Acas house style Guidelines for Acas reports

Follow these guidelines when you're writing a report.

We've included the most common things to consider. There are more style points in the full Acas style guide.

If you have any questions, ask your Acas contact.

Report length

Generally, aim for around 8,000 to 10,000 words, unless otherwise agreed with your Acas contact.

This is around 25 pages, including charts and tables.

Use appendices if necessary but keep these brief. These are not counted in the word or page count.

Sentence and paragraph length

Keep paragraphs short – maximum 5 lines per paragraph.

Also keep sentences clear and short. Aim for a maximum of 15 to 20 words.

Fonts and text formatting

Century Gothic size 12 is our standard font for anything being published in a document. This is built into the Acas report template.

To format your text:

  • do not use italics or bold
  • left-align all text – do not justify text
  • do not use text boxes – these are not accessible

Acronyms and initialisms

Only use acronyms and initialisms on their own if they're very well known – for example, HR, EU, UK.

In all other cases, write out acronyms and initialisms in full. Include the acronym or initialism in brackets the first time.

For example, write 'employee assistance programme (EAP)' the first time you use it. Then 'employee assistance programme' after that.

Use 'covid-19 (coronavirus)' when first mentioning it. Then 'covid' after that or in titles.

Abbreviations

Generally, do not use abbreviations.

Examples:

  • use 'for example' – do not use 'e.g.' or 'eg'
  • use 'that is' or an alternative phrase – do not use 'i.e.' or 'ie'

Grammar and style

You should:

  • use plainer terms where these are available
  • use 'Acas' not 'ACAS'
  • use Acas as singular ('Acas is' not 'Acas are') – the possessive is Acas's
  • avoid the passive voice – say 'the evidence showed' rather than 'it was found that'
  • keep phrases short – for example 'to' instead of 'in order to'
  • only use hyphens to join words together – use an en dash in all other cases
  • use the appropriate word, not a forward slash (/) – for example 'employers and employees', not 'employers / employees'
  • write years as '2024 to 2025' – not '2024-2025' or '2024/2025'
  • only use "double quotes" when directly quoting – otherwise use 'single quotes'

Headings

Use these guidelines:

  • write clear headings that will help users to navigate through the report
  • do not duplicate headings
  • find a way to differentiate similar headings – for example 'Quantitative methodology' and 'Qualitative methodology', not 'Methodology 1' and 'Methodology 2'
  • number section headings – for example '1. Introduction'
  • use sentence case

Inclusive language

You should:

  • refer to the Acas style guide for more information on using inclusive language
  • make it clear where you're quoting someone else's language

If you're working on something that's specifically about certain protected characteristics, speak to your Acas contact. They can give you more details about appropriate language.

Links

Add links as text that describes where the link goes.

Do not link directly to downloadable documents unless there's no alternative. Link to the web page that the document is attached to.

For example, CIPD race inclusion report: Talking about race at work. Use this instead of linking directly to the PDF.

Lists

Lists are a useful way to break up long sentences.

Bullet-point lists

For bullet-point lists:

  • consider using lists instead of sentences that contain multiple elements or ideas
  • lead into the list with a sentence ending in a colon, as in this section
  • use one sentence per bullet point, breaking up longer bullets if necessary to keep to one idea per bullet
  • do not end bullet points with 'or' or 'and'
  • do not end with a full stop or any form of punctuation, unless the bullet is a question

Numbered lists

For numbered lists:

  • only use a numbered list when you're describing a process that has to happen in a certain order
  • unlike bullet points, they do not need a lead-in line – but it's fine to have one
  • use full sentences
  • end each step with a full stop – this is different to bullet-point lists where punctuation is only included for questions

Quotations

If you're quoting people:

  • wrap the quotation in double quote marks
  • attribute the quote at the end
  • use normal font – do not put the quote in italics or use a different style or font
  • use a lead-in line to introduce the quote – for example 'one delegate said'

Example of quotation formatting

One attendee on the course said:

"I found it so useful – I recommend it to all my colleagues, and three of them have booked on."

Training delegate, Introduction to Line Management

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