PROOFREADING 

Your reward for proofreading-however tedious the 

task may seem-is the satisfaction of an error-free 

publication. Although when to read proof varies with 

the publisher and frequency of revision, at least two 

different types of proofreading are essential. One 

type (A) is a comprehensive proofreading of text, 

tables, and illustrations for scientific integrity as well 

as for presentation (correct style, usage, and grammar) and internal consistency. The second type (B) is 

a conventional proofreading for such items as spelling, typographical errors, or incorrect word breaks. 

Both types can be done simultaneously, although the 

techniques for each differ. 

Comprehensive proofreading (A) is a rigorous exercise that requires (1) a cool, objective appraisal of the 

science, (2) validation of any mathematics, and (3) 

checking for factual agreement among text, references, tables, and illustrations and their captions. 

Think of comprehensive proofreading as a technical 

review of your own work-difficult, but vital. 

Conventional proofreading (B) is perhaps more 

difficult than comprehensive proofreading because it 

requires scanning textual and graphic material with 

little regard for meaning. At least one conventional 

proofreading session should be done with another person (see techniques for two-person proofreading). 

The more frequently the report is revised, the 

greater the need for proofreading. Errors seem to 

multiply insidiously with each new printout, despite 

your best efforts to proof them away. Still, that one 

last try may catch the very error that might prove 

embarrassing to you or to the Survey. At best, your 

thoroughly proofed copy inspires a publisher's confidence in the care with which you prepared the 

report. 

Your Branch or Office may advise you when to 

proofread your report, and your local editor undoubtedly will ask you to proofread your USGS book 

or map at least once in the publication process. You 

may have to proofread on your own initiative more 

frequently as the manuscript progresses. If you know 

you won't be available for proofreading, designate 

someone who will do it as meticulously as you would. 

Changes are feasible before the manuscript is typeset, 

but changes to galley proofs and check prints are 

discouraged, except to correct typographical errors, 

serious factual errors, or deviations from the mill 

copy used as a guide by the typesetter or drafter. 

Extensive changes at galley-proof or page-proof stage 

are time consuming and costly. 

Comprehensive proofreading (A) usually is done 

while the science and documentation are fresh in 

mind-for example (1) just before a report to be published by the USGS is sent for technical review or 

(2) just before a report to be published outside the 

USGS is sent to the journal. If technical review 

necessitates considerable rewriting and reorganization, however, another comprehensive proofreading of 

the revised report is advisable. 

Conventional proofreading (B) generally is required 

(1) right after the report is first typed, (2) just before 

the final mill copy is submitted for Director's approval, and (3) when you receive galley proofs or page 

proofs and check prints. (See section "Preparing 

Maps and Other Illustrations," p. 210-213, for advice 

on proofreading check prints of illustrations). This is 

your last chance to make corrections, although they 

should be rare at galley-proof stage. 

Conventional proofreading at (1) and (2) is most effective if you can let a little time elapse (several days 

perhaps) before you begin to proofread. Errors are 

more apt to leap from the page after the manuscript 

has cooled a bit and the wording of the text is no 

longer quite so fresh in your mind. 

Accurate proofreading is exacting work and 

demands concentration. Choose a time when you are 

wide awake and alert, and take a short break when 

you begin to tire. 

If you are proofreading alone, try to avoid proofing 

something that you have just finished typing. You are 

much more likely to see errors if you leave the report 

for a while. You may want to read aloud to yourself. 

For example, words with multisyllables and vowels 

are commonly misspelled; you can check them carefully by consciously pronouncing each syllable. You can 

read backward (from right to left), which will force 

Proofreading 
you to focus on individual words. A spelling program 

on a word processor is useful, but it won't flag words 

correctly spelled but incorrectly used ("now" for 

"not"). 

Proofreading tabular data requires extra diligence 

and a ruler to ensure that you are reading across just 

one horizontal line at a time. Check the vertical alignment in each column to be sure that all numbers are 

aligned on the decimal point (or whatever symbol has 

been chosen, such as a hyphen denoting range). 

A list of commonly used proofreader's marks and 

an example of their usage are at the end of this section. Although typeset copy is shown, the same principles and marks apply to typewritten text as well. 

See also the U.S. GPO Style Manual (1984, p. 5, 6). 

When proofreading with another person, first agree 

how to proceed. For example, you won't say a capital 

letter at the beginning of a sentence and you'll tap a 

pencil to indicate a period at the end of the sentence. 

