Proofreading Marks & Symbols Flashcards

A proofreader draws a wavy line (called a 'stet') under deleted text and writes 'stet' in the margin. What does this restore?

Answer: It restores the text to its original form

'Stet' is Latin for 'let it stand' and instructs the compositor to ignore a previously marked correction.

What does a single horizontal line struck through text indicate in standard proofreading notation?

Answer: Delete this text

A strikethrough line marks text for deletion; it is often paired with a delete symbol in the margin.

Which symbol is used to mark that a hyphen should be inserted between two words?

Answer: A caret (^) with an equals sign (=)

A caret with an equals sign (or sometimes just an equals sign) indicates a hyphen should be added at that point.

When a proofreader marks 'eq #' in the margin, what are they requesting?

Answer: Equalize word spacing

'eq #' instructs the typesetter to equalize the spacing between words so it appears uniform throughout the line.

A circle drawn around a period at the end of a sentence during proofreading means:

Answer: The period is correct — take no action

Circling existing punctuation (rather than inserting a caret) confirms the mark is correct and should remain as is.

Which of the following marks indicates that letterspacing should be reduced (text set too loosely)?

Answer: Curved close-up marks above and below the letters

Close-up marks placed both above and below a sequence of letters indicate that letterspacing should be tightened.

What does writing 'w.f.' in the margin alert the compositor to?

Answer: Wrong font — a character is set in the wrong typeface or size

'w.f.' stands for wrong font and signals that a character or word appears in an incorrect typeface or point size.