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. 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		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

External links

• The Chicago Manual of Style Online: Proofreading
• Merriam - Webster: Proofreader's Marks
• British Standards Institution BS 5261C:2005 — Hardcopy for purchase
• Another (different) list of proofreading marks