University Writing Center

WRITING IN THE DISCIPLINES SERIES

Lab Reports
What is a lab report? Below is a list of the dos and
Lab reports are documents that reflect a research donts of lab reports.
process undertaken in a formal or professional
research environment, or even in a classroom
setting. Lab reports are common exercises for
college students that are majoring in any
science-related field, or even for those students
taking a course for a required science credit.
Common courses that require lab reports are the Do!
different levels of Chemistry, Biology,
Do understand the underlying theory before
Astronomy, and many others. If you are
carrying out the lab measurements.
conducting some sort of science experiment,
Do use external sources such as textbooks and
chances are you will have to write a lab report at
internet articles (reliable).
some point. A lab report is your own explanation
of how you went about completing a project. Do make sentences short and clear. Do not be afraid
Remember! An experiment is only as good as of word repetitions.
the lab report that describes it! Though Do read your report at least once to make sure
expectations and requirements vary from one youve included every- thing require of you.
professor to another and from one discipline to Do add captions to the figures/diagrams you use.
the next, this handout can be used as a general Do perform reality checks. Is the report reflective of
reference when writing a lab report. what actually happened during the experiment?

Dont
Dont ever write things you do not understand, even
if you copy-paste the whole sentence from a trusted
source. Remember, you should be able to explain
Lab reports are common exercises
what youve written.
for college students that are Dont forget to cite what resources your reference in
majoring in any science-related your report. The penalty is the same for any
fieldCommon courses that require academic writing assignmenta plagiarism
violation and most likely a hearing at the Office of
lab reports are the different levels or Students Rights and Responsibilities.
Chemistry, Biology, Astrology and Dont write generic sentences like This is a report
many others. describing an experiment.
Dont neglect MS Word spell check and grammar
check options.
Dont forget to proofread your work.
Sections to include in a lab
report
Be as specific as
What is included in a lab report is sometimes up
to the discretion of the teacher of the course. possible and do not
Hopefully, you would have been provided with
explicit instructions that outlined exactly what is
hesitate to over-
expected of you for your assignment. However, explain things. This is
this is not always the case, but thats okay! Here
are some standard sections that are included in a your project; youre the
lab report:
expert here.
A Title Page A title page would appear
at the front or beginning of your lab report and
usually contains the title of report, your name, Your hypothesis should be something that you
the course title and instructor name, and the date can actually test. In other words, you need to be
of the experiment. This information would be able to measure both "what you do" and "what
center-aligned as well as centered vertically on will happen." Here are some examples that show
the page. There should also be a page number you what not to do, and what to do.
either at the top or bottom of the title page.
Not a hypothesis:
An Introduction or Statement of Example one: It was hypothesized that there is
a significant relationship between leaf color and
Purpose This part of the lab report would temperature.
come on the following page. In this section you
could discuss the reasons why you chose this Example two: Our universe is surrounded by
experiment or project, what the purpose of the another, larger universe, with which we can have
experiment is, the hypothesis that you are absolutely no contact.
testing, the justifications for your hypothesis,
and any other pertinent information that would Hypothesis:
acclimate the reader of the report to the project. Example one: It was hypothesized that if leaf
color change is related to temperature, then
Objective exposing plants to low temperatures will result
The objective of the experiment specifies why in changes in leaf color.
the experiment is being done or the concepts that
the experiment is intended to demonstrate. This Example two: If the size of the molecules is
should be written in future tense, third person, related to the rate of diffusion as they pass
passive form, with flowing prose (do not use through a membrane, then smaller molecules
bullets). will flow through at a higher rate.
Hypothesis A good hypothesis defines the variables in easy-
Your hypothesis should be simple and clear. to-measure terms, like who the participants are,
Theres nothing wrong with beginning your what changes during the testing, and what the
hypothesis with the phrase, It was hypothesized effect of the changes will be. Also, make sure
that . . . Be as specific as you can about the that your hypothesis is testable.
relationship between the different objects of
your study. Validate your hypothesis
You need to assure your readers that this
Most of the time, a hypothesis is written like hypothesis was reasonable. What is the
this: "If [I do this], then [this] will happen." reasoning that led you to believe that your
conjecture might be supported by evidence?
Previous research theres a WHOLE section devoted to how you
This part of the Introduction shows the reader complete your experiment.
that you are aware of the work of other scientists
in that field and that you comprehend the Methods In this section, discuss how you
framework for the experiment youve
went about conducting your experiment and
completed.
testing your hypothesis. Be precise in providing
details and as specific as possible, but stay
Organization of this section
relevant. Do not hesitate to over-explain
In abbreviated form, an Introduction section
things. Give as many details as necessary to
might look like this:
prevent this experiment from going awry if
someone else tries to carry it out. Be sure to
The purpose of the experiment was to test
offer exact measurements and quantify anything
conventional ideas about solubility in the
you can such as time elapsed, temperature, mass,
laboratory [purpose]
volume, and so on. This is your project; youre
The purpose of this lab was to assess and
the expert here.
calculate oxygen uptake (VO2) using a variety
of equations and exercise tests. VO2 is a good
measure of cardiorespiratory endurance and Structure and style
Organization is especially important in the
aerobic fitness; it is also a great tool for
methods section of a lab report because readers
prescribing exercise intensity for an individual
must understand your experimental procedure
going through an exercise program. Certain
entirely. Theres a fairly standard structure you
health benefits come from working at a specific
can use to guide you, and following the
percentage of an individuals VO2 max, so
conventions for style can help clarify your
knowing VO2 max makes it possible to
points.
prescribe the proper amount of exercise. VO2
can be expressed two different ways, absolute or
Write in Prose: Here, you are telling the reader
relative to body weight. In this lab, VO2 will be
what already happened through prose. Avoid
expressed relative to body weight, which is in
sounding like a recipe.
milliliters of oxygen consumed per kilogram of
body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). There are
Past tense: You are describing something that
many exercise tests used to measure VO2,
has already happened so use simple past tense.
however, the most common way is the Bruce
graded exercise test protocol, which was the
Passive voice vs. first person: Avoid using the
main focus of this lab. The other VO2 exercise
first person (I or we).
tests used in this lab were the Rockport 1-mile
walk test, the Ebbeling submaximal test, and the
Cureton 1-mile run test. Individuals with a Data Here, you will present the data
sedentary lifestyle and poor dietary habits will collected from the experiment. You can do this
probably have lower VO2 values than their using tables, or you can write out your data in
counterparts, resulting in poorer performance on paragraph form (OR both!).
these types of exercise tests [hypothesis]. There
were also non-exercise VO2 tests used in this
lab, these test included the BMI test, %fat test,
and the waist girth test.

