Science spans many disciplines from genetics to physics and even bee keeping. Each discipline will have its own particulars in report writing.
Obviously everything here will not be relevant for every discipline, but here are some general tips that may help you in writing up your lab reports.
Generally lab reports will contain the following sections:
- Introduction
- Methods & Materials
- Result
- Discussion
- Conclusions
- sometimes additional sections such as References, Calculations, or Error Analysis.
Your first step is to learn what you are responsible for. Sometimes you may be asked to do only the Results and Discussion so it's important to clearly understand what is required of you.
Here are some pointers on each of these areas:
Introduction
- This is your chance to show that you understand why you did the lab in the first place.
- Describe the background information on the topic(s) and also be sure to include the purpose of your present experiment (usually at the end of the intro).
- Be complete and make sure you know what is expected. For example, at some levels of study it may be expected that you describe the experimental techniques used and at other levels this may be inappropriate.
Methods & Materials
- Often you may just be asked to refer to the lab manual. If this is the case, take care to reference the lab manual properly (see References) and note any changes you made to the procedure given in the manual.
If you do need to write this section, often you will be expected to write in the "past passive" tense (and make sure you avoid personal pronouns).
For example, do not write "I added the chemical to the test tube," but in the past passive you would write "The chemical was added to the test tube."
Results
- Include your data in one form or another, but not two forms (unless required). That is, if your data is in graph, you probably don't need to include a table with the same data. Make sure you find out about this.
- If you are expected to have text in this section, ensure that you refer to all figures and tables in the text. For example, you might write "the data is shown in Figure 1." Also, summarize here the major findings from the raw data, but not any conclusions.
Tables and Figures
- These aspects of a lab report can be distinct for a particular class, however, here are some general tips.
- Titles:
- Often the title of a table goes above the table, but the title of a figure goes below the figure.
- Some disciplines expect very detailed titles that describe the entire experiment so that someone reading the title could reproduce the experiment.
- Other disciplines may want very concise titles. Make sure you learn what is expected. This can be worth good marks.
- Include the appropriate units.
- Make sure any data points on graphs are clearly marked (that is, do not use small dots).
Discussion
- Along with the introduction, this is another chance to show that you know your stuff.
- This section is often worth the most marks. "Discuss" all your major results and how they relate to the purpose of the experiment.
Conclusion
- Your conclusion should summarize the major findings of the experiment in relationship to the purpose.
- You probably just talked about them all in the discussion, but you need to report them again in the conclusion.
- Sometimes the conclusion is a part of the discussion, and if this is the case then make sure it is a distinct conclusion paragraph. It may help to start this paragraph with something like "In conclusion..."
References
- Every discipline has its own rules about referencing. In theory, referencing is easy marks, BUT unfortunately 80% of students reference incorrectly.
The main point is to keep in mind that there are different styles and pay attention to where you put commas, spaces, and what you italicize, bold, or underline.
- Remember to reference the lab manual if applicable and it is often preferred if you use more sources than just your textbook.
- Some styles cite the reference number in the text in brackets (1) or superscripted1, others may reference the authors (Smith et al., 2001) and this may be done in a few different ways (Smith et al. 2001). The reference list may be ordered alphabetically (ABC) or may be numbered in the order of which each reference is cited (123). Look at a sample reference list to see how it is done.
Blaine graduated from the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada with his MSc where he was a teaching assistant in several courses. Copyright iamnext.com 2000. May not be used without permission.
Related reading:
