The pilcrow (¬∂), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the convention of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace. The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or un- filled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further down- wards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older printing. The pilcrow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a para- graph. It is also used as the icon on a class of toolbar button which shows or hides the pilcrow and similar “hidden characters”, includ- ing tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it is used to mark a return that one needs to type. In legal writing, it is used whenever one must cite a specific par- agraph within pleadings, law review articles, statutes, or other le- gal documents and materials. In academic writing, it is sometimes used as an in-text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. In proofreading, it is used to indicate that one paragraph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs; the pilcrow is inserted at the point at which a new paragraph should begin. The pilcrow (¬∂), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the convention of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace. The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older print- ing. The pilcrow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a paragraph. It is also used as the icon on a class of toolbar button which shows or hides the pilcrow and similar “hidden characters”, including tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it is used to mark a return that one needs to type. In legal writing, it is used whenever one must cite a specific par- agraph within pleadings, law review articles, statutes, or other legal documents and materials. In academic writing, it is some- times used as an in-text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. In proofreading, it is used to indicate that one para- graph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs; the pilcrow is inserted at the point at which a new paragraph should begin. The pilcrow (¬∂), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the convention of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace. The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older printing. The pil- crow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a paragraph. It is also used as the icon on a class of toolbar button which shows or hides the pilcrow and similar “hidden characters”, including tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it is used to mark a return that one needs to type. In legal writing, it is used when- ever one must cite a specific paragraph within pleadings, law re- view articles, statutes, or other legal documents and materials. In academic writing, it is sometimes used as an in-text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. In proofreading, it is used to indicate that one paragraph should be split into two or more sepa- rate paragraphs; the pilcrow is inserted at the point at which a new paragraph should begin. The pilcrow (¬∂), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the conven- tion of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace.•The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, resembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older print- ing.•The pilcrow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a paragraph. It is also used as the icon on a class of toolbar button which shows or hides the pilcrow and similar “hidden characters”, including tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it is used to mark a return that one needs to type.•In legal writ- ing, it is used whenever one must cite a specific paragraph within pleadings, law review articles, statutes, or other legal documents and materials. In academic writing, it is sometimes used as an in- text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. In proofreading, it is used to indicate that one paragraph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs; the pilcrow is inserted at the point at which a new paragraph should begin. The pilcrow (¬∂), also called the paragraph mark, paragraph sign, is a typographical character for individual paragraphs. The pilcrow can be used as an indent for separate paragraphs or to designate a new paragraph in one long piece of copy, as Eric Gill did in his 1930s book, An Essay on Typography. The pilcrow was used in the Middle Ages to mark a new train of thought, before the convention of physically discrete paragraphs was commonplace. The pilcrow is usually drawn similar to a lowercase q reaching from descender to ascender height; the loop can be filled or unfilled. It may also be drawn with the bowl stretching further downwards, re- sembling a backwards D; this is more often seen in older printing. The pilcrow is used in desktop publishing software such as desktop word processors and page layout programs to mark the presence of a carriage return control character at the end of a paragraph. It is also used as the icon on a class of toolbar button which shows or hides the pilcrow and similar “hidden characters”, including tabs, whitespace, and page breaks. In typing programs, it is used to mark a return that one needs to type. In legal writing, it is used whenever one must cite a specific para- graph within pleadings, law review articles, statutes, or other legal documents and materials. In academic writing, it is sometimes used as an in-text referencing tool to make reference to a specific paragraph from a document that does not contain page numbers. In proofreading, it is used to indicate that one paragraph should be split into two or more separate paragraphs; the pilcrow is inserted at the point at which a new paragraph should begin.