frag. c.s. agr. A few letters in a margin can say what a whole
paragraph of comments would, if you can read them. When a "find the
mistake" question in this course tells you why a sentence is wrong, it
uses one of twelve shorthand marks, the same ones common on marked-up
papers. Learn them now and every piece of feedback after this is easy
to read.
A doctor's chart says "BP" instead of "blood pressure." Anyone trained
to read the chart knows what it means, and nobody writes the long form
every time. Writing feedback works the same way. A person checking your
work writes a few letters, like frag, next to a problem. Once you know
what the letters stand for, you can read the note in a second. The
first time, it looks like code. After that, it saves both of you time.
A proofreader's mark is a short, standardized abbreviation. It points at
one specific category of writing error. A mark lets a reader or grader
flag a problem fast, without writing out a full explanation every time.
Standardizing the marks matters for a simple reason. Once you and a
grader agree that frag always means the same thing, feedback stops
depending on which teacher happens to be reading your paper. The marks
fall into a few natural families. Some point at a word-level problem.
Some point at a sentence-boundary problem. Some point at punctuation
directly. Sorting a mark into its family is often the fastest way to
remember what it means. Every mark this course ever uses comes from the
fixed set below. Nothing new gets introduced later without being added
here first.
| Mark | Means | Example of what triggers it |
|---|---|---|
sp |
spelling. | recieve → receive. |
cap |
add or remove a capital letter. | the Dog or i went. |
punc |
missing, wrong, or unnecessary punctuation. | a missing question mark. |
frag |
fragment: an incomplete sentence. | Because I was tired. standing alone. |
r.o. |
run-on: clauses joined with no punctuation at all (a second kind comes later). | I left she stayed. |
c.s. |
comma splice: clauses joined by only a comma. | I left, she stayed. |
w.c. |
word choice: the wrong word, or language that doesn't fit. | effect used where affect belongs. |
awk |
awkward: reword for clarity. | a correct but tangled sentence. |
agr |
agreement: two matching words -- like a subject and its verb, or a stand-in word and what it refers back to -- don't match in number. | The dogs barks. |
Three more marks round out the set. ^ (or ∨) means a word or space is
missing. ¶ means start a new paragraph here. X (sometimes shown as
X̶) means delete the marked text.
Three of these marks, frag, r.o., and c.s., are all about the same
underlying question: where does one sentence end and the next begin?
They name three different ways that boundary can go wrong. Chapter 11
teaches you to tell them apart and fix each one.
Worked example
Reading a c.s. in the margin
-
1
A grader wrote
c.s.next to this sentence: The printer jammed, I fixed it. Start by looking the mark up in the table.c.s.means comma splice: two complete thoughts joined by only a comma. -
2
Check that there really are two complete thoughts. Read The printer jammed aloud by itself. It sounds finished. Read I fixed it by itself. That sounds finished too.
-
3comma in the gap means
Now look at what sits between them. Only a comma. That fits the mark. If nothing at all sat there, the mark would be
r.o.instead.c.s.; nothing in the gap meansr.o.comma in the gap means
c.s.; nothing in the gap meansr.o. -
4
One fix you already know: make them two sentences, each with its own capital and end mark. The printer jammed. I fixed it. Chapter 11 shows you the other fixes.
Worked example
Picking the one mark for “The cookies tastes great.”
-
1
Something is wrong with The cookies tastes great. Rule out marks one at a time.
-
2
Every word is spelled correctly, so it isn't
sp. The first word has its capital and the sentence ends with a period, so it isn'tcaporpunc. -
3
Say it aloud. It sounds like a finished thought, so it isn't
frag. There's only one thought, so it isn'tr.o.orc.s.either. -
4when the easy marks don't fit, look for two words that should match.
What's left is a mismatch. Cookies names more than one, but tastes is the form built for just one: the cookie tastes. Two words that should match in number don't. That's
agr.when the easy marks don't fit, look for two words that should match.
-
5
Fix it by making them match: The cookies taste great.
Definition
The proofreader's marks this course uses
also known as: sp, cap, punc, frag, r.o., c.s., w.c., awk, agr
Formal. A proofreader's mark is a short, standardized abbreviation that flags one category of writing error. This course uses a fixed set, and every mark belongs to one of three families: word-level problems, sentence-boundary problems, and punctuation.
In plain English. A grader writes a few letters instead of a whole explanation, the way a doctor's chart says "BP" for blood pressure. Once you know the letters, you can read feedback in a second.
Breaking it apart.
spspelling;w.c.word choice;awkawkward, reword for clarity.fragfragment;r.o.run-on;c.s.comma splice. These three all ask where one sentence ends and the next begins.puncmissing, wrong, or unnecessary punctuation;capadd or remove a capital letter.agragreement: two words that should match in number don't.^a word or space is missing;¶start a new paragraph;Xdelete the marked text.
Example. I left, she stayed. gets c.s.: two complete sentences
joined by only a comma.
Non-example. I left she stayed. is not c.s.. Nothing at all
joins the two sentences, so it gets r.o..
Why this rule exists. Once you and a grader agree that frag always
means the same thing, feedback stops depending on who happens to be
reading your paper.
Match the mark to the problem
A grader marked each problem below. Label each example with the mark that fits it.
Loading interactive…
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
What this task checks
Structure checked automatically. Whether your ideas are convincing isn't graded, so reread with the checklist.
The compiler says
A model answer
Correct answer
Also accepted:
Why
Why
Sort by category
Sort each mark into what KIND of problem it points at: SENTENCE BOUNDARY, WORD-LEVEL, or PUNCTUATION.
