How to Write a Lab Report

For general lab writing help including pre-lab, during lab, and post-lab work, see LabWrite

1. Title, Introduction and Purpose
2. (10 points)
   1. Your lab report should have a title that describes what it is about.
   2. You should list your name as well as your lab partners’ names – including their last names.
   3. Your introduction should summarize:
      1. what questions you were trying to answer
      2. what observations you were making
      3. what measurements you were taking
      4. what new quantities you calculated
      5. what were the general circumstances of the experiment.
3. Materials List and Set-up Diagram
4. (10 points)
   1. a list of all materials used including how many and what amount of each
   2. a well labeled diagram showing how those materials were used during the experiment
   3. Do not include common items such as calculators, notebooks, and lab partners
   4. Do not draw an item in the set up diagram if you are not showing how it is used.
5. Procedure
6. (10 points)
   1. should include a numbered, step by step description of what you did
   2. should be detailed enough that someone in a different version of the same class could use it to repeat your experiment
   3. should describe what graphs were made (if any)
   4. should mention what quantities were calculated (if any)
   5. should mention how you analyzed your data after they were collected
   6. should be written in the past tense
   7. should include any additional steps needed in the analysis questions
7. Data and calculations *
8. (10 - 20 points depending on amount of each needed)<
   1. should list qualitative observations
   2. should list or put into a table quantitative measurements and calculated values
   3. All numbers should have labeled units
   4. Key steps in all calculations should be shown using algebraic symbols
   5. One sample calculation of each type, using numbers, should be shown
9. Graphs *
10. (10 pts per necessary graph)
    1. Should have well labeled axes including both quantities and units
    2. if a line graph, should have a trendline drawn through the data and an equation of best fit.
    3. should have a brief caption explaining the circumstances under which the data were collected.
11. Analysis questions *
12. (point value varies – usually 3-5 per question)
    1. Specific questions asked in the lab instructions should be answered
13. Analysis and Conclusion
14. (15 points)
    1. should summarize your results and explain how you arrived at them
    2. should answer any question posed in your introduction and should support that answer with numbers from your data
    3. should suggest at least two possible sources of error that could not easily be corrected by doing the lab more carefully with the same equipment.

Points are totaled and re-scaled to a 50 point scale for a formal lab or a 25 point scale for a mini-lab.

*Required elements for mini-labs.