The Writing Guide of the Marine Corps History and Museums Division is intended primarily for use by historians and curators, both Marine and civilian, assigned to the Division and those others engaged in the preparation of officially sanctioned histories and exhibits. However, the Writing Guide can also be a useful reference for historians of Marine Corps history. Two basic source works have been consulted extensively in the preparation of the Writing Guide. In general, the current edition of the U.S. Government Printing Office Style Manual has been used for guidance is such areas as capitalization, compounding, punctuation and the use of numerals, while Merriam Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary is used as the authority for spelling and word usage. The ultimate authority in such matters is Webster's Third New International Dictionary. In those relatively few instances where official Marine historical writing practices differ from these sources, this Writing Guide provides examples of the approved and generally long-established methodologies. This edition is a major revision of the last Writing Guide, which was published in October 1983. While most of the material in the previous edition is included in this iteration, it has been completely reorganized and numerous additions have been made. It is the intent of the Marine Corps that its official historical works be accurate, objective, academically reputable and readable by a general audience interested in the subject matter.