Proofreading and Correction Mark Abbreviations
29 abbreviations · part of Common Abbreviations
Proofreaders' marks are the shorthand editors write in the margins of typeset proofs, such as lc (lowercase), tr (transpose) and TK (to come), while correction abbreviations such as awk, frag and CS are what teachers write on student essays. Both systems pair a mark in the text, which locates the problem, with an abbreviation in the margin that explains it. Publishers' charts, including those in the Chicago Manual of Style and British Standard BS 5261, standardize the proofreading marks; grading abbreviations vary from teacher to teacher and handbook to handbook.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AA | Author's alteration | Marks a change on a proof made at the author's request rather than to fix a typesetting error. |
| agr | Agreement error | Marks a failure of agreement, either between subject and verb ("The list of items are long") or between a pronoun and its antecedent. |
| AQ | Author query | A question from a copyeditor or typesetter asking the author to confirm or supply information, written in the margin or as a numbered comment. |
| awk | Awkward | Teacher's or editor's margin comment indicating that a sentence or phrase is clumsy, unclear or hard to read, even if not strictly ungrammatical. |
| bf | Boldface | Requests boldface type, indicated in manuscripts by a wavy underline beneath the text and bf in the margin. |
| caps | Capitals | Instructs that the marked word or phrase be set entirely in capital letters. |
| CS | Comma splice | Points to two independent clauses joined only by a comma, as in "The test was hard, I studied anyway." It is one of the most frequently flagged errors in student writing. |
| DM | Dangling modifier | Indicates a modifying phrase with no clear word to modify in the sentence, often producing an unintended meaning, as in "Walking to school, the rain started." |
| frag | Sentence fragment | Shows that a group of words punctuated as a sentence lacks a subject, a main verb or a complete thought, such as "Because the bus was late." Teachers expect the writer… |
| FS | Fused sentence | Two independent clauses run together with no punctuation or conjunction get this mark, as in "She called he didn't answer." It is the strictest type of run-on sentence. |
| ital | Italics | Margin instruction that text be set in italic type, paired with a single underline beneath the word in the text. |
| lc | Lowercase | Proofreading and copyediting mark instructing that a capital letter be changed to lowercase. |
| lf | Lightface | Instructs that text wrongly set in bold be changed to lightface, the normal weight of a typeface. |
| MM | Misplaced modifier | Flags a word or phrase positioned so that it seems to modify the wrong part of the sentence, as in "She served sandwiches to the children on paper plates." |
| om | Omitted word | Marks a place where a word has been left out, often with a caret showing where to insert it. |
| PE | Printer's error | Marks a mistake introduced by the typesetter or printer on a proof, as opposed to a change requested by the author. |
| ref | Unclear pronoun reference | Signals a pronoun whose antecedent is missing, ambiguous or too far away, as in "When Ana met Maria, she was nervous." The reader cannot tell which noun the pronoun… |
| RO | Run-on sentence | Correction mark for two or more independent clauses joined without proper punctuation or a conjunction, as in "I was tired I went to bed." The usual fixes are a period… |
| rom | Roman (type) | Tells a typesetter to set text in roman, the ordinary upright typeface, usually to correct words wrongly set in italic or bold. |
| sc | Small capitals | Calls for small capitals, capital letters about the height of lowercase letters, used in some styles for era abbreviations, acronyms and certain headings. |
| sp | Spelling error | Teacher's or editor's mark indicating a misspelled word, written above or beside the word or in the margin. |
| TK | To come | Placeholder used by writers and editors for information not yet available, such as a statistic, name or page number, as in "the company employs TK people." The odd… |
| tr | Transpose | Instructs that the order of letters, words or lines be swapped, shown by a curved line looping around the elements to be exchanged. |
| trans | Transition needed | Margin comment indicating that the connection between sentences or paragraphs is unclear or abrupt, asking for a linking word, phrase or sentence such as "however," "as… |
| uc | Uppercase | Tells a typesetter to set a letter or word in capitals, written in the margin next to a lowercase letter underlined three times in the text. |
| WC | Word choice | Suggests that a word is imprecise, too informal, repetitive or otherwise not the best option, even if not technically wrong, such as "stuff" in an academic essay. |
| wdy | Wordy | Indicates that a sentence uses more words than needed, such as "due to the fact that" for "because" or "in order to" for "to." Editors and teachers use it to encourage… |
| wf | Wrong font | Proofreading mark pointing out a character set in a different typeface, size or style from the surrounding text, a common error in hand-set type and in pasted digital… |
| WW | Wrong word | Tells the writer that a word is incorrect for the context, often one of a confused pair such as "affect/effect," "then/than" or "their/there." It may also mark a word… |
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