Lab Report Level Two-1

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
APPLIED CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

PHY. CHEM, POLYMER SCI, AND IND. CHEM PRACTICALS FOR II &IV YEARS
LABORATORY WRITE-UP FORMAT
TITLE, DATE and EXPERIMENT NUMBER:

It can be at the top of the first page, or if you prefer a more flamboyant presentation, it can be on a
cover page. Please include your name and that of your partner(s) on this page. [1 mark]
AIM:
The aim of the experiment
OBJECTIVES:
List the objective(s) of the experiment.
[3 marks]
INTRODUCTION/THEORY:
This is the relevant theoretical background to the given experiment. It is normally researched from a
variety of reference texts and other pertinent literature. Any theory used in the analysis of results and
calculations should be presented. Theory is needed to make sense of the results and calculations.
[5 marks]
EXPERIMENTAL/METHOD:
It must be written in ‘past tense’ – third person, passive voice. Apparatus and materials used are
included in this section and it should be written in a concise, continuous paragraph. DO NOT ITEMISE (do
not list points!). Diagrams, wherever necessary, should be shown here. The report should be devised so
as to allow another researcher to reproduce the same experiment as close as possible.
LABORATORY RECORD:
This is what you write during the lab session. ALL measurements – balance weightings, pipette volumes,
initial as well as subsequent burette readings and instrument readings must be recorded. Be neat and
organized so that the recordings are clear, identifiable and unambiguous. The supervisor will check this
record to see if you have carried out the practical satisfactorily. If the record is not satisfactory you may
be required to repeat some parts straight away, so do not throw away solutions or tidy up until the
record is approved. Before you leave, always check with the supervisor who will sign your laboratory
record. These results (signed by the supervisor) must be included in the report that you submit.
RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS:

This is the section under which ALL observations, results and calculations are done and recorded (the
Lab record does not replace this section). Data must be presented in neat tables whenever necessary.
Please record all your measurements in their entirety. If calculations are largely repetitive, just show one
sample calculation in full. Results should be presented in tabular form where appropriate. Marks may be
deducted where results are stated with either insufficient or unwarranted precision. Make sure you
include the relevant units with all the results and make effort to establish the appropriate number of
significant figures. The units are not put in brackets after the quantity. The correct method is to use a
fraction dividing line with any powers of ten (10) and the units after it. Where replicate measurements
have been done, statistical assessment of the data should be included. From theory you should be able
to establish whether a “best-fit” straight-line plot or some other form of graph is expected in each
particular case. Where graphs are required, choose a scale such that you utilize the maximum possible
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space on the graph paper including any extrapolations that are needed. You should make use of
computers (you can make use of programs such as MS Excel) for drawing the graphs. All graphs and
tables should be properly titled and labelled.
[15 marks]
DISCUSSION:
Give a comprehensive and thorough-going discussion of the observations and results, clearly showing
how they all relate to the theory. Reaction mechanisms are included in this section whenever necessary.
This is the most important section of the report. This section contains a specific discussion of the
experiment that you did, including difficulties encountered (including a discussion of what you think was
happening). Please try to establish which particular measurement(s) determines the precision of the
final answer and suggest how the experiment might be improved. Comment on the validity of your
results compared to those in literature. Use diagrams to explain any points wherever possible. Answer
any questions in the schedule. [15 marks]
CONCLUSION:
This is a short and concise summary of the results and discussion. [3 marks]
REFERENCES:
Use the ‘The Harvard System of Bibliographic Citation or Referencing.’ (See More Notes Below)
List the texts (or other literature) used in writing your report. Use the examples below as guides.
[5 marks]
For books the format is:
Author(s). Year. Title: subtitle. Edition statement. Place of Publication: Publisher. Page number(s)
E.g., Smith, P., (2000). Organic Chemistry. 5th Ed. Canada. John Wiley and Sons. Pg 245-246, 300.
For journals the format is:
Author(s)/Editor(s).Responsibility. Title of article: subtitle. Journal title. Year. Volume number. (Issue
no./season/month): page numbers.
E.g., Kolarc, Z., Regan, E V., Transition Metals. Journal of Inorg. Chem., 2003, 47, (2): 74 – 87
For articles on the world wide web (www) the format is:
Author(s)/Editor(s), Initial(s). Year. Title: subtitle [Type of medium]. Place of Publication: Publisher (if
ascertainable). Available from: <URL>. [Date accessed]
Holland, M. 1996. Harvard system [Online]. Poole: Bournemouth University. Available from:
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/service depts/lis/LIS
PRESENTATION: [2 marks]
SUBMISSION OF REPORTS:
- All students to have practical/lab books for each practical course where they will write all their
practical work.
- Pre-Lab work (pre-requisite for every practical) should be written and brought in for signing/marking
on the day of the practical. This work will comprise the following: Experiment Title, Aim/Purpose,
Objectives, Introduction/Theory, and Answers to Pre-Lab questions.
-The complete reports must be submitted by the due date (a fortnight after doing the practical). Late
reports will be penalized 10% per day. A mark of zero will be awarded if the report is more than 1(one)
week late.
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-The lab record must be written and shown to the Technician for signing, otherwise you will have 15
marks deducted even if you were marked as present on the register.
-Plagiarism: This is a serious offence (refer to the regulations in the NUST yearbook)
-All entries in your report must be recorded in ink (blue/black only).
-Errors must be crossed out with a single line. Use of correction fluid is not permitted.
More Examples
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Referencing
Referencing acknowledges the sources that you use to write your essay or assignment paper. Please see
the section of this guide regarding intellectual honesty and plagiarism.
In-text citations are used throughout your writing to acknowledge the sources of your information. The
full references for the citations are then listed at the end of your assignment paper in the Reference list.
It is important to first consult your unit outline, lecturer or tutor for the preferred citation style for each
unit you undertake.
Intellectual honesty and plagiarism