Loading interactive…
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
What this task checks
Structure checked automatically. Whether your ideas are convincing isn't graded, so reread with the checklist.
The compiler says
A model answer
Correct answer
Also accepted:
Why
Why
Now mark a short passage the way a grader would: click a sentence, then click the one mark from the table that names its problem, and leave any clean sentence alone.
Mark the passage
Six sentences, five planted errors, one clean sentence. Click each faulty sentence and attach the ONE mark from the table that names its problem. Do not mark the clean one.
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Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
What this task checks
Structure checked automatically. Whether your ideas are convincing isn't graded, so reread with the checklist.
The compiler says
A model answer
Correct answer
Also accepted:
Why
Why
Check your understanding (counts toward your progress)
A grader writes "frag" next to one of your sentences. What does that mean?
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
That's what "sp" (spelling) means.
That's what "w.c." (word choice) means.
That's what "punc" (punctuation) means.
Why
"frag" is short for fragment: an incomplete sentence, often a dependent clause standing alone, or missing a subject or verb. You'll see this mark throughout the course whenever a "find the mistake" question involves one.
Which mark means start a new paragraph here?
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"^" means a word or space is missing, not a paragraph break.
"X" means delete the marked text.
"frag" points at an incomplete sentence.
Why
The pilcrow mark, ¶, tells a writer to start a new paragraph at that point.
"w.c." and "sp" can look similar at a glance. What's the actual difference between them?
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They point at two different problems: a wrong word versus a misspelled one.
Both marks can appear in any piece of writing, essay or not.
Why
"sp" means a word is spelled wrong. "w.c." means the word is spelled fine but is the wrong word for the sentence, like "effect" used where "affect" belongs.
Ask whether the word in question is spelled wrong, or whether it's spelled fine but just the wrong word for this sentence.
A teacher writes "frag" next to "Running late for the third time this week." standing alone as its own sentence. Why does this fit "frag" rather than "awk"?
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Length isn't the test here. A short sentence can still be complete.
Plenty of sentences starting with an -ing word are complete, as long as there's a genuine subject and verb pair somewhere in them.
Why
"Running late for the third time this week" never names who is running late and never pairs with a real verb of its own; it's an incomplete sentence, not just awkward phrasing.
Ask whether this group of words has a genuine subject and verb pairing of its own, or if it's just phrased clumsily.
Length and the -ing ending aren't the test; check for a real subject actually doing a real action.
Which mark points at a sentence-boundary problem, the same category "frag" and "r.o." belong to?
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
"sp" is a word-level mark, not a sentence-boundary one.
"punc" covers punctuation problems generally, not specifically where a sentence begins or ends.
"awk" flags clumsy wording, a different category entirely.
Why
"frag," "r.o.," and "c.s." all answer the same underlying question: where does one sentence end and the next begin? "c.s." belongs in that same family.
Think about which mark also answers the question of where one sentence ends and the next one begins.
Practice: Read the shorthand instantly (5 problems · doesn’t affect your progress)
A grader writes "sp" next to a word in your paper. What does that mean?
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
That's what "frag" means.
That's what "w.c." (word choice) means.
That's what "awk" means.
Why
"sp" is short for spelling — the shortest, most literal of the course's proofreading marks.
The word is spelled wrong.
You get a paper back with "frag" circled next to a sentence. Which problem is your grader flagging?
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That's what "sp" (spelling) flags.
That's what "w.c." (word choice) flags.
That's what "punc" flags.
Why
"frag" flags a fragment — a group of words punctuated like a sentence but missing a subject, a verb, or independence (often a dependent clause left standing alone).
The sentence stops before it says anything complete.
Two grader marks, "r.o." and "c.s.," both flag two sentences jammed together. What actually separates them?
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They flag two different joins. Look at what sits between the two sentences in each case.
Spelling gets sp and capitals get cap. Both of these marks are about how two sentences are joined.
Both marks can show up anywhere, in one sentence or a long essay. The difference is in how the join is made.
Why
"r.o." is a run-on: two independent clauses joined with no punctuation at all. (Chapter 11 adds a second kind of run-on.) "c.s." is a comma splice: the same two clauses joined by only a comma.
How the clauses are joined: with no punctuation at all, versus with only a comma.
A grader marked each problem below. Label each item with the mark that fits it.
Right on try — credit. Right — the answer had already been shown, so no credit this time. Next try is worth Answer shown after three tries — this one no longer earns credit. You chose to see the answer — this one earns no credit.
What this task checks
Structure checked automatically. Whether your ideas are convincing isn't graded, so reread with the checklist.
The compiler says
A model answer
Why
"Since the store was closing" is an incomplete sentence standing alone — frag. "The clerks was busy" mismatches the subject's number with the verb's — agr. "I paid, he waited" joins two independent clauses with only a comma — c.s.
Correct answer
Also accepted:
Why
A student writes: "The loud music didn't effect my sleep at all." Every word is spelled correctly. Which mark fits?
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"Effect" is a real word, spelled right. The trouble is that it's the wrong word for this spot, and "sp" only covers misspellings.
"awk" is for wording that's correct but tangled. This sentence reads smoothly; one word in it is simply the wrong one.
The period is in place and nothing else needs punctuation. The problem is a word, not a mark.
Why
The sentence needs "affect," the verb, where "effect" sits. A correctly spelled word used in the wrong place is a word-choice problem, so the mark is "w.c.," not "sp."
w.c.
Where this shows up
College writing
A marked-up paper often comes back with these marks in the margins
instead of full notes. You might see only frag or agr beside the
problem spot. If you know the mark, you can fix your own mistake in ten
seconds. If you don't, you have to go ask what it means first.