Note: These guidelines are not set in stone and

can vary from one professor or class to another.

Materials This section is fairly

straightforward. Here, you would list your
materials, or if you wanted to go further in
depth, you could discuss the function of each of
the materials briefly (but not too much, because
Results/Discussion or Analysis Reference List On this page, list any
Sometimes the Results and Discussion sections source material that you referenced in your
are combined into one, or they can be separate. report. Use hanging indents when completing
It depends on what makes the most sense for your Reference List.
your report. In this section, present the findings
of your experiment/lab work and discuss the Formatting of the Lab Report
implications of these findings. Did your work
yield the results you thought it would?
As previously discussed in this document, lab
How do I write a strong Results section? reports are generally associated with science-
This section provides the most critical based academic work. That being said, there is a
information about your experiment: the data that whole citation and formatting style guide
allow you to discuss how your hypothesis was or devoted to science related writing assignments.
wasnt supported. But it doesnt provide The American Psychological Association (APA)
anything else, which explains why this section is Manual is most likely the style guide you should
generally shorter than the others. reference for how to cite sources in your report
as well as how to properly break your lab report
Dont try to draw conclusions about the into sections, and even subsections if necessary.
resultssave them for the Discussion section. In
this section, youre reporting facts. Nothing your If you cant afford to go and buy an APA style
readers can dispute should appear in the Results guide, not to worry! There is a wonderful and
section. This should be a short paragraph, FREE resource available online. Simply Google
generally just a few lines, that describes the Purdue Owl and click the first search result.
results you obtained from your experiment. If You will be directed to the Purdue Owl
you use tables or figures keep them simple and homepage, where you will be able to select
straightforward. APA Style Guide and navigate through many
pages of useful information (like how to
How do I write a strong Discussion section? different types of source and which level
heading you should use).
The discussion section tells your readers what to
make of the Results you obtained. Here are some quick tips to help get you started:

