Introduction to Health and Safety at Work

Introduction to Health and Safety at Work
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7.9.1 Structure
The structure of a report is the key to its professional-
ism. Good structuring will:
➤
Help the reader to understand the information and 
follow the arguments contained in the report
➤
Increase the writer’s credibility
➤
Ensure that the material contained in the report is 
organized to the best advantage.
The following list shows a frequently used method of 
producing a report, but always bear in mind that differ-
ent organizations use different formats. It is important 
to check with the organization requesting the report in 
case their in-house format differs.
1. Title 
page
2. Summary
3. Contents 
list
4. Introduction
5. Main body of the report
6. Conclusions
7. Recommendations
8. Appendices
9. References.
Title page
This will contain:
➤
a title and often a subtitle
➤
the name of the person or organization to whom the 
report is addressed
➤
the name of the writer(s) and their organization
➤
the date on which the report was submitted.
As report writing is about communication, it is a good 
idea to choose a title that is eye-catching and memor-
able as well as being informative.
Summary
Limit the summary to between 150 and 500 words. Do 
not include any evidence or data. This should be kept 
for the main report. Include the main conclusions and 
principal recommendations and place it near the front of 
the report.
Contents list
Put the contents list near the beginning of the report. 
Short reports do not need a list but if there are several 
headings it does help the reader to grasp the overall 
content of the report in a short time.
Introduction
The introduction should contain the following:
➤
information about who commissioned the report and 
when
➤
the purpose of the report
➤
objectives of the report
➤
terms of reference
➤
preparation of the report (type of data, research 
undertaken, subjects interviewed, etc.)
➤
methodology used in any analysis
➤
problems and the methods used to tackle them
➤
details about consultation with clients, employees, 
etc.
There may be other items that are specifi c to the report.