You should, however, say aloud all nonobvious punctuation and spell out uncommon words. The session 

will be less tiring if you take turns; one reads aloud 

from the original document while the other silently 

checks the new copy. 

The author, if proofing, should follow the original 

while the other person (a typist, perhaps) reads aloud 

from the redone copy. This way, any errors or omissions in the new copy will automatically be read out. 

Typographical errors, however, may still escape 

detection. At some point in the proofreading, every 

single word of the new copy must be read individually 

and deliberately if all typographical errors are to be 

eliminated. 

HOW AND WHERE TO MAKE 

Instructions and marks should be legible, intelligible, and close to the change desired. Avoid marginal 

notes that dogleg around the page and "skyrockets" 

that zoom a change from text to a distant part of the 

page. 

Instructions, changes, additions, or deletions to a 

manuscript before typesetting can be made in the 

body of the text, in the margins, on a copy of the 

illustration, or on a separate piece of paper-just as 

long as they are intelligible to the person who must 

read or type from them. Separate pieces should be 

clearly marked: for example, "Insert A" or "Part 1 

of 3." Make a small check in the right margin next 

to the line containing a minor change that might be 

overlooked; you may want to make a check for every 

change in the line. 

When you receive galley proofs or page proofs 

and check prints, the typesetter or editor may have 

marked them already. Some of the marks may be 

queries to the author, which you should answer. Make 

corrections clearly and legibly in the margin of the 

proof as close to and as much in line with the error as 

possible; the typesetter is not obliged to search the 

body of the text for changes. Use common proofreader's marks. Indicate by AA (Author Alteration) or 

AC (Author Correction) any changes that differ from 

the copy used as a printer's guide. Do not mark the 

guide. 

Six changes are most common: insertion, deletion, 

substitution, transposition, punctuation, and capitalization (or lowercasing). The following examples show 

conventional marks for indicating these changes: 

Insertion 

To indicate that something should be inserted, place 

a caret (A) at the point on the line in the text where 

the insertion should be made, and write in the margin 

what is to be inserted: 

r Prpad carefully 

Deletion 

To indicate that something should be taken out and 

not replaced by anything else, draw a line through it 

and place the "dele mark" (j), a form of "d" meaning "delete," in the margin. 

3 Pmfreack& carefully 

Substitution 

To indicate that something is to be substituted for 

the matter deleted, mark through the matter to be 

replaced and write the substitute matter in the 

margin. 

Proofread ew&kdy266 Two-person proofreading 
Transposition 

Transposition is more common in early drafts of a 

report than in galley or page proofs. To indicate that 

something should be in a different place (transposed), 

draw lines to indicate the switch and write "tr" in 

the margin. 

@ @aproofrd 

If more than a few words are to be transposed and 

the change involves several lines, write the revised 

version on a separate piece of paper, cross out all the 

obsolete lines, and write "Insert A" (or whatever you 

have labeled the piece). This procedure allows for far 

less error than does drawing lines in text. 

Punctuation 

Place punctuation or other marks that might be 

obscure to the left of a diagonal stroke, thus: ,I ;I -1. 

The diagonal stroke is also used (1) to separate one 

correction from the next where they are crowded in 

the margin and (2) to indicate the end of the 

corrections. 

Cheer, cheerfor the fourth of Ju$,ig j/'i?' ' our Nation's birthdayn 0 

Capital or Lowercase Letters 

To indicate capitalization, draw a slash through the 

letter that is to be capitalized and write the letter 

with three lines under it in the margin. 

To indicate lowercase, draw a slash through the 

letter that is to be lowercased and write 1.c. in the 

margin. 

proofread $arefully @ 

u SE WORDS IN MARGIN and lines in text. Mark clearly and 

distinctly. Write out instructions that might be ambiguous. For 

more marks, see the GPO Style Manual (1984, p. 5). A 

Boldface ,& /. (in margin) 

-,,, (in text) 

Brackets [/I 

Capitalization: 

Caps and small caps +$C - - 

Small caps 5c 

= 

Uppercase % 

Lowercase / 

Caret A 

fi Close up w 

Delete 9 

Indention J 

Print CONTENTS in boldface. 

4wwu 

[Brackets indicate supplied information.,, 7 

For authorship: By DIANE CURTIS. =- -- = - c+5c - e 

Use SMALL CAPS for headings. __=- - SG 

That map shows Ogden and ~altiake City. - 1 

Where have the #nimals and $irds gone? LC. /e ,. 

