[Content T2] Comentário: Keep the

title short and simple - ideally fewer

than 65 characters (including spaces).

Don’t capitalise every word. Use

sentence case.

[Insert title here]

Research report or brief
Month and year

Authors: Institution

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Contents
List of figures 3
List of tables 4
Headings and levels 5
Formatting and styling content 6
Numbered paragraphs 6
Highlighting text 6
Quotes 7
Check colours and colour contrast 7
Tables 8
Charts 8
Using colour 8

2

List of figures
Figure 1: Chart caption example
Figure 2: Colour palette for DfE
3
[Content T3] Comentário: Use the
Insert Caption tool (in the References
tab) to add captions (titles) to figures
and tables. The captions will
7 automatically populate these lists with
titles and page numbers of figures as
the document is written and updated.
9
You can remove this list if you have
fewer than 3 entries.
Remember to update these lists before
saving by right-clicking and selecting
Update Field.
 [Content T4] Comentário: You can
List of tables remove this list if you have fewer than 3
entries.
Table 1: Table caption example 7

Table 2: Numerical table example 8

4
Headings and levels
Headings are signposts to help your audience find and return to information they’re
seeking. All headings should use clear, unambiguous, descriptive language to tell people
what content can be found under the heading.

Heading Level 1 starts a new page. Use heading level 1 for each new section. As is used
here, all reports should start with a heading at level 1 after the title, table of contents, lists
etc.

Always use headings in order from heading level 1 to 2 to 3 to 4. Do not skip a heading
level by having a heading level 3 under a heading level 1 or a level 4 under a level 2.

Use heading level 2 for subheadings

Use subheadings appropriately to signpost content and help break up large amounts of
body text. Heading level 2 usually appears in the table of contents to help direct readers
to the information they may be looking for.

Heading level 3 subdivides content further

Heading level 3 also usually appears in the table of contents. If you want to remove this
heading level from the table of contents, change it in ‘Show levels’ in the Table of
Contents dialogue box. To access this, go to the References tab, select Table of
Contents, select Custom Table of Contents and change the visible levels.

Heading level 4 labels smaller, more detailed sections

The most detailed content will likely sit under heading level 4.

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Formatting and styling content
Most content should be presented in paragraphs using the ‘Normal’ style from the
Microsoft Word Styles menu, which is Arial 12-point font.

Numbered paragraphs
1. Numbered paragraphs are usually only required in legal documents. Use the
Numbered paragraph styling from the Styles options if you will be referring to data and
conclusions in multiple paragraphs in different sections of the report.
2. Do not use language that refers to positioning such as ‘shown above’, ‘as outlined
below’ as this is not accessible. Saying ‘as discussed/demonstrated in paragraph 5’ or
‘as presented in the section on Headings and levels allows users to refer back to the
point you’re referring to.

Bullet points
Use bullets where there is a list of options or outcomes:
 High-level point
o Lower-level detail

Highlighting text

Coloured emphasis box with explanatory headline

Use an emphasis box to summarise or highlight information that makes a key point.

Do not include important information only in an emphasis box as its content is not
always picked up by screen readers.

These boxes can cause accessibility problems, so please only use them if they are
necessary and add value.

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Alternatively, you can emphasise text on the page by applying shading to words or
paragraphs but remember to set the shading colour to the palest blue in the Department
for Education (DfE) colour palette and don’t use the standard colours in Microsoft.

To shade text:

1. Select the text you want to emphasise, so it is highlighted.

2. Select the Home tab in the top menu bar.
3. Go to the Paragraph menu and select the Shading (paint pot) icon.
4. From the dropdown menu, select More Colours.
5. Select the Custom tap in the pop-up.
6. Enter the RGB codes: Red 207, Green 220, Blue 227.

Never use a table to layout or highlight text

Do not use a table to layout text and do not use a table with a coloured background to
emphasise content as it will cause accessibility issues. Only use tables for data, never for
text!