In this section, you will, as a rule, need to: Level 1 and 2 Headings2 are the most
Explain whether the data support your common for any work in APAthe headings
hypothesis go all the way down to Level 5, but you
Acknowledge any anomalous data or probably wont need that many!
deviations from what you expected
Derive conclusions, based on your findings, Level 1 headings are centered and bolded and
about the process youre studying appear at the beginning of a new section.
Relate your findings to earlier work in the
same area (if you can) Level 2 headings are used to break down
Explore the theoretical and/or practical Level 1 sections into more specific
implications of your findings subsections. This level of heading is left-
aligned, bolded, and they appear within Level
1 sections.
Conclusion In this section, simply
provide a wrap-up and closure to your In-text citations3 for APA style are fairly
experiment. Include final thoughts on the subject simple to insert: They look like this: (Last
of your work. What is it your research proved to name of author(s), Year of publication). They
be true? ALWAYS come before the period that ends a
sentence where source material was used.
 How Lab Reports are Different
Quick Tips:
from Other Written Assignments
Dont shy away from technical
If this is your first time writing a lab report, or
terms, and discuss ideas one at a even if you are a seasoned report writer, it is
important to note the differences between lab
time. reports and other academic writing styles, such
as argumentative essays.
Remember, you are the expert, so
know what youre saying in your Think back to your freshmen composition
classes? What is one of the first things you
report. learned: put a thesis in your introductory
paragraph! This is not necessarily true for lab
No contractions in formal writing! reports, because all of the research is building up
to the final product or discovery. Your
For example, dont = do not. introduction in a lab report simply orients the
reader to what you will be exploringthe
purpose of your experiment. Your conclusion
will actually contain your final findings.

Also, as stated in other sections, you dont really

have to worry about writing long, flowing
Type of Language Use in a Lab sentences. Focus on presenting facts, data,
findings, etc. as clearly as possible. You dont
Report want your report to become muddled with too
many ideas at once.
Lab reports are fairly formal documents.
They present findings and orient the
reader to the framework of the Tips for consultants
experiment being conducted. It is your
responsibility as the writer of the report to make It is important to be aware of the general
sure that it is clear, concise, and informative. structure of lab reports. Having a general idea of
what to look for will make the session go more
Since lab reports are technical, meaning they use smoothly.
a lot of specialized language and concepts, it is
okay to use big words that relate to the field of There are some specific things consultants
study or the experiment itself. Just keep in mind should keep in mind about lab reports: The ABC
that you will need to have to ability to explain of science communication is that it should be:
those complex and specialized terms to someone (5)
who might not be familiar with your field. Accurate and Audience-Adapted
Brief
Lab reports are NOT literary analyses. They are Clear
NOT argumentative papers. Therefore, it is more
acceptable to write shorter sentences, as long as Accuracy and Audience-Adapted
the overall idea that is portrayed makes sense. In Being accurate is everything in the discipline of
other words, write short, to-the-point sentences, lab reports. Make sure to provide accurate
but dont jump around from topic to topic in measurements and to be assertive. Be very
each sentence. Let your ideas flow in a logical aware of using scientific language which is what
and linear manner. your audience expects when reading your report.
Keep this objective and straightforward tone in
mind when writing longer essays.
Brevity/Conciseness
Brevity is important in all disciplines and is Citations
stressed in science. Get to the point. There is no Although the sciences usually utilize APA for
room in any paper for sentences that do not citing, it is important to note that citation styles
contribute something significant to the paper. vary from class to class and from one professor
to another. Be sure to ask the student what style
Clarity the professor recommends using. If the student
Unlike writing in the Humanities, writing in the is unaware of what style to use, encourage him
scientific discipline must be explicit in its to ask his professor.
meaning. Lab reports detail exactly what went
on in the lab and should be clear enough so that
if the reader was to follow your methods, he
would garner the same results.

Format
The basic format for lab reports:
Introduction
Methods and Materials
Results
Discussion;

This format, sometimes called IMRAD, may

take slightly different shapes depending on the
discipline or audience; some ask you to include
an abstract or separate section for the
hypothesis, or call the Discussion section Endnotes and References
Conclusions, or change the order of the 1 Helmenstine, Anne Marie. (2013). How to
sections. Overall, however, the IMRAD format write a lab report. Retrieved from: http://
was devised to represent a textual version of the chemistry.about.com/od/chemistrylabexperiment
scientific method. 6 s/a/labreports.htm
2 Paiz, Joshua M., et al. (2013). APA headings
Section Scientific method step As well as and seriation. Retrieved from: http://
Introduction states your hypothesis explains how owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/16/
you derived that hypothesis and how it connects 3 Paiz, Joshua M., et al. (2013). In-text citations:
to previous research; gives the purpose of the The basics. Retrieved from: http://
experiment/study. owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/02/
4 Denissenko, Petr. (2008). Lab report dos &
Methods details how you tested your hypothesis donts. Retrieved from:
clarifies why you performed your study in that http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/
particular way. fac/sci/eng/staff/pd2/lab_notes/
5Guidelines for Student Lab Reports and
Results provides raw (i.e., uninterpreted) data Student Papers. The Center for Writing Studies.
collected (perhaps) expresses the data in table The Center for Writing Studies: The University
form, as an easy-to-read figure, or as of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 20
percentages/ratios. February 2013.
6Scientific Reports. The UNC Writing Center.
Discussion considers whether the data you The Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill, 20
obtained support the hypothesis explores the February 2013.
implications of your finding and judges the
potential limitations of your experimental
design. 6.