KEY TO CORRECTION SYMBOLS FOR WRITING

revised 3-25-09

Ø         replace with nothing

#          problems with singular/plural, count/non-count, verb/subject     agreement: Usually this means that -s is missing or incorrectly used.

¶          A new paragraph is needed.

?          unclear (structure or vocabulary)        

??        The reader has no idea of what you mean.

(       ) or ((        ))        The error is somewhere inside the parentheses.

______ or ______       The error is somewhere in the underlined area.

Art             article usage

BE             a form of the verb BE is needed

Cap            capitalization

OBJ           The verb needs an object.

p                punctuation problem

Prep           preposition  problem

Pro             A noun should be replaced by a pronoun.

sp               misspelling

Struct         structure problem—could be many different kinds

SUBJ         The verb needs a subject.

VERB        A verb is needed.

VF             verb form problem

VT             verb tense problem

WO           word order problem

WF            word form  problem—for example, using a noun for a verb

WW           wrong word