Lab Report Format

SPECIFICATIONS FOR WRITING YOUR LAB REPORTS

Overview

After performing a lab, you will write a lab report. Writing the lab report is an exercise that should help you in several ways. It will help you make sure you understand what you did in lab, and teach the basics of scientific and technical report writing.

Your audience is mixed. You are writing for your instructor, TA, and writing consultant.

When writing for a group whose technical expertise varies, you must prepare a document that is simple enough for the non-technical reader, but not so simple that it bores the reader familiar with the subject matter. This is tricky, but you will develop the skills to accomplish this over the course of the semester.

Some reports will be written by each student individually. Others will be written by the lab group as a team. Because a group report represents all members of the team, and all members receive the same grade for the report, each group member should know what the report says and be able to discuss it.

Writing lab reports for EG will help you prepare for other kinds of report writing you will encounter during your academic career and beyond. By repeating the process over and over, you will have the opportunity to incorporate your writing consultant's corrections and suggestions into each succeeding report. By the time you get to Lab 10, you will be an expert!

Submit On Time

Lab reports are due midnight on the day before your next lab. If you have a lab on Tuesday, then your report is due online the following Monday at 11:59PM. On-time submission is essential. If reports are not submitted at the time due, they are late.

Late Reports

The TA will deduct twenty points for each week the report is late. A late report will be accepted by the TA up to two weeks after its due date. An automatic ZERO will be received after that 2-week period. There will be no exceptions.

Submit Electronic Copy

Students are required to hand in lab reports electronically via the EG Web site: [eg.poly.edu eg.poly.edu]. The Lab TAs will print two copies of the report and give one to the lab grading committee, and the other to the section's Writing Consultant. The TA grading committee grade will be based on the technical content of the report.

The other copy will go to your section's Writing Consultant. The writing consultant's grade will be based on logical report structure (following the outline provided), and correct use of standard English (paragraph and sentence structure, grammar and spelling.)

Formatting

Lab reports are to be written in a professional manner. To ensure this, students must adhere to the following formatting guidelines when authoring reports:

• Only professional fonts may be used. (i.e., Arial, Times New Roman, Cambria, Calibri)
• Reports must be written in 12-point font, and be double-spaced.
• Bulleted and numbered lists are not acceptable.

The Components of a Lab Report

As much as possible, your lab report should be one Word document or file and not a combination of different files. The report will contain the following sections:

• Title Page
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Procedures
• Data/Observations
• Discussion/Conclusions
• Original Data

The Basic Structure of Lab Reports

A Laboratory Report has the following parts:

1. Title Page
   • Lab number and title, course name and section, your name, your group member's name(s), date of experiment, a group letter (if assigned), and the due date.
2. Abstract
   • What was the experimental objective of the lab? What did you do?
   • What were the results of the lab? What did you find out? What is its significance? What does it mean?
3. Introduction
   • What was the background (or context) of the experiment?
   • What were the specifications for the experiment?
   • Include any formulas you will use here.
   • Describe any special equipment used.
   • What scientific principles were used?
4. Procedures
   • What materials were used?
   • What steps were performed in the lab? How were they done?
   • Use your lab notes, no numbered lists, past tense please.
5. Data/Observations
   • What were the measurements or the outcome of the experiment?
   • Describe the results verbally.
   • Include tables and graphs where appropriate
6. Discussion/Conclusions
   • What worked and did not work? Explain any experimental difficulties.
   • Link the discussion to your objectives.
   • What improvements (if any) can be made to the product or design?
   • Can you suggest future work?
7. Original Data
   • Must be signed by your Lab TA, otherwise you cannot receive a grade for the lab report.

Writing Consultants look for:

1. Organization and Format:
   • Is the information separated into the appropriate sections?
   • Do the sections work together?
   • Is the information in each section sufficient for its purpose?
   • Abstract: experimental objective, result
   • Introduction: context, specifications, concepts, applications, formulas
   • Procedure: materials, essential steps
   • Data/Observations: visuals graphs, charts; verbal discussion of results
   • Discussion/Conclusions: analysis of results, improvements
   • Are the lab notes attached?
   • Are tables, diagrams, and graphics used to illustrate the report? Are they labeled and clearly presented in the proper section, and are their important features explained in the text?
2. Professional, Logical, and Objective Writing Style:
   • Is the experiment described with precision? Are the appropriate scientific terms used?
   • Has the writer employed a professional writing style (no "empty" phrases, contractions, "you," slang, or jargon)?
   • Are sentences constructed to emphasize the action taken, rather than the person taking the action (avoid first-person pronouns)?
   • Has the writer organized the information appropriately into paragraphs with transitions to indicate the paragraph's relationship to the whole?
   • Does the visual format of the report help to communicate the information professionally? Is the report proofread and presented neatly?
   • Were secondary sources consulted, incorporated into the text, and cited properly?
3. Correctly Written English
   • Is the report written in complete sentences?
   • Is the word order within each sentence consistent with standard English?
   • Are singular and plural forms used correctly (agreement)?
   • Has the writer chosen the right words for his/her meaning, and spelled them correctly?
   • Has the writer chosen the correct verb tense and used it consistently?
   • Are the sentences punctuated correctly?
   • Are articles (a, an, the) used correctly?

In-depth Structure of Lab Reports

Title Page

Each lab report must have a Title Page in order to be accepted. This will make submitting the electronic copy of the report easier for the student and the lab TA. (After typing the title page, choose the Insert menu in MS Word, then choose Break and Page break.)

