Proofreading marks

Proofreading marks are symbols that people use to correct mistakes in written documents such as essays, newspaper articles, or books.

Imagine you drew a picture and your teacher wants to help you make it better. They might make little drawings or circles on your picture to show you where to fix things, like adding extra color to a bird or straightening a line. Proofreading marks work in a similar way, except they’re used for written work instead of pictures.

The symbols are pretty simple, like a circle around a typo (that’s when you spelled something wrong), or a little arrow pointing to a word that should be deleted. There are other symbols too, like a straight line for where to add a missing word, or a squiggly line for where a sentence should be reworded.

Using proofreading marks helps people quickly spot and correct errors in written work. It’s like a secret code that editors and writers use to make sure everything looks just right.