List of proofreader's marks
Below are lists of marks used in proofreading to indicate problems in a text and to suggest solutions. 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. Note that different languages use different proofreading marks and sometimes publishers have their own in-house proofreading marks.
Abbreviations
| Abbreviation | Meaning | Use |
|---|---|---|
| sp | Spell out | Used to indicate that an abbreviation should be spelled out, such as in its first use |
| stet | Let it stand | Indicates that proofreading marks should be ignored and the copy unchanged |
| fl | Flush left | Align text flush with left margin |
| fr | Flush right | Align text flush with right margin |
| eq # | Equalize spacing | |
| ls | Letterspace | Adjust letterspacing |
| ital | Italics | Put in italics |
| rom | Roman | Put in Roman (non-italic) font |
| bf | Boldface | Put in boldface |
| lc | Lower case | Put text in lower case |
| caps | Capitalize | Put text in capital case |
| sc | Small caps | Put text in small caps |
| wf | Wrong font | Put text in correct font |
| hr # | Insert hair space |
Symbols
| Symbol Name | Image | Meaning | Example of Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dele (Unicode U+20B0) |
|
Delete | |
| Pilcrow (Unicode U+00B6) | ¶ | Begin new paragraph | |
| Caret | ^ / v | Insert | |
| # | Insert space | ||
| Close up (Unicode U+2050) | ⁐ | Tie words together, eliminating a space | I was reading the news⁐paper this morning. |
| ][ | Center text | ||
| ] | Move text right | ||
| [ | Move text left | ||
| M̲ | Insert em dash | ||
| N̲ | Insert en dash |
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