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

These abbreviations are those prescribed by the Chicago Manual of Style. ^[2] Other conventions exist.

Abbreviation	Meaning	Use
bf	Boldface	Set in boldface
caps	Capitalize	Set in capital letters
eq #	Equalize spacing
fl	Flush left	Align text flush with left margin
fr	Flush right	Align text flush with right margin
hr #	Insert hair space
ital	Italics	Set in italic type
lc	Lower case	Set in lowercase
ls	Letterspace	Adjust letterspacing
rom	Roman	Put in Roman (non-italic) font
sc	Small caps	Put text in small caps
set	Insert question mark
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
tr	transpose	Transpose the two words selected
wf	Wrong font	Put text in correct font
ww [3]	Wrong word	Wrong word used (e.g. to/too)

Symbols

Text annotated with proofreading marks to the ISO 5776 standard

Symbol Name	Symbol(s)	Meaning	Example of Use
Dele		Delete
Pilcrow (Unicode U+00B6)	¶	Begin new paragraph
Pilcrow (Unicode U+00B6)	¶ no	Remove paragraph break
Caret [a] (Unicode U+2038, 2041, 2380)	‸or⁁or⎀	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

Manuscripts

Depending on local conventions, underscores (underlines) may be used on manuscripts (and historically on typescripts) to indicate the special typefaces to be used: ^{[4] [5]}

• 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

• ISO 5776  – Standard symbols for proofreading
• Blue pencil (editing)  – Pencil used to show corrections to written copies
• Obelism  – Editors' marks on manuscripts

Notes

1. 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. "Proofreaders' Marks". The Chicago Manual of Style Online. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
3. "Proofreading Marks: What Do They Mean?". Scribendi.
4. "Proofreading Marks Chart – Some of the Most Common Proofreading Marks". graphic-design-employment.com. Retrieved 9 October 2020.
5. Writers' & Artists' Yearbook 2020. Bloomsbury. 5 September 2019. ISBN   9781472947512.

External links

• "Proofreader's marks". Merriam-Webster. Archived from the original on 15 March 2015.
• British Standards Institution BS 5261C:2005 – Hardcopy for purchase
  • "PROOFMARKS - How to communicate your text changes without ambiguity" (PDF). Lancing Press. April 2014. (Online summary of BS5261, open access via "Proofmarks")
  • BSI proof-correction marks (conforming to BS 5261C:2005) as prepared by the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading
• The style guide for publications of the European Union is presented in 24 European languages and includes a section on proofreading. Each edition has a sheet of proofreader's marks that appears to be the same apart from the language used to describe the marks. The section cautions that "it should be realised that the typesetter may not understand the language in which the text is written".
  • English
  • French
  • German
  • Italian
  • etc.