lab report format

lab report format

A Comprehensive Guide to Writing an Effective Lab Report

1. Introduction to Lab Reports

A lab report is a formal document through which a scientist conveys his findings gleaned from an experiment, and this report may be read and revised by several peers and supervisors. Hence, the scientist needs to be clear about his statements. Readers of this report may be skimming through several of them every week, so a writer should ensure that his message will be easily interpreted the very first time the report is scanned. To do so, a writer should remember that a paragraph should contain one message only, and a page should contain one paragraph only. This guide aims to help develop the report’s format by first reminding you on how to create a logical structure and follows by the various segment’s contents and style recommendations.

This guide on writing a clear and logical scientific lab report is a task that each science student must deal with sooner or later in the course of his studies. It constitutes an essential aspect of one’s education since one’s lab work is only half-finished if it was not documented properly.

2. Key Components of a Lab Report

b. The theory should provide the underlying framework, or was the major focus for, your study. Often it is in this section where you draw upon your background information (including prior experimental work) to frame the hypothesis which are the basis of your research endeavor.

a. Whatever you do, never ever use the words “I” “we” “he/she” “our” “my”.

The purpose of the introduction is to tell the reader why you are doing the study, what the problem is, and how you plan to solve it. There are at least 4 key components to the introduction of the lab report:

Abstract – In 100 words or less, explain what you have just completed in your report. You might begin by discussing new information that you recently discovered or what you accomplished, what methods were employed, and what the results of your research. Be sure to use a passive verb in the abstract (never use an active verb). Don’t cite references in the abstract. Refer to any tables or figures by number only. Don’t include raw data.

The title of your report should specify what you have studied. It should be just a phrase that characterizes the contents.

3. Writing Style and Format Guidelines

Your title should be specific, accurate, brief, and informative. You should summarize the main objectives, results, and conclusions of the investigation in the title. Limit length to 10-15 words and avoid abbreviations. It should be specific, informative, and self-explanatory, defining your work at a glance. The best way to write an objective is to use the enumeration in section 1.1.3. Use the past tense. Be specific. Write your title. Many word processors can produce ‘run-in’ headings at the beginning of a paragraph. In a professional application (e.g. reports or books), readers who are looking for specific information will want to locate quickly what is of interest to them. The abstract will be the first part of your report read by anyone that reads the article. Write in this way: “In this experiment, we examined the effects of…” instead of “The sample was put in…”. Writing an effective statement of the problem.

Depending on the requirements of your instructor, you may find that the following style guidelines are suitable for writing lab reports. Scientific writing is unique. The form is the same as a paper or a report, but the content is significantly different. Except for literature review or methodology sections, the content of scientific writing is focused on methodology and results. Be brief and to the point. Compare the following two sentences: “The objective of the project was to gain further experience with radioisotopes handling biochemical experiments,” and then, “The goal of the project was to become more familiar with 32P radioisotopes. State the objective of your experiment in a concise sentence. Key points about style rules are discussed in this section.

4. Tips for Improving Clarity and Conciseness

Use headings. Instead of writing a single block of text, use headings to integrate information from different sections of the lab report. Headings can range in level from very general to very specific, or they can be different types of visual aids that help to distinguish the different sections within the report. You might write Level 1, Level 2, or Level 3 on the assignment. Then write the title and provide the analysis. Your subheadings might include the purpose, paraphrasing of the procedure, and data analysis.

This guide has tried to be comprehensive and includes a variety of suggestions to get you started. There are only a few hard-and-fast rules. While this guide is a helpful starting point, everyone who writes a lab report has unique goals and requirements. Some of the suggestions in this guide have been quoted directly from Writing Center Tutors, while others have been spliced together from many different websites. The Writing Program would like to name all those who contributed by giving appropriate credit.

Write in the active voice. Using the active voice will make your sentences more concise. Different disciplines and professors have additional guidelines and suggestions for writing lab reports. Be sure to consult your teacher or the writing center for guidance.

5. Common Mistakes to Avoid

Lab reports and other exercises designed to introduce students to the scientific method are usually a student’s first foray into technical writing. This guide is required reading for any student, regardless of their level of training, who can benefit from the conciseness and clarity that are the hallmarks of good scientific reporting. The following short list of common mistakes should be avoided when working on specific lab reports.

Writing too early – Only after the beaker has been washed and the graph paper has been carefully put away should the student begin to write. At this time, if you happen to write for the team, please respect the literature. Use a ruler to draw the lines in your graph.

Contributors’ or students’ names in headers – the header will be left out of page two and therefore the students’ names will also be left out. ReLU accuracy is what’s being graded in this exercise, and may lead to the absence of meaningful contributions from one or more team members.

Not sharing your raw data and/or calculations – This can betray a lack of understanding of the subject matter, an unrealistic expectation of the reader’s own skills or laziness on the part of the author.