9/23/2024

WRITING A FORMAL LAB REPORT

❖ Lab report is detailed account of experiment, its methods, results, discussions, and
conclusions.
❖ One of the objectives of a lab report is to communicate to your reader in such a way
that the reader could understand and duplicate your work.

GENERAL TIPS
Always write in the third person (impersonal).
❖ Avoid using the words “I” or “we” when referring to the experimental procedure.
Example: “50 mL of water was boiled for 10 min” ………...correct
“I boiled 50 mL of water for 10 min,” ……….…. incorrect
Use correct verb tenses.
The general rules for verb tenses are as follows:
✓ Past Tense
❖ Past tense is used to describe work you did over the course of the report timeline. The
procedure has already been conducted, so use the past tense of the verb when referring to it:
Example: The purpose of the experiment was… The compound was weighed to 5 g…
✓ Present Tense
❖ Present tense is used to describe knowledge and facts that exist. The report, equipment, and
theory still exist, so use the present tense of the verb for them:
Example: The purpose of this report is… Bunsen burners are used…

1
 9/23/2024

GENERAL TIPS CONTINUED...

❖ Don’t copy the laboratory manual. If you are working from a lab manual, it can be used
as a helpful guideline when explaining the procedure and the purpose of the experiment;
however, you should not copy it word for word (this is plagiarism): use your own words.
❖ Write about what really happened in the experiment, not what “should” have happened.
If things did not go exactly as planned in the lab, resist the temptation to lie about the results
in the report. Instead, try to explain what might have gone wrong and suggest ways the
experiment might be improved in the future
❖ Use peer-reviewed sources for research. If background research is needed for the report,
only credible sources should be used such as online scientific and medical journals,
textbooks and encyclopedia.
❖ Organization. A standard lab report/research paper should be formatted with sections for
example: 1.0 Introduction…… 2.0 Methodology.

FORMAL LAB REPORT SECTIONS

❖ Title page
❖ Introduction
❖ Methods
❖ Results
❖ Discussion
❖ Conclusion & recommendation
❖ References
❖ Appendix

2
 9/23/2024

TITLE PAGE

❖ This section is written on a separate front page of the report

❑ It includes

1. Name of the teacher/instructor.

2. Your name and names of lab partners
3. Name of your program of study
4. Name of the course
5. Number and title of the experiment
6. Date(s) the experiment was performed
7. Date the report was due

INTRODUCTION
❖ This explains what you are trying to find or why you are doing the experiment.
❖ It includes two main categories namely; purpose/objective and background & theory.
✓ Objective / Problem / Purpose of the experiment.
❖ The objective is a concise statement that outline or explain to the reader what basic
scientific question is being addressed including the main method used to accomplish the
purpose (the objective can sometimes come before introduction as a separate section).
❖ Some key verbs that you will use in the objective might include “to investigate,” “to
plot,” “to determine,” “to measure,” or “to compare.”
Example: The purpose of the experiment was to determine the percentage by mass of
acetic acid in vinegar using acid/base titration.
✓ Background and theory pertaining to the experiment.
This talks about any prior knowledge on which the experiment is based; including
explanation of principles, theories, laws, definitions, experimental techniques/ methods,
equations used and expected results (hypothesis)

3
 9/23/2024

METHODS
This section explains how the experiment question (objective) was answered. It is
subdivided into materials (apparatus and reagents) and procedure.
✓ Materials
❖ List of all apparatus, reagents, and computer programs that were used to complete the
experiment. Drawings of the apparatus setup can as well as be included if needed.
✓ Procedure
❖ States step-by-step how the experiment was carried out in the laboratory written out in
impersonal past tense either in paragraph form or in the form of a numbered list.
Example: The temperature was taken every 2 minutes ………... correct
we are taking the temperature every 2 minutes……. incorrect
❖ Sufficient information should be provided to allow the reader to repeat the experiment in
an identical manner.
❖ For lab courses, the procedure can simply reference the lab manual, listing any changes to
the published procedure. Do not rewrite the lab manual.

