Editing Symbols
　


Below are explanations about the symbols that we use when we give you feedback on your writing assignments. Refer to these explanations when you are not sure what the symbol means. If you are still not sure, ask your tutor.

　

1. @ This symbol stands for "article." In other words, the noun you used needs an article ("the" or "a" or "an") in front of it, or the article you wrote was incorrect.

Example: There are six offers to buy company. @

Correction: There are six offers to buy the company.

　

2. < This symbol means that you should insert a 'space' here.

Example: In other words, < I have little experience in that area. <However, < I learn quickly.

Explanation: Always leave a single empty space following a punctuation mark such as a period, comma, question mark, or other punctuation.

Correction: In other words, I have little experience in that area. However, I learn quickly.

　

3. ??? This symbol means that the sentence or expression you wrote is not understandable.

Example: The school lunch program is effective, but I never do my homework. ???

Explanation: Clearly, this sentence makes no sense because it discusses two subjects that are unrelated. In order for it to be sensible, you need to show how the two ideas are connected.

Correction: The school lunch program is effective. Before the program started, I never did my homework because I was too hungry to concentrate.

　

4. // This symbol stands for "run-on." A run-on is a sentence that is too long. In other words, it runs on for too many words and needs to be separated into two or more sentences.

Example: The amount of money the company must spend to upgrade the factory in Oklahoma is money ill-spent due to the fact that the factory's location is not one where access to major distribution points is easily available, which will cause extra high costs in shipping. //

Explanation: This sentence needs to broken into two parts, which help the reader to understand the information more easily.

Correction: The amount of money the company must spend to upgrade the factory in Oklahoma is money ill-spent. The factory's location is not one where access to major distribution points is easily available, which will cause extra high costs in shipping.

　

5. agr This symbol stands for "agreement," and it means that the noun and the verb in the sentence do not agree with each other.

Example: John live agr in New York.

Explanation: The noun "John" and the verb "live" do not agree with each other. The correct verb form should be "lives."

Correction: John lives in New York.

　

6. awk This symbol stands for "awkward." This means that the sentence is not natural English, and you need to rewrite the sentence to make it smoother. Do not expect your tutor to rewrite it for you. This is how you learn to be a better writer of English.

Example: The way to input data to the computer needs to be careful. awk

Explanation: The expression "needs to be careful" is not correct in this situation which makes the sentence difficult to understand.

Correct: You need to be careful when you input data into the computer.

　

7. cap This symbol stands for "capital letter." In other words, you should change the letter of the word to either a capital letter or to a lower case letter.

Example: The appalachians cap are also known as the Smoky Mountains.

Correction: The Appalachians are also known as the Smoky Mountains.

Example: The supply center is North cap of Los Angeles.

Correction: The supply center is north of Los Angeles.

　

8. coll This symbol stands for "colloquial." In other words, the word or expression you are using is too informal or is in the spoken style and not in the more formal written style.

Example: There are lots of coll reasons for not purchasing the new equipment.

Correction: There are many reasons for not purchasing the new equipment.

　

9. cut / del This symbol means that you should cut the word or words that are underlined. Very often writeres include words that are unnecessary, and cutting them can make the point clearer and easier to understand.

Example: The efficiency of the lineworkers improved 30% with the introduction of computer aided directions. The 30% improvement was caused by computer software that gave the lineworkers directions. cut The monetary savings were substantial.

Correction: The efficiency of the lineworkers improved 30% with the introduction of computer aided directions. The monetary savings were substantial.

　

10. def This symbol stands for "definition," which means you need to give a definition of the word you are using. Very often this is necessary when you are using abstract words that have many possible meanings.

Example: She had a strong mind. def

Explanation: The word "mind" needs to defined because it is abstract and could have a different meaning to the reader from the one you intended.

Correction: She had a strong mind. In other words, her will to succeed was far above average.

　

11. det This symbol stands for "details," which means your support is too vague and you need to supply more details to make your point clear.

Example: The amount of sales was inadequate. det

Explanation: If you use only this sentence for support, it won't be enough, because you don't tell how much the sales were or give any other supporting information.

Correction: The amount of sales was inadequate because they were 10% below last year's total of 10.3 million dollars.

　

12. frag This symbol stands for "fragment." A fragment is a piece of something. For example, if you drop a plate and it breaks, the pieces are called fragments. If you write a sentence that is not complete, it is called a fragment.

Example: The prices of vegetables have gone down in the last year. Because the weather has been excellent. frag

Explanation: This sentence is a fragment because a sentence that starts with "Because" must have two parts to it.

Correction: Because the weather has been excellent, the prices of vegetables have gone down in the last year.

Example: After I bought 300 hundred shares of stock. frag I put the rest of the money in the bank.

Explanation: Dependent word phrases cannot stand alone as sentences. Therefore it is necessary to add a subject plus verb phrase and object after the dependent word phrase. Some examples of other dependent words are: although, when, whenever, if, since, and before.

