example of professional lab report

example of professional lab report

Effective Strategies for Writing a Professional Lab Report

1. Introduction to Lab Reports

Lab reports are designed to make scientific knowledge available and useful. The purpose is to allow readers to check sources or to use the information in their own work. Lab reports are an official record of your experiments. They communicate the purpose, hypothesis, procedure, data gathered, and conclusions. Because lab reports are written for other scientists, the basic science knowledge must be included so that the work has a frame of reference. Scientists will ask “Why,” so the hypothesis must also be stated and supported with background information. If you have complex procedures and apparatus, you often need an appendix to provide detailed support for the methods used. Consult prior research in related fields and check resources outside your library of reference materials for a full range of information.

Lab reports are a written reproduction of your laboratory activities and results. It may be prepared to document an experiment, complete a survey, or record other studies. Laboratory experiences usually lead to written documents, so be very clear about the purpose of each writing assignment. A lab report consists of basic content, format, and mechanics for publication. You will be required to write a laboratory report for each lab performed. A sample is provided below. Each report should be typed and no longer than two pages (double-spaced, 12 font size). Points for each section of the report are: Required refers to clearly marked statements in the lab report, optional means that the information is at your discretion to include.

2. Key Components of a Professional Lab Report

A high-quality and informative lab report can be written only if it consists of the appropriate components. Below are the traditionally accepted sections a lab report typically contains.

Title: It should be informative. The title should clearly tell what the paper is about.

Abstract: In approximately one hundred words, it summarizes the important aspects of the entire lab report (e.g., the purpose, the theory, the method, the results, and the conclusion). Since it is the first section which the editorial board will read, it should convey inform, inform, inform!

Introduction: It has to include some background knowledge and a general statement of the purpose of the investigation. It should generally start very generally and then narrow. Included in the introduction should be any connections to course material and/or themes discussed in class, as well as a broad reference to the hypothesis and the independent and dependent variables. Yes, this should be much longer than the previous sections and should include 2-3 references.

3. Writing Techniques and Style Guidelines

A. Clarity and precision. Lab reports, in general, should be written in a straightforward manner so that they appeal to a broad range of specialists in the field. Your ideas and the ideas of other scientists must be expressed clearly and distinctly to be understood by others reading your report. Writing in this fashion is one way of preventing the appearance of carelessness, vague reasoning, or incompetence. Knowing how to present your findings and analysis in lab reports is a result of learning the structure of different types of reports, the accepted format of the presentation, and the writing style involved. Be consistent in the use of abbreviations and do not use them without first writing out the full name of the material. Everything in your report, from committees to techniques, should maintain the same degree of clarity, precision, and neatness.

B. Terminology. Use scientific terminology and state any assumptions made explicitly, do not assume. Quantitative data should be presented and analyzed with appropriate statistical tests. The presentation of data in tables and figures should reflect a well-organized analysis. Logical order of ideas with a clear beginning, middle, and end enhances readability. The uncommon usage of clichés and jargon is not a good thing. Use the past tense: Although this is not a hard and fast rule, most lab reports are written in the past, especially when discussing materials, apparatus, and data. Write in the third person: Never use the words “I” or “we” when writing a lab report. Instead, use the subjunctive mood: “It was expected that…”.

4. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Your lab report is one of the most important documents you are preparing and submitting for the course. It is a formal account of your lab work, your findings, and your interpretations. You should focus only on your data and its meaning, as well as on your methods and their effectiveness. You should avoid overstating your importance to the reader, using unnecessary jargon, or detailing processes that are not relevant to understanding your results. The structure should be consistent, with a logical progression that facilitates the reader’s understanding from one section to the next. A critical part of all scientific writing is proper citation and acknowledgement of your sources. Though this is a relatively short paper, it should still exhibit a high level of attention to detail with regard to avoiding self-plagiarism or accidental plagiarism that could result from inadequate citation.

In preparing your report, please be sure to double-check for the following common mistakes. Some merely distract the reader, but others carry heavy penalties and can overshadow good lab work. For example, graph axes that do not have the proper labels and units may cause the reader to doubt that you know how to correctly determine slope, or it can leave the reader confused by what your graphs are representing. Setting up a graph beyond the specification of the graph paper (such as choosing a skewed scale) can also distort the data and prevent the reader from assessing the results effectively. Remember that the data, results, and materials themselves are not being directly graded, but the way in which they are presented will indeed impact the grade.

5. Conclusion and Final Tips

In conclusion, it is important to develop writing skills in order to create a high-quality, professional lab report. The target audience for lab reports consists of professionals in the field or related field who need well-organized results and procedures to determine if the process or data is valuable to their knowledge and experience. Presenting information in a coherent and organized manner, with the use of graphics and tables, will facilitate the transparent communication of scientific data. Preparation of a rough draft and using a competent writer are two ways to improve the quality of writing. Employing strategies to create an outline and establish a clear purpose are also recommended, as is utilizing audience-based writing that explains the importance of the procedure performed or the information collected.

Consider the purpose of the report and the audience. Identify the variables, if available, to set limits. Determine how to address the research question in one or two different ways (qualitative observations and measurement data). Choose a graphical representation to present the data. Describe what was observed, regarding the time the position changes for qualitative observations. Give enough detail so that someone could duplicate the experiment without elaborate explanations. You are not simply making a list of directions, as in a procedural, but a solid narrative integrating the details of methods used in your experiment. All procedures should be in passive voice, with no use of personal pronouns. Be clear and concise. Spell out acronyms the first time they are used. Only procedures related to data and work performed should be included. Indicate design elements, those treated symbolically in this example.