NAVAL WAR COLLEGE WRITING AND STYLE GUIDE, UNITED STATES NAVAL WAR COLLEGE (AUG-2007)

NAVAL WAR COLLEGE WRITING AND STYLE GUIDE, UNITED STATES NAVAL WAR COLLEGE (AUG-2007)., This introduces the Naval War College Writing and Style Guide. Its purpose is to assist the Naval War College (NWC) community of writers, whether students preparing papers to meet academic requirements; faculty members developing articles, monographs, or books for publication; or those brave individuals who edit, grade, and evaluate the hopeful submissions of others. Writers outside NWC who submit material for NWC-sponsored publications should also find the Guide useful. Indeed, anyone who has ever wondered whether National Command Authorities is still a recognized term, whether Jr. is set off by commas, or whether 53 is written with numerals or spelled out will find help here. This Guide does not presume to teach one how to write or edit, but it does offer a coherent, consistent stylistic base for writing and editing. It includes guidance on a number of questions that inevitably arise during the process of composition, basing that guidance not only on the conventional wisdom available in a variety of authoritative sourcebooks, but also on users’ specific needs that have emerged since the rapid expansion of the digital environment. By freeing its users from juggling various sources simultaneously, this Guide offers stylistic consistency to NWC writing. Accordingly, and as a matter of policy, this document shall serve as the single writing guide for the College’s resident and non- resident courses, the courses offered in its elective program, and all papers submitted for prizes at the College. This policy takes effect at the start of Academic Year 07-08. The Naval War College Writing and Style Guide comprises two main sections and appendices of significant utility. The first main section, the Writing Guide, offers a blueprint for selecting and developing a topic, and carrying it through to the creation of a quality paper. The second main section, the Style Guide, offers the functional categories Terms and Usage, Abbreviations, Grammar and Punctuation, Mechanics, and Documentation. The Mechanics section is further divided into the component parts Capitalization, Spelling and Word Formation, Numbers, Italics, and Bullets. Entries in each section are arranged alphabetically. Methods to help locate information quickly and make the Guide simple to use include assigning each item a unique number based upon its categorization (e.g., 1.56, 4.2.95), and providing a comprehensive index and cross-references. The Guide by no means addresses every challenge facing writers and editors. Moreover, we acknowledge that this writing and style guide includes discussion and examples of unique military documents, terminology, abbreviations, and acronyms that will differ from other 'standard' style guides used by various colleges and universities. For additional guidance, we recommend The Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, upon which much of this guide relies for stylistic principles. Explanations and examples taken from the CMS 15th edition with little or no modification are italicized and followed by the appropriate reference in parentheses (e.g., Chicago, 16.3). For spellings and definitions, the Guide uses Webster’s Third New International Dictionary of the English Language, Unabridged, and its chief abridgement, Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition (in the Guide, the term dictionary refers to either or both of these sources). For advice on grammatical issues, we recommend the eighth edition of Index to English by W. R. and D. R. Ebbitt. We are indebted to the people who reviewed the preparatory drafts of this Guide and gave their thoughtful suggestions for its improvement. Our greatest appreciation is reserved for the Air University Library and Press at Maxwell Air Force Base, its Director, Dr. Shirley B. Laseter, and Dr. Marvin Bassett, editor of the Air University Style and Author Guide, for staunch collegiality and collaboration. Their support permitted the Naval War College to adopt and adapt the style section of the Air University Style and Author Guide for the Naval War College Writing and Style Guide, thus making its construct markedly easier: many thanks to our Air University colleagues. We invite interested writers and editors to send their comments and suggestions for future editions of this guide to the Office of the Provost, Naval War College, 686 Cushing Road, Newport, Rhode Island 02841.