Correction: After I bought 300 hundred shares of stock, I put the rest of the money in the bank.

　

13. gr This symbol stands for "grammar," and it means that the sentence is not grammatically correct. You will need to look at the sentence carefully and correct the grammar.

Example: Recently, the world becomes smaller. gr

Explanation: The grammatical problem is in using the present tense "becomes" instead of the present perfect "has become."

Correction: Recently, the world has become smaller.

Example: Why the company insists on signing the contract? gr

Explanation: A Wh-question requires a helping verb before the noun in the subject. Furthermore, the verb "insists" needs to change to "insist."

Correction: Why does the company insist on signing the contract?

　

14. pl This symbol stands for "plural". If you see this symbol, it means that the noun should be in the plural form or in the singular form.

Example: He bought three orange. pl

Explanation: "Orange" should be in the plural form and not in the singular form because the word "three" shows that there is more than one orange.

Correction: He bought three oranges.

Example: He bought an oranges. pl

Explanation: In this case, the word "an" means one orange, so the plural marker "s" should not be added to "orange".

Correction: He bought an orange.

　

15. prep This symbol stands for "preposition." This means that the preposition you are using with the noun or noun phrase is incorrect.

Example: When you get to the corner turn at prep the left, and you will see the gas station.

Explanation: The preposition "at" is not the correct form.

Correction: When you get to the corner turn to the left, and you will see the gas station.

　

16. pu This symbol stands for "punctuation," It means that you left out a necessary punctuation mark, or the punctuation that you used is not appropriate for this situation.

Example: Following the meeting pu we will take a brief tour of the factory facilities.

Explanation: An adverbial phrase such as "Following the meeting" should be followed by a comma.

Correction: Following the meeting, we will take a brief tour of the factory facilities.

Example: (email greeting) Dear Ms. Appleby: pu

Explanation: The colon is sometimes used after the greeting in a formal, written letter. However, it is not usually used in an email. Use a comma instead.

Correction: Dear Ms. Appleby,

　

17. ref This symbol stands for "referent." This means that it is hard to understand the connection to a pronoun you are using.

Example: John and Mark went fishing. He ref caught two and gave them to his mother.

Explanation: It's not clear who the pronoun, "he" is referring to. Does it refer to John or does it refer to Mark?

Correction: John and Mark went fishing. John caught two and gave them to his mother.

　

18. rel?This symbol means: Relevance? or How is this point connected to your main idea? The information you are using does not seem to be directly supporting the main point you are trying to make in your paragraph.

Example: A cut in advertising costs of 15% is necessary in order to reduce losses. Recent studies show that many companies are increasing the number people on their sales staffs. rel?

Correction: A cut in advertising costs of 15% is necessary in order to reduce losses. Recent studies show that advertising is not as effective in attracting new customers as personal contact by sales staff.

　

19. sp This symbol means that the word you wrote is not spelled correctly.

Example: I have been smorking sp since I was fifteen years old.

Correction: I have been smoking since I was fifteen years old.

　

20. Sx This symbol stands for "sexist." Many words that used to be common in English are now considered unacceptable because they cause stereotypes. Thus, these types of words may insult readers from the West. Therefore, it's better to avoid sexist language.

Example: Microsoft is one of the greatest success stories in the history of mankind. Sx

Explanation: The word "mankind" is insulting because it implies that only men are important, and women count for nothing.

Correction: Microsoft is one of the greatest success stories in the history of civilization.

　

21. trans This symbol stands for "transition." Often when writers provide support or details in their paragraphs, they need to show how the details are connected to the support. Sometimes it's very clear how the sentences are connected, but other times, it's not clear at all and then transition is needed.

Example: The company recently replaced all the desks in the office. trans The cafeteria was painted last week.

Explanation: These two sentences are not well connected because it's hard to understand how desks in the office are related to the cafeteria.

Correction: The company recently replaced all the desks in the office. Moreover, the cafeteria was painted last week.

　

22. wf This symbol stands for "word form" which means that the word you are using is correct, but the form of the word is not correct.

Example: She ran quick wf to the car.

Explanation: "Quick" is not correct because it is the wrong form. It should not be an adjective, It should be an adverb.

Correction: She ran quickly to the car.

　

23. wo This symbol stands for "word order" which means that the words you are using are correct, but the word order is incorrect or awkward.

Example: My colleague always is wo late.

Explanation: "always is late" is not correct because adverbs of frequency like 'always' usually come after the verb 'to be.'

Correction: My colleague is always late.

　

24. ww This symbol stands for "wrong word" which means that the word you are using is not the correct word for the situation. Use your dictionary or thesaurus to find a more appropriate word. If you cannot find a better word, please ask your tutor.

Example: The two men attacked ww for control of the company.

Explanation: The word "attacked" is the wrong word. It can sometimes be used instead of the word "fought" but in this case, it does not fit the situation.

Correction: The two men fought for control of the company.