps example Turn over inverted letter

turn over an inverted letter

 Turn inverted letter example
Spelling error

spelling error

   Wrong font

wrong font

 Wrong font example
Awkward phrasing

awkward phrasing

   Meaningor intent unclear

meaning or intent unclear

 
Dangling modifier

dangling modifier

   Misplaced modifier

misplaced modifier

  
Sentence fragment

sentence fragment

   Run-on sentence

run-on sentence

  
Word choice

(or WC) questionable word choice

   Comma splice

comma splice

  
Ambiguous reference

faulty, unclear, or ambiguous reference

   Subject-verb agreement

subject-verb agreement