College of Distance Education and Training (CDET) Guide

The MCU Communications Style Guide was written and developed by the faculty in the Leadership Communication Skills Center (LCSC), an instructional communication support center for MCU students, faculty, and staff. This style guide is intended to be a user-friendly resource to assist students in meeting coursework requirements and in completing written tasks and assignments upon their return to the operating forces. The guide is a condensed, simplified compilation of information from the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition; the Journal of Strategic Intelligence Submission and Style Guide for the National Intelligence University; Naval Correspondence Manual guidelines; and guidance from MCU faculty, students, and staff. Examples in the guide are adapted from consenting MCU students’ written products. Although the LCSC publication is not a replacement for the Chicago Manual of Style or other military writing guides, our use of MCU student examples and military citation references makes the guide more approachable for its intended readership.

The Naval War College (NWC) Pocket Writing and Style Guide is provided as an additional resource for MCU researchers, faculty, staff and students. This writing and style guide is a quick reference guide that complements both A Writer’s Reference, seventh edition, edited by Diana Hacker and Nancy Sommers, and The Chicago Manual of Style (CMS), seventeenth edition.