General indicator used to mark exact posipn of error. i 

n 

can not v 

You might want to write#e-wed-"delete" in the margin also. 3 

ax with a number indicating how many spaces. 7R 

Commonly used proofreader's marks 267 
Insert: 

Apostrophe 

Colon 2 

Comma 9 

Exclamation point ! 

Hyphen = 

Parentheses 1) 

Period @ 

Question mark ? 

Quotation marks 

Semicolon j 

Space # 

l-em dash 

len dash 

Water was ponded at the glaciers edge. A \?/ 

in the following sequence,, A. 

v0 

garnet, w~llastonite~and tremolite 9 

Please be careful,, I 

olivengreen schist 

as noted by Pagen1964) A 

Water, then, was ponded,, 0 

Why did the river turn south,, U: 

"These bedsfisaid Powell, are Green River." 

4 

v/ v 

Many ~olunteered~few were chosen!. j/s 

Rocks littered the~oad. # 

I two different types-!granite and syenite - 

N 4 

only 10,12 years old. 1 N 

(em and en are printer's terms for the size of a space; an en is half the width of an em. The l-em dash is 

represented by two hyphens in typewritten copy and the en dash by one hyphen.) 

Italic &d (in margin) 

- (in text) 

Paragraph 7 

No paragraph NO 7 

Position: 

Move right 7 

Move up fl 

Center horizontally 3C 

Spell out Sp 0 

stet (let it stand) - - - 

Subscript [inferior] A 

Superscript [superior] 

Transpose h, 

A Regional uplift then ensued. 5F 

A Ash, however, continued to fall. NO 9 

Move left C 

Move down U 

LJ Center vertically n 

The sample contained only@ Sp 0 

Use dashes in text and wed- --- in margin. Ah$ 

a0 a 

~ev 0 

Use loop in text win margin. h . 

268 Commonly used proofreader's marks 
C LC- -- 

A geochemical survey to evaluate the mineral potential of 

the Flat TODS Wilderness included sam~les from streams 1 which drainihe Hack Lake Wilderness s&dy ~rea (Mallory 

$, t.' and others, 196a The analyses of these samples revealed 

no anomalous concentrations of any elements that might 

indicate outcropping mineralized rocks. ~$0 is prevalant in 4 

# $earns. 

MINERAL AND ENERGY RESOURCES 

2 No mineralized areas were identified in the wilderness 

study area; however, gypsum and anhydrite may be present Tr in the Eagle Valley Evaporite. In the vicinity of Eagle, about 

20 mi southeast of the $tudy area, the Eagle Valley Evaporite is about 9,000 ft thick and contains isolated wds and 

lenses of gypsum and anhydrite (500f1,000 ft thick,@allory,, f 3 (b-1971).h may be present beneath a thick covH 

asalt (base a~~roximately 3,000 ft beneath the area). he . 

Eagle valey Evaporite thins northeast of Eagle axs nmt) A. 

exposed in the study area. 4 

The Belden Formation, approximately 4,000 ft beneath 

the wilderness study area, may contain beds of coaly shale. 

) Bass and Northrop (1963Anoted that coal in the Belden is 

discontinuous near the wilderness study area., 

 h he wilderness study area lacks favorable host rocks 

&. and structural traps-- . The potential for 

uranium is low because the wilderness study area lacks host 

rocks favorable for uranium. 

The low mineral resource potential in the wilderness study 

area is assigned a certainty level of B (fig. 3B) for all IfiLP. 

commoditie*ecausqhe distribution of occurrences in rocks 

beneath the area cannot be observed and has not been well 

defined near the wilderness study area. 

Is REFERENCES CITED 

Mallory, 'w.w.,v 1971,he V~arciaV~alleyv~vaporite, 

northwest v~olorado-a vregional "synthesis: \/u.s. 

Geological Survey Bulletin 0060-4 37 p., 3 pl. 

Nadeau, J.G., 1977, Mineral investigation of the Melone 

Lake Wilderness Study Area, Cayer County, Colorado: 

U.S. Bureau of Mines Open-File Report MLA 00-00, lp. # 

&C/O Table 1.ffConversion factors for SI metric and U.S. customary units 

L-meas~rement+mhtd- - 

Bass, N.W.,,and Northrop, S.A., 1%3, Geology of the Field Springs quadrangle ond 

northwestern Colorado: U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin 0000-A, 74 p. 

Sample galley proof 269