A laboratory formal report is very similar to a position or argument paper used in English. The paper begins with an understanding of the issue (purpose and theory), explains and defends a position (procedure, data, results and graphs) and then concludes the finding (summary and conclusions). During the semester you may be required to write one or more formal reports about a laboratory assignment. The paper should include all the parts listed in ONE DOCUMENT, the document should be typed and the sections with subtitles. However, the list of sections below, the MUST be included, do not need to be included in the exact order listed. The report should be a reflection of your understanding of the laboratory assignment.
Writing and presentation
Grammar, spelling and overall effectiveness of the written report is strongly counted in the total grade.
The report should have a presentation that is pleasant to look at and understand, but also it should use fonts and colors for emphasis that are easy to read and add to understanding of the purpose of the laboratory assignment.
Student Lingo is online resources that can help you prepare or complete your courses. These are several resources that might help in developing the written portions of the laboratory assignments. You will need to login to view these sessions.
These are some of the Reading & Writing Strategies that you might find useful if you use the Student Lingo resources
Pre-Writing Techniques: Planning & Idea Development
Developing A Strong Thesis Statement
Drafting Introductions, Body Paragraphs & Conclusions
The Revision Process: How To Proofread & Edit Your Writing
Reading Comprehension Strategies
Links to website resources
http://www.physics.sfsu.edu/~lzimmer/phys232/FormalReportGuide.pdf
http://www.ehow.com/how_5843452_write-formal-lab-report.html
Assessments
Examples of laboratory reports
Experiment 2 Formal Report example
Published Experimental Reports from Professional Journals
For one or more laboratory exercises, the student will be expected to the present the data and results in the form of a laboratory report. Reports are expected to be written in proper English with correct spelling. A type written report is preferred but not mandatory. An outline of a typical laboratory is as follows. The report does not always contain all parts mentioned here and the order of sections is not absolute. You should develop the report to show each of the following.
TITLE: The title of the experiment should be complete and clearly stated, the date the experiment was completed and turned in along with the name(s) of your partner(s) including their last name.
OBJECTIVE: A brief statement of the purpose or goals of the experiment. 1 to 2 sentences. What concept is the experiment designed to show or to prove?
THEORY: A brief statement of the THEORY. Explain the principle concepts of the experiment, why you are doing this work and what you expect to accomplish? The theory should include information related to the purpose or objectives of the laboratory assignment. Why are you being asked to do this work, what should you learn, what mathematical relationships are important to understand when solving for the results, what chemical reactions will be performed in the experiment and what chemicals will be used. A discussion of the safety of the laboratory assignment may also be appropriate if the chemicals to be used have potential health issues. The theory should 1 to 2 paragraphs in length. Why are we doing this lab, what will you learn
REFERENCES. References should be properly reported for all sources used to include books, articles, Internet, etc.
PROCEDURE: A brief overview of the procedure written in paragraph form, not a list of actions. This is not to be a rewrite of the procedure given in the laboratory manual but a condensed version of the procedure with sufficient detail so that an individual could use this information to repeat the lab. Information about amounts and names of chemicals used, special techniques or equipment should be explained. Ordinary procedures such as how to design a boiling water bath should not be included. The procedure should be 1 to 3 paragraphs in length. How will this experiment be completed?
DATA, RESULTS AND GRAPHS
EXPERIMENTAL DATA and/or OBSERVATIONS: These should be neatly written and placed in tables when appropriate. Short headings should describe the type of data collected and the units should be clearly indicated for each measurement.
RESULTS: A summary of the calculated results from your work should be tabulated with short descriptive headings with correct units.
Recording and presenting data and results: http://www.dbooth.net/mhs/common/datarules.html
SAMPLE CALCULATIONS: Any formulas used should be given, all symbols defined, numerical data substituted, and the final answer written down including units. This should be done once for each formula used within the laboratory write up.
Rules for showing calculations: http://www.dbooth.net/mhs/common/calculations.html
Calculations should be presented in the following format:
Title or description of the calculation
Equation of the calculation: description of each variable
A statement of where the numbers can be found in the list of data
The numbers placed in the equation with proper significant figures and units
The correct answer with proper significant figures and units.
GRAPHS: The graph paper you use should be acceptable scientific quality (at least 10 lines per inch, more is better), the scale should be appropriate for the data graphed, the axis clearly labeled with headings and units, a title should clearly state the experiment, the dependent and independent variables. Any figures or graphs should contain a caption explaining the concept or idea be shown in the figure or graph
It is appropriate to put data, results, graphs and calculations together in such a way that the presentation of your work is logical to both you and the reader of the report. If one table can be used to show both data and results, this is acceptable. If there are several parts to the organization of the data/results and graphs, then consider organizing the report by the part and possibly write a summary of the findings for this information.
CONCLUSIONS and/or DISCUSSION: Conclusions should be brief, 1 to 2 paragraphs, well written statements that explain or interpret your results. What is needed is a thoughtful, honest discussion of what took place, the data or evidence that you obtained and the conclusions that you draw. What did you hope to learn from this activity (look at your purpose statement)? Did the data support or not support the theory? Why is this laboratory technique important to science in general? A thoughtful understanding of how this assignment is used not just for this class but could be used in other science courses or in "real" life is essential to you understanding of the experiment.
UNCERTAINTIES and ERRORS. A statement of where the uncertainties or errors are most likely to be present, how accurate (compared to a book value, % error) and how precise (averages, standard deviations) are your measurements. Human error is a given and NEVER considered to be an important error. Determine were the most likely problems occurred with the equipment used or the procedure.
The two previous parts can also often be written together. The RERUN method of concluding and explaining your work may be of use.
RERUNS: Post Laboratory writing assignment - conclusion paragraph.
R- recall the purpose why did we do this lab?
E- examine the experiment what did we do?
R- remember the results what happened?
U- understand where the errors occur what things could and did cause errors in your results? (errors in calculations are not acceptable, errors in readings or measurements or equipment failures are acceptable) - human errors are a given. see the description for uncertainties and errors.
N- note the concepts what did we learn in the end? what is the meaning of the results? what is the connection to the purpose of the experiment?
S - Science why or how is this technique/information used in science generally, not just for this lab