Writing a Lab Report

The purpose of a lab report is to present your findings for an experiment in an organized and concise manner. Your lab report is graded on both the format and content of your work, though the majority of points are based on content. When I grade lab reports, some of the key factors I look for are thorough explanations of the concepts being illustrated and how students are able to relate the concepts to their observations/conclusions; I want to see that you understand the concepts underlying the experiment.

Below are explanations for the key parts that I will be looking for in your lab report.

Header

• Last name and page number
  

Heading

• Student name
  
• Teacher name
  
• Course name
  
• Due Date
  
• (Should not be in the header section of the paper.)
  

Title

• Unique
• Detailed
• Centered
• Same size font as rest of lab report
  

• Number your responses so that they correspond with the given questions.
  
• Do not type the questions themselves into this section; instead, restate the question within your response.
  

• Predict what you think the outcome of the project will be.
  
• Write the hypothesis after reading the procedure but before you perform the experiment.
  
• Use "if...then..." format to make it clear what you are testing and your predicted outcome.
  

• List the materials that you used to complete the experiment.
• Make sure the list reflect what you used to complete the experiment.
  

• Summarize the steps you took to complete the experiment.
  
• Write the procedure in 3rd person and present tense. You will not use pronouns but only provide steps.
  
• Include enough detail that someone else could repeat the experiment, using only your procedure.
  
• Make sure to include any modifications that you make or note any items that you substitute.
  
• Here is a slide show explaining how to write a proper procedure https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xA1S_MAe5ab73jlhTewq29fZh91_LT1q/view?ts=5e274af7

• Write detailed descriptions of your observations, results, and any measurements.
  
• When applicable, present your data in graph form, as it is easier to read.
  
• Do not interpret or try to explain your data; that is part of your analysis and/or conclusion.
  

• Number your responses so that they correspond with the given questions.
  
• Do not type the questions themselves into this section; instead, restate the question within your response.
  

• State whether your hypothesis was supported or disproved.
  
• Use data and calculations to support your evaluation of your hypothesis.
  
• Discuss possible sources of error or uncertainty within the experiment.
  
• Explain how the results of the experiment connect to other areas of science or ways that the experiment could be modified to gather new data.
  

• Use section headings.
  
• Indent paragraphs for written sections (i.e. conclusion).
• Check sentence structure and grammar.
  
• Check spelling.
  

If you have questions at any point while working on a project, please send me a message through your assignment. I am happy to help :)

Last edited by Mrs. Thurman 25 Jan 2019