Suppose you have been burdened with the work of marking up a document. What would you do then? I think you have no other way than to use the proofreader’s specific marks. Nowadays the use of proofreading on the hard copy is a rare mater, still if you have to do it for your own sake or to edit some writing of someone you have to be too cautious to use the marks in a very standard fashion.
It seems that if someone reads and you proofread it is beer for you. You may locate the mistakes when someone reads it aloud. Your eyes may miss the mistakes but your ears can never prove wrong. Generally the proofreader’s marks are used in publishing houses and the world of business.
When you proofread you must take care of some things that are available at hand:
*a pencil or a red pen
*the matter that you have to proofread
*the list where the marks are inscribed
Actually a pen with red ink or a pencil is necessary to highlight the wrongs on the white sheet of paper. In his way you can highlight the wrongs to the writer or the man who is processing the words. All your effort is to make the man know what you want to change in the true sense.
When you are ready to proofread something you must be aware of the signs used in proofreading. You may be at bay- where to find the signs. It is no hard thing if you consult the dictionary ‘ The Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary you may have a great idea of the proofreaders signs in a perfect manner. What you have to do is to study them quite well so that you can use them in a rampant way. If you want you may keep a copy at hand where the marks are inscribed.
Now you have to be ready for the actual work. First go through the matter quite attentively. Try to comprehend what the writer is going to say. Find out if the writing matter is divided into different chapters. Minutely watch if the quotation marks are used in the hard copy.
Now when you are busy to find out he missing words or links try to be ready to inset the exact word. Use a V that is inverted to show that there is something to be added. The things that can be added are a word, a comma, a hyphen and many things.
When you have to fill up a particular space you use the half circles. This half circle is used just in the middle part of the word.
If you want to delete something you have to mention it by using a specific mark. Now you are to be familiarized with many proofreaders’ marks that are very essential to correct a page or a matter packed with many mistakes.
If you are interested to add something you put a caret in the place where the word is to be placed. Now you have to draw a direct line to touch the caret to specify the where the word should be placed.