LABORATORY REPORT FORMAT

A Laboratory Report is a detailed account of an experiment, its methods, results, and conclusions
which answer a question.

Over the course of several hundred years, the standard IMRD format of the scientific paper was adopted
as a standard. By the 1970s, nearly all academic journals required this standard for scientific
experimental reporting. The basic outline is shown below.

The report revolves around the solving of a specific question, described in the introduction and
answered in the discussion.
Laboratory Report

INTRODUCTION METHOD RESULTS DISCUSSION

What and Why How What you found What it means

1. Title
2. Abstract
3. Table of Contents
 Background / Theory In this section, you describe what
 Purpose you are trying to find and why.
4. Introduction  Governing Equations Background and motivation are
 Discovery Question (DQ) used to provide the reader with a
reason to read the report.
 Experiment Overview In this section, you explain how
 Apparatus question addressed is answered.
5. Methods
 Equipment Table Clearly explain your work so it
 Procedures could be repeated.
 Narrate (like a story) In this section, you present the
 Tables and Graphs results of your experiment. Tables,
 Equations in Variable Form graphs, and equations are used to
6. Results  Uncertainties summarize the results. Link
 Units! equations and visuals together with
 Indicate Final Results narrative, like a story. Remember
your audience.
 Answer DQ In this section, you explain and
 Theoretical Comparison interpret your results. Insert your
 Explanation of Anomalies / opinion, backed by results. Discuss
7. Discussion Error issues you had and how this could
 Conclusion / Summary be corrected in the future.
 Future Work The conclusion is a summary of
your results and discussion.
8. References 
9. Appendixes – Raw Data, Sample Calcs, Lab Notebook, etc.

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Title Page
– Write the Name of your University, School, Department, Subject Name then Identify yourself
and your partner/s, write you ID number, Date of Performing the experiment, Date of
Submitting the report.

Abstract
– The abstract’s purpose is to summarize the information contained in the report for someone
who doesn’t have the time or resources to read it. It’s inclusion as a report “section” is slightly
misleading. In many ways, the abstract is a document all on its own; it includes all the same
parts of your report and its major findings.

Quantitative results and their uncertainties should be included when possible. It must contain
parts from each major section of your report. Many times, this is the only thing anyone will read
about your report. It should be no more than 400 words. This is not a “teaser.”

Table of Contents
– The table of contents’ purpose is to allow the reader to easily find information. It also informs
the reader about the report’s organization. List page numbers with descriptive titles for the
sections. This should be its own page.

Introduction/General Information
– This explains what and why you are doing the experiment. It should show necessity for the
experiment through theory and past work.
– Based on your text books, write about the subject of the experiment, an introduction has been
already included so you may either add to it or you can write a new one. You need to paraphrase
any material you take from the manual.

Purpose/ Objective
This gives the objective of the Experiment. What concept or skill was highlighted by this
Experiment? Ask yourself “Why did we do this activity? What was I supposed to learn or
practice?" Sometimes the purpose can be stated in one sentence. Other times it may be
necessary to add some extra information to narrow the scope of the activity.

Methods
– This section explains how the report question above was answered. After reading this section,
the reader should be able to completely reproduce the experiment to verify the results.

– This should be a sentence or two that lists the materials that were needed to carry out this
activity. This could also be in the form of a table.

Procedure
This is probably one of the most difficult parts of the report for the beginner. Most of the writing
you have done up to this point has included a lot of descriptive language. Technical writing is
very "cut and dried" by comparison. All you are trying to convey is a mental picture of what you
did. Ordinal phrases are not necessary. The order of events is conveyed by the sentence order
in the description. Remember that your audience should be able to repeat your procedure if
they wish to do so. Write your description of what was done so that the reader can visualize the
set-up. Be sure to include reference to any equipment that you used (The mass was taken on a
balance.) A diagram or picture of the apparatus may be helpful but should not replace a good
verbal description. Be very specific in your instructions. Emotions (This was hard. or this was
fun.) are not necessary and detract from the purpose of this section.

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Discussion
– In this section, the results are interpreted. Describe the why you think the data turned out like
it did. Insert your scientific opinion in this section.

Observations & Data

This section should include only those things that you saw, heard, touched, or smelled (taste is
out since we never taste anything in a science lab). This includes both quantitative (numerical)
and qualitative (sensual, not emotional) observations. Quantitative observations are best
presented in data tables. Qualitative observations may be organized in table form or paragraph
form.

The goal of this section is to present the data that was collected in the activity in a clear and
easily understood format. Units are necessary for any measurement. If you are unsure about
whether something should be included in the data section, ask yourself "How did I get this piece
of information? What instrument did I use to collect this information?" If you are giving a value
that you did not measure directly (such as density) it should not be included as data.

Analysis of Data/ Results

This is the section where you will show any calculations that you made using the data you
collected. Give the formula you will use for each type of calculation. You should show which
measurements you are plugging into each calculation and then show the solution. Once you
have shown a sample calculation, you may use a data table to show other calculated
values of the same type. This is also the appropriate place to explain how the measurements
relate to each other. This is the proper place to discuss anything that happened during the
activity that may have affected your measurements.

You should also, mention the sources of error, and their effect on the results that were attained
during the experiment.

Conclusions
This is the section of your report where you discuss how the purpose of the activity relates to
the analysis of your data. In other words, what did you learn? Stick to the facts; do not comment
on whether or not you enjoyed the activity. Be specific in your statements. If the results of the
activity were not satisfactory, suggest how the activity could be improved to give better data.
Did the activity raise questions that cannot be answered with the data you collected? This is the
place to mention them. Remember, conclusions are connections that are not obvious on the
surface.

References
– The final section of your report tells the reader where to find any of the sources of information
you used in your report. In the body of your report (particularly in the Discussion section), you
may have mentioned other texts. Each of these references should be numbered consecutively
within the text as superscripts. At the end your report, after the Conclusion, include a complete
reference list, in numerical order, of the sources used. The reader can use this list to follow up
or check out any source you mentioned or to do additional reading.
– Use APA Citation Style – Quick Guide, 6th edition

Appendices
– The appendix should contain information that is required, but would be distracting from the
normal flow of the report. This might be raw data, lab notebook pages, regression summaries,
or sample calculations.

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As you are writing, pay close attention to your style. The personalities of you and your lab partners (if
you have any) are not important to the report. In scientific papers, facts and interpretation of facts
count more than personalities, so the depersonalized writing known as "scientific" or "academic" is
most appropriate to your lab report. What are the common elements of this style?

 Past Tense. This document uses past tense. As a rule of thumb, past tense is used to describe
work you did over the course of the report timeline.

 Present Tense. This report uses present tense. As a rule of thumb, present tense is used to
describe knowledge and facts that were known before you started.

 Use the third person and passive voice. In a sense, you are telling a story; in another sense,
you are providing directions. Rather than telling a story or writing a recipe, you must describe
what you did. At the same time, keep the personal element out of the report. For example:
write: The solution was filtered.
not: I (we) filtered the solution.
not: Filter the solution.

 Be as accurate and specific as possible. Successful scientific description requires exact detail.

Note: The style used in scientific reports is quite different from that required for an English paper. It is
important that you understand and get used to using different writing styles appropriately.