Proofreading Marks

 
$Date: 2016-12-20 17:33:40 -0500 (Tue, 20 Dec 2016) $
    

Authors: Zachary Wartell


These proofreading marks are used to supplement the digital annotation features provided by PDF and MS Word tools.

Abbreviation
Meaning Examples Resource




Operational Signs


tr transpose

sp spelling error

NP insert new paragraph

] move right

[ move left

][ center

fl flush left

fr flush right

|| align vertically

Typographical Signs


caps change to capital letters

lc change to lowercase

bf set in boldface

-bf remove boldface

Punctuation Marks



typically PDF and MS Word digital annotation features will be used for directly inserting any missing punctuation marks

Language


[informal] words used are too informal (possibly slang) for the target audience or publication venue.  Replace with more precise, formal terms.

[awk] sentence structure is awkward which reduces clarity
[WC UNC]
[wordy] sentence is unnecessarily wordy and can be written more concisely
[WC UNC]
[w.c.]
"word choice", word used is wrong word in the context of the sentence

[WC UNC]
[i.c.] incomplete sentence
[WC UNC]
[run-on] run-on sentence
[WC UNC]
[abbr?] abbreviation or acronym is used without defining it the first time it is used

[term?] term is used without defining it the first time it is used

Citations


[incomplete ref] the reference is missing details expected by the citation standard being used for this document.  (An example of a citation standard is the IEEE Style Reference Guide. A copy is here.)

[fig. citation] the figure caption is missing proper citation of the source of the image or diagram
[WIP UNCC, pg 11]
[citation] the text is missing proper citation
[WIP UNCC]
Style


[tense:present] the phrase would be shorter and more concise if re-written in present simple tense rather than in past or future tense.
  1. This report will compare ⇒
    This report compares
[WC UNC]

References

[1] Chicago Manual of Style Online. [Online]. Accessed October 16,2016, http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_proof.html.