RESULTS
❖ This section of the report presents a summary of what you found in an experiment.
❖ Result may consist of qualitative & quantitative data.
❑ Qualitative Results (Observations)
✓ Refers to written description and sketch of what was seen during the experiment.
❑ Quantitative Results
✓ Refers to information that can be counted or measured (given a numerical value)
Calculations
❖ Usually, only a sample of each calculation is needed to allow the reader to understand
how your data was processed (the rest of the other calculations are put in a summary
table or appear in appendix).

4
 9/23/2024

RESULTS CONTINUED
Graphics
❖ When numerous measurements have occurred, data is to be organized in graphics such as
Tables, Figures, Schemes and chemical structures.
❑ Tables are columns of measured and/or calculated values or observations.
❑ Figures: Graphs, cartoons of experimental set-up etc. intended to show an object.
❑ Schemes: reaction mechanisms, experimental flow charts etc. intended to show a
process.
❖ Each figure or table is numbered sequentially and titled properly with units expressed using
scientific notation to allow the reader to understand it without having read the text
❑ Both the Figure Number (in bold print) & heading is placed below the figure
❑ Both the Table Number (in bold print) & heading is found above the table
❖ Key to making tables and figures effective is to refer to and explain each one in the body of
the paper.

DISCUSSION
❖ This is where the results are interpreted (often results and discussion are combined)
❖ Discussion section take the form of an analysis (not just restate) of all your results
❖ You can use this section to answer any questions (in flowing prose, not simply answers
to numbered questions) presented in the manual or in class.
Here are some strategies to help focus your discussion:
❑ Compare expected results with actual results.
❖ What do the results indicate? Do the results support a model or hypothesis? Do the
results agree with what others have found?
❑ This comparison sometimes naturally leads into a discussion of possible reasons for
the discrepancies, including possible sources of systematic error and special
circumstances that may have arisen during the experiment.
❖ If the experiment did not turn out exactly as expected, think about why the results might
have been different and try to explain why you got the results you did

5
 9/23/2024

DISCUSSION CONTINUED….
❑ Analyze experimental error.
❖ There is a degree of error in every experiment, so every lab report should be specific to
mention potential causes or sources of error.
✓ Assess the quality and accuracy of your procedure. Was it due to the equipment? Impurity
of the sample? Errors in calculations?
❑ Explain how the methods could be improved.
❖ Once you have decided what might have caused error, you should explain how the error
might have been avoided.
✓ What additional experiments could help address any dangling ends?
✓ How could the setup be made more effective?
✓ Should you have been more careful with measurements?
✓ How could contamination have been prevented more effectively?
✓ Should more precise equipment be used?

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

❖ Conclusion should be clearly stated and supported with evidence.

❖ Summarize the key findings or outcomes of the experiment.
❖ Summarize reasons for any disagreement between your results and the expected results.
❖ Discuss how changes to the experimental procedure or data analysis may improve upon
your results if you were to repeat the experiment.
❖ Suggest how the experiment or your results may be improved by other techniques.

6
 9/23/2024

REFERENCES.

❖ Any information borrowed from another source which is not common knowledge,
including the lab text must be cited within the text of the report in alphabetical order in
the format suggested (APA or Harvard style).
❖ List the author(s), title of paper or book, name of journal, or publisher as appropriate,
page number(s) if appropriate and the date.
❖ If a source is included in the list of references, it must also be referred to at the
appropriate place(s) in the report.

APPENDIX.

❖ This section is on a separate final page of the report.

❖ It contains information that is required, but would be distracting from the normal flow of
the report.
❖ The information includes graphics along with lengthy calculations.
❖ If the appendix contains more than one item, each one is designated by a specific letter
(Appendix A, Appendix B, etc.) and listed in the table of contents.
❖ The appendices should appear in the order that the information is mentioned in your
report