I realize that this article should be common knowledge but it bears repeating because not everyone is aware of standardized editing marks. I am sure anyone that has worked in a business environment has received feedback on something they wrote and had to figure out what the proofreader was trying to say. Chances are that the proofreader was not a professional editor and that they had their own way of contributing. It can be confusing for everyone when the ‘editing wheel’ is reinvented and you have to guess what the intended marks refer to. Most common for me has always been the question “What is this squiggle on the page supposed to mean?” It is this question that I want to help eliminate.
Remember that it is best to use the following symbols both within the text that you are editing and in the column of white space at the right hand side of the page. For the purposes of this article I will present the actual symbol, what it means and how to use it. Please note that this is not a comprehensive list but it does showcase the most commonly used.
Although there are several symbols, they are easy to remember and save everyone the hassle of guessing. This helps reduce miscommunication. Share this list with your coworkers and use it in your everyday communication. If you would like this editorial markup list to go: take me!