Formatting
The lab report needs to be typed, double-spaced, and written in Arial or Times New Roman 11 or 12 point font. The submitted report should be spell-checked and proofread. Each section needs to include a heading. Please make sure to write in formal writing using the correct scientific terminology. Past tense should be used for experimental procedures as this was done previously.
General guidelines
- Please DO NOT use exact quotes in your paper. You need to paraphrase and provide the reference source
- Only cite credible sources: scientific journal articles (NOT REDACTED), textbooks or book chapters, and your lab manual. NO commercial or internet sites and NO Wikipedia
- In text citations need to be include wherever appropriate and concurrently included in the reference section
- Tables and graphs must be properly labeled and include a written legend
- Refer to the rubrics on canvas in order to achieve the maximal possible points for the lab report
Lab report sections
- Title page: this should be separate from the body of the report and the first page of your lab report.
- You need to provide an original title that is specific to your report and has enough details to convey the message of your report.
- Please include your name, section number, and the course title
- Introduction
- Provide the appropriate background information to support the topic of your study. CITE your sources extensively both within the text and in the reference section of your paper
- State the purpose of the study
- Provide well-defined rationale for your hypothesis and clearly state the hypothesis
- Briefly explain your experimental approach and expected results
- Procedures/Methods
- Provide a detailed summary of your experiments in PAST tense as you already did the experimental procedures previously. This section needs to be written in complete sentences and not as a protocol
- Provide enough important details so someone else and read your report and be able to repeat the experiment
- State any controls, replications, and standardized variables that were used
- DO NOT copy the procedures from your lab manual verbatim. Instead, you will need to paraphrase the procedures in your own words.
- CITE the lab manual and any additional sources that you use for this section
- Results
- Provide a paragraphed explanation of your results. Refer to the figures and tables when explaining your results. NO INTERPRETATIONS should be mentioned in this section.
- Present your data as either graphs or tables
- Tables and graphs must be clearly labeled, numbered appropriately (e.g. Table 1, Table 2, Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). Each table or graph should include legends explaining the table or figure.
- Axes need to be labeled on the graphs and appropriate units must be provided where appropriate
- Discussion
- Restate the hypothesis and determine whether the results supported the hypothesis.
- Refer to the appropriate figure or table as evidence of your conclusion
- Provide scientific rationale for your conclusions
- Explain any unexpected results and provide explanations that could have happened in your experiment that could lead to the unexpected results
- Discuss any problems with the experimental procedure and any improvements that can be made for future experiments
- Conclusions
- Restate major findings and important results
- Literature cited
- Use proper MLA-style for in text citations and references listed in this section
- All of the in text citations need to be listed in the references section
- For further information on how to write a lab report
- For further information on how to cite in MLA format
