1. Command Career
Counselor Course
Naval Writing Skills
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2. Naval Writing Skills
Enabling Objectives
Upon successful completion of this
topic, the trainee will be able to:
 IDENTIFY the purpose of SECNAVINST
5216.5(series), Department of the Navy
Correspondence Manual.
 LIST the general correspondence
standards and guidelines.
 LIST the CCC correspondence tasks.
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3. Naval Writing Skills
Enabling Objectives (cont.)
 IDENTIFY the processes for writing
various types of written
correspondence.
 DESCRIBE how a paragraph is
structured.
 IDENTIFY the process to write Enlisted
Personnel Action Requests.
 PREPARE a plain-paper memorandum
for the Plan of the Day (POD) note.
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4. Naval Writing Skills
Reference Publications
 SECNAVINST 5216.5(series), Navy
Correspondence Manual
 NAVPERS 15560(series), Naval Military
Personnel Manual (MILPERSMAN)
 NAVPERS 1306/7, Enlisted Personnel
Action Request
 SECNAV M-5210.2, Standard Subject
Identification Code (SSIC) Manual
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5. Naval Writing Skills
SECNAVINST 5216.5(series), Navy
Correspondence Manual
 Purpose:
 To prescribe uniform standards
for the management and
preparation of correspondence.
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6. Naval Writing Skills
Written Communication Guidelines
 The tone, quality, and
responsiveness of correspondence
is important.
 The Navy’s image and
effectiveness is impaired if
correspondence is sloppy, difficult
to understand, unresponsive, cold,
impersonal, or incomplete.
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7. Naval Writing Skills
Written Communication Guidelines,
(cont.)
 Correspondence must be:
 Neat in appearance.
 Correctly formatted.
 Error-free.
 Grammatically correct.
 Avoid stereotyping men and
women on the basis of gender. Use
pronouns and titles that include
either sex (e.g. Sailor).
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8. Naval Writing Skills
Written Communication Guidelines
(cont.)
 Don’t write unless you must. Use
the phone!
 Always include a return address
and phone number.
 Use a computer whenever possible.
 Spell check and and pruf reed!
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9. Naval Writing Skills
Written Correspondence Tasks
 Notes for the Plan of the Day/Week
 Articles for command newsletter
and commanding officer’s
familygram
 Memorandums
 Official letters
 Naval messages
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10. Naval Writing Skills
Written Correspondence Tasks (cont.)
 Letters of
Commendation/Appreciation
 Instructions and notices
 Point papers
 Monthly Retention/Career
Development Report
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11. Naval Writing Skills
Paragraph Structure
 Single-paragraph structure:
 Includes introductory sentence,
which includes the thesis (The point
of the document), supporting
sentences, and a conclusion.
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12. Naval Writing Skills
Paragraph Structure (cont.)
 Multi-paragraph structure:
 The FIRST paragraph should include
the thesis, mention the support for
your thesis, and introduce the next
paragraph.
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13. Naval Writing Skills
Paragraph Structure (cont.)
 Multi-paragraph structure (cont.):
 The MIDDLE paragraphs will expand
on the support of your thesis. The last
sentence of each paragraph should
provide a smooth introduction into the
next paragraph.
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14. Naval Writing Skills
Paragraph Structure (cont.)
 Multi-paragraph structure (cont.):
 In the LAST paragraph, repeat the
thesis and your support, but not in the
same words. The last sentence should
bring the document to a smooth
conclusion.
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15. Naval Writing Skills
MILPERSMAN 1306-112, Enlisted
Personnel Action Requests
 Purpose:
“…provides a standard Navywide
format for the submission of
requests to Cognizant Assignment
Control Authority.”
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16. Naval Writing Skills
MILPERSMAN 1306-112, Enlisted
Personnel Action Requests (cont.)
 Application Procedures: online or
hard copy, NAVPERS 1306/7:
 Used for any program, school,
reassignment, or special duty for
which a particular requesting format is
not specified.
 Ineligible Sailors shall be informed, in
person by their command, the reason
for their ineligibility.
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17. Naval Writing Skills
MILPERSMAN 1306-112, Enlisted
Personnel Action Requests (cont.)
 Request for Waivers:
 Shall be addressed in the remarks
section of NAVPERS 1306/7, Enlisted
Personnel Action Request.
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18. Naval Writing Skills
MILPERSMAN 1306-112, Enlisted
Personnel Action Requests (cont.)
 Commanding Officer Endorsement:
 Requests submitted on electronic
NAVPERS 1306/7 by the command’s
designated person(s) will be
considered endorsed by the
commanding officer unless otherwise
indicated on the request.
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19. Naval Writing Skills
Summary and Review
 What is the purpose of the Navy
Correspondence Manual?
 Describe the structure of a multi-
paragraph document.
 List various types of written
correspondence.
 What is the purpose of Enlisted
Personnel Action Request?
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