Quotes
If you want to add large quotes, then don’t use italics or bold. Use the Quote-DfE style in
the Styles selector above which will indent the left and right. The source of the quote can
be italicised, like this:

This study compares the take-up of foreign language skills in

secondary school pupils from fourteen European countries. Belgium
tested its French, Flemish and German communities separately, so
there are results for 16 jurisdictions. – Anonymous contributor

Remember to switch back to Normal style afterwards.

Check colours and colour contrast

If you choose to use a text box with a background colour, the background should be from
the DfE approved colour palette. The text should by clearly visible and contrast well
against the background.

Do not use white or pale text against a dark background as white text may not be visible
in some screen readers.

7
Using colour
Only use the approved Department for Education colour palette. Colour should only be
used for graphics, not text or headings. To change the colour in a graphic, select it, right-
click, select Fill, More Fill Colors, Custom and then enter the RGB codes given below.

Figure 2: Department for Education colour palette

Blue Red Orange Yellow Green Purple

100%

RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB

R16 G79 R138 G37 R232 G125 R194 G162 R0 G71 B18 R38 G8 B89
B117 B41 B30 B4

80%

RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB

R64 G114 R161 G81 R237 G151 R206 G181 R51 G108 R81 G57
B145 B84 B75 B54 B65 B122

60%

RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB

R112 G149 R185 G124 R241 G177 R218 G199 R102 G145 R125 G107
B172 B127 B120 B104 B113 B155

40%

RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB

R159 G185 R208 G168 R246 G203 R231 G218 R153 G181 R168 G156
B200 B169 B165 B135 B160 B189

20%

RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB RGB

R207 G220 R232 G211 R250 G229 R243 G236 R207 G218 R212 G206
B227 B212 B210 B205 B189 B222

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Tables
Only use tables for data, not for laying out text. Make sure to label every column and row
and use the table format embedded within the template.

Avoid merging or splitting cells as this can confuse content and cause problems for
screen readers. It can be clearer to repeat a heading than merge cells.

If your table is very large and complex, consider whether it would look better in landscape
format or should be in an annex or available in a separate spreadsheet. Avoid reducing
the font size. Text should be 12-point Arial font throughout a table.

Do not colour-code cells unless you are providing an alternative method such as using a
code.

Table 1: Table caption title example

Heading Heading Heading Heading Heading Heading

Row Data Data Data Data Data Data

Row Data Data Data Data Data Data

Source: Source of data goes here

Table 2: Example numerical table showing hourly delivery cost per child by age

95% confidence Number

Age of child Mean Median
interval for mean of obs.

Two-year-olds £4.30 £4.01 – £4.60 £3.96 140

Three- and four-year-old pre-

£3.72 £3.47 – £3.96 £3.32 158
school children

Source: SEED Cost Study 2015

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Charts
When using diagrams and charts, use shades of the same DfE colour to improve
accessibility. Use the DfE blue in the first instance. Try to use the same colour for the
same dataset throughout your report.

Figure 1 Example pie chart

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5

6
11

35

21

27

Source: Source of data

Use shades of DfE blue as a first option and provide a key above the graphic. Label data
points if there is room and you want your audience to know the figures for each data set.

Figure 1 Example bar chart

Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5

40
35
35
30 27
25
21
20
15
11
10
6
5
0
Sample 1 Sample 2 Sample 3 Sample 4 Sample 5

Source: Source of data

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Use shades of DfE blue as a first option and provide a key above the graphic. Label data
points if there is room and you want your audience to know the figures for each data set.
If you label each data point, you do not need gridlines. Remove as many marks as
possible so the graph is clear, uncluttered and the focus is on the data. Make sure labels
are legible and horizontal. Avoid reducing the font size. Text should be 12-point Arial font
throughout a table.

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 [Content T5] Comentário: Delete
the logos you don’t need.

[Content T6] Comentário: Check

the year and replace the XXXXs in the
contact email with your preferred email
address or method of contact.

© Department for Education 2022

Reference: RR or RB number (Request from rki.publications@education.gov.uk)

ISBN: (Request by raising a ticket with the DfE Digital Communications Team)

For any enquiries regarding this publication, contact us at: XXXXXXX@education.gov.uk

or www.education.gov.uk/contactus

This document is available for download at www.gov.uk/government/publications

12