Students are referred to the University of Western Sydney Calendar "Misconduct - Student Academic
Misconduct Policy" section for basic definitions and University policies relating to intellectual honesty,
cheating and plagiarism.
Reference list
A reference list includes details of the sources cited in your paper. It starts on a separate page at the end
of your assignment paper and is titled References. Each item cited in the reference list must have been
cited in your paper. All sources appearing in the reference list must be ordered alphabetically by
surname.
All sources that you cite in your writing are listed in detail at the end of your document in a reference
list, with the exception of all personal communications, as well as dictionary entries, newspaper articles
or encyclopaedia entries where no author is ascertainable. These sources are cited in-text only.
You may sometimes need to include sources that are not cited in your paper but which supported your
research. In Harvard UWS style, when you list non-cited sources and cited sources, the consolidated list
is called a Bibliography. As with a reference list, the items should be listed in alphabetical order.
The reference list should be single spaced, with one line space between references and no indentation.
Italics is the preferred format for titles of books, journals and videos. Article and chapter titles are put in
single quotation marks but are not italicised.
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Capitalisation in the Harvard UWS style is very specific and is kept to a minimum. The following general
rules apply:
Book titles - capitalise the first letter of the first word of the title, but not the first letter of the first
word after a colon. e.g. Ageing and aged care in Australia
Journal and newspaper titles - capitalise first letter of each word except ‘and’, ‘of’ etc.
e.g. Journal of Educational Psychology
Article, chapter or section titles - enclose the title in single quotation marks and capitalise only the
first letter of the first word. e.g. ‘Personal resilience as a strategy for surviving and thriving in the
face of workplace adversity: a literature review’
Pronouns, acronyms and abbreviations that are normally capitalised should be capitalised in the
reference list and citations. ∎
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NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

APPLIED CHEMISTRY DEPARTMENT

TITLE, DATE and EXPERIMENT NUMBER:

RESULTS AND CALCULATIONS:

Intellectual honesty and plagiarism

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