Proofreading Marks Chart -Some of the Most Common Proofreading Marks

This proofreading marks chart will give you a good idea of what the most common proofreading marks mean. If you would like to know more about proof reading basics, see our article on Proofreading in Graphic Design and Universal Proofreading Symbols.

As a graphic designer, you'll find that your main involvement in proofreading will be in interpreting and implementing, rather than actually proofreading documents. In order to learn the art of proofreading, years ago, I underwent a proofreading correspondence course which helped me get off on the right foot. That won't be necessary if you are just interpreting. You just need to understand how the system works, and what the universal proofreading symbols actually mean. Having a handy proofreading marks chart in front of you will aid the process!

Please note: this is not a comprehensive set of every single proofreading mark. This chart is intended to be used as an 'aide memoire' for some of the most common proofreading marks. For a complete set of universal proofreading symbols, the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook provides a comprehensive list of proofreading marks, as well as examples of proof-read text.

Proofreading Marks Chart by www.graphic-design-employment.com
Symbol inserted in text	Marks inserted in margin	Instruction intended by marks (& examples of the marks in use)
	None	Correction is concluded
		STET is also used as a margin mark. Means leave text unchanged. Often a proofreader will make an alteration and then change their mind. They use this mark to indicate that their original mark should be ignored.
Encircle extraneous marks to be removed		Removed encircled marks
		Insert the matter indicated in the margin
		Insert matter indicated by the letter in the associated diamond. This is used if there is a large amount of text to be inserted - too much to write in the margin. A letter in a diamond is placed within the text and also in the margin. The text to be added can be found either at the foot of the page or on a separate sheet.
		Delete
		Delete and close up
	New character or words	Substitute character or words with matter in margin
		Make italic
		Make bold
		Make bold italic
Encircle text to be altered		Remove italic style
Encircle text to be altered		Remove bold style
		Make upper case
Encircle text to be altered		Make lower case
		Make small caps
		Substitute or insert full stop or decimal point
		Substitute or insert colon
		Substitute or insert semi-colon
		Substitute or insert comma
		Substitute or insert apostrophe
		Substitute or insert single quote marks
		Substitute or insert double quote marks
		Substitute or insert hyphen
		Take over and start new paragraph
		Run on text (no new paragraph)
		Transpose characters or words
		Indent
		Remove indent
	The mark extends into the margin and requires no margin symbol	Take over character or words to next column (or page)
	The mark extends into the margin and requires no margin symbol	Take back character or words to previous column (or page)
		Close up - delete space between characters
		Insert space between characters
		Reduce space between characters
		Insert space between words
		Reduce space between words
	The mark extends into the margin and requires no margin symbol	Increase space between lines or paragraphs
	The mark extends into the margin and requires no margin symbol	Reduce space between lines or paragraphs