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Week 1b_how to Write Lab Reports

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Week 1b_how to Write Lab Reports

Uploaded by

edwardnickbenjamin
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Writing Lab Reports

A scientific report consists of a title, introduction, objective (s), materials used, procedure or methodology,
discussion, conclusion and reference.

Writing Lab Reports

The purpose of writing a lab report is to determine how well you performed your experiment, how much you
understood what happened during the experimentation process, and how well you can convey that information in an
organized way.

Biology Lab Reports: Formats

A good lab report has a format that includes seven main sections. They are the

1. Title

 The title should be less than ten words


 It should reflect the factual content of the paper
 A good title is straightforward and uses keywords that researchers in a particular field will recognize.

2. Introduction

 The introduction defines the subject of the report.


 It must outline the scientific purpose(s) or objective(s) for the research or experiment performed and give
the reader sufficient background to understand the rest of the report.
 Care should be taken to limit the background to whatever is pertinent to the experiment.
 A good introduction will answer several questions, including the following:

Why was this study/experiment performed? What knowledge already exists about this subject?

What is the specific purpose of the study/experiment?

3. Materials

The materials used in the experiment should be reported in this section.

4. Methods/Procedures

 Methods used in the experiments should be reported in this section.


 This section attempts to answer the following questions:

What materials were used? How were they used? Where and when was the work done?

5. Results

 The results section should summarize the data from the experiments without discussing their implications.
 The data should be organized into tables, figures, graphs, photographs, and so on. But data included in a
table should not be duplicated in a figure or graph.
 All figures and tables should have descriptive titles and should include a legend explaining any symbols,
abbreviations, or special methods used.
 Figures and tables should be numbered separately and should be referred to in the text by number, for
example:

1. Figure 1 shows that the activity decreased after five minutes.


2. The activity decreased after five minutes (fig. 1).

 Figures and tables should be self-explanatory; that is, the reader should be able to understand them without
referring to the text. All columns and rows in tables and axes in figures should be labeled.

6. Discussion

 This section should not just be a restatement of the results but should emphasize interpretation of the data,
relating them to existing theory and knowledge.
 Suggestions for the improvement of techniques or experimental design may also be included here.
 You should also be able to suggest future experiments that might clarify areas of doubt in your results.

7. Literature Cited

This section lists all articles or books cited in your report. The format that includes the most information is given in
the following examples:

For articles:
Fox, J.W. 1988. Nest-building behavior of the catbird, Dumetellacarolinensis. Journal of Ecology 47: 113-17.

For Books:
Bird, W.Z. 1990. Ecological aspects of fox reproduction.Berlin: Guttenberg Press.

General Comments on Style

1. All scientific names (genus and species) must be italicized.


2. Use the metric system of measurements.
3. Be aware that the word data is plural while datum is singular. This affects the choice of a correct verb.
4. Numbers should be written as numerals. For example, 6 mm or 2 g. Never start a sentence with numerals.
Spell all numbers beginning sentences.
5. Be sure to divide paragraphs correctly and to use starting and ending sentences that indicate the purpose of
the paragraph. A report or a section of a report should not be one long paragraph.
6. Every sentence must have a subject and a verb.
7. Avoid using the first person, I or we, in writing. Keep your writing impersonal, in the third person. Instead
of saying, "We weighed the frogs and put them in a glass jar," write, "The frogs were weighed and put in a
glass jar."
8. Avoid the use of slang and the overuse of contractions.
9. Be consistent in the use of tense throughout a paragraph--do not switch between past and present. It is best
to use past tense.

Do Your Own Work

Remember that lab reports are individual assignments. You may have a lab partner, but the work that you do and
report on should be your own.

Always give credit where credit is due in your report. You don't want to plagiarize the work of others. That means
you should properly acknowledge the statements or ideas of others in your report.

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