How to Write your Lab Report

Writing a laboratory report is an essential part of all the laboratory or science courses and contributes to a great percentage of your grade. A lab report can be tiring and one may end up re-doing the whole report if not very careful. The report describes experimental methods, results, discussions and conclusions drawn from the results. It should be written in the third (3rd person) and does not need flowery language when writing it. It should be well cited to avoid plagiarism. You may consider skimming through scientific journals to get a really good idea of what a report looks like.

The basic lab report has the following sections:

Title:This reflects the factual content of your lab report. It should be straightforward and should use keywords that will be easily recognized.

Abstract: This is at the beginning of your lab report. It is a very brief and detailed summary of the whole report. It should include the purpose of your experiment, the method and conditions used, the results and conclusions in a nutshell.

Introduction: It defines the subject of the report. It should include the statement of the problem that you are investigating,the purpose of the study, the theoretical background of the problem, the general method or approach used and the expected results.

Materials and procedure/methods: You should list the materials that you used during the experiment. The procedure/method conveys the mental picture of how you went about the experiment or study. Note that, the reader must be able to follow your procedure and repeat it if they so wish. You can source the procedure from a lab book or another report and making sure you have properly cited your work. If you make any changes to the procedure you have referred to, ensure you notify on the changes.

Observations/results: This encompasses both the quantitative and qualitative observations. Generally, one reports descriptive statistics, then inferential statistics and finally states in words what was found. The data should be presented in a clear and easily understood format. Tabulation of your results is highly preferable as it offers quick reference to what observations or results you derived from the experiment.

Discussion/analysis: This section emphasizes interpretation of the data, relating the data collected with the existing theory and knowledge. You may consider starting your discussion by summarizing your main findings. Any suggestions on improvement of the techniques or the experiment design may be included. You might also highlight future experiments or research that might clarify areas of doubt in your results. Discuss anything that happened during the experiment or study that may have affected your observations.

Conclusion: Discuss how the analysis of the data or observations relate to your objective of the study or the experiment. Stick to the facts and be specific in your statements.

Appendices and references: List all books and articles used in your lab report writing.

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