The Title Page must include ALL of the following:

• Lab title
• Writer/Author of the report
• Date of experiment
• Due date

• Course name and section letter
• Group members' names
• Group letter (if assigned)

Please Note: Your lab reports must be double spaced and include a footer on each page except the Title Page. Your footer must include your name, your section, the due date, and the lab number.

Abstract

The Abstract in EG is usually one paragraph long. It is a summary of your lab work and its significance. The abstract describes your objective, your results, and their significance and must always include these three elements. In other words, what you did, what you found out, and what it means.

Sample of a correct abstract, stating experimental objective and results:

In Laboratory 12, "Design Failure: Cause and Effect," the objective was to design and build a lightweight container to protect a fragile object (a raw egg) from breaking when it was dropped from the fourth floor, a distance of about 60 feet. The most successful design was defined as the one that best protected the egg while costing the least money for materials. The result was that the egg cracked on the second drop; on the positive side, our team's protective container cost only $0.15 in materials.

Sample of an incorrect opening sentence:

The objective of this lab was to learn about testing soil samples for water content.

IMPORTANT: The abstract never states what you learned; just what you did.

The Introduction is at least three paragraphs long. This section gives the reader background information on the scientific principles and concepts used in the experiment. It provides context so the reader will understand your observations and conclusions better. Sometimes, you will be asked to research the topic more fully. You are not required to cite information correctly paraphrased from the manual, but you must cite other sources at the end of your lab report. You should NEVER JUST COPY material from the manual. Here is a sample from an Introduction:

Material failure depends on the properties of specific materials and the way they are used. The most common and significant mode of failure is breakage under load. The effects of stress and strain contribute to material failure. When a force is applied to an object, internal forces in the material resist the tendency for the material to pull apart. Stress is a measure of this internal force. Strain measures the deformation, elongation or compression of the object. Engineers must take the properties and limits of each material into account when designing a product. Engineers also try to use the concept of minimal design, which means meeting the project specifications as economically as possible.

Procedure

The Procedure section is a chronological list of the steps you took to perform the lab. Use your lab notes to write this section. The Procedure section must always begin with a list of the materials you used. Use full sentences please.

Some procedure sections are in the form of a numbered list, but in EG, it must be in the continuous narrative form and be in the past tense. The continuous narrative form uses full sentences, like a story. Remember you are describing something you have already done, so the past tense is the correct choice. The key to this section is repeatability. That means that someone else, following your instructions, could successfully perform the lab.

The available materials for insulating the egg were first studied. They were: bubble wrap, cotton wrap, tape, small and large rubber bands, Styrofoam pieces, staples, plastic film wrap, and a 1.5 ft X 1.5 ft Styrofoam box. Next, possible designs were sketched, and the least expensive one was selected. The selected design used only a cardboard box, four small rubber bands, nine small pieces of Styrofoam, plastic film wrap, and less than one inch of tape.

Data/Observations

The Data/Observations section summarizes your results. It is a combination of words and visuals and should include any tables or graphs you have prepared. Visuals must be accompanied by a description, in words, of their significance. Be careful to save any explanations of your results for the conclusion. In this section, merely state your results. These questions should be answered in your Data/Observations section:

• What did you observe?
• What were the results?

The container and the egg survived the first test. However, the design failed during the second test because one rubber band snapped, and the egg was completely demolished. The holes in the sides of the box had been made to reduce the effects of impact with the ground, much the way indents in the soles of Adidas sneakers lessen the impact on surfaces for runners; however, they were a failed strategy. It was speculated that the holes ended up allowing more air to pass through the container, which resulted in greater impact as the box slammed into the ground.

Important: The Data/Observations section only states what you saw – it does not explain the reasons for the observations.

Discussion/Conclusions

Your report ends with a Discussion/Conclusions section. Here you provide an explanation of your data and analyze your results. If the lab was successful, tell why. If it failed, suggest ways to improve your design to achieve the desired results. Some of the questions posed in each lab should be answered here (some will be answered in the Introduction).

What do your observations mean? How did you evaluate your results? What recommendations would you make for the experiment? Also answer any questions that are asked at the end of the lab in the online manual may be answered here, if appropriate. Here is a sample Discussion/Conclusion:

The design failed for a number of reasons. The rubber band snapped because the fracture stress point of the rubber band was reached. The design could be improved with the use of a stronger rubber band. It was observed that the holes in the sides of the box, designed to reduce the effect of impact on the egg, may have resulted in added risk. Air resistance may have been decreased, resulting in the final smashup. The team speculated that increasing air resistance by adding "wings" to the box, or a small parachute, would have produced a better result. The design would be improved by leaving the sides of the box intact.

Original Data

The Original Data section of the report is required to receive a grade from the TA. The purpose of this section is to substantiate your findings. It also proves your attendance for the experiment. All original data must be signed by one of your laboratory TAs at the time the experiment was performed.

Summary

In summary, a good lab report is an objective account of the lab experiment or design project you have performed. The information in the report should be well organized, following the logical structure provided (Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Procedures, Observations and Conclusions.) The tone of the report should be objective and professional sounding, which means that emotional responses, humorous comments, and slang are omitted. The report should be understandable to readers such as business people who are not necessarily technical experts, as well as to other engineers or programmers. Economy of language is important. This means stating the most important points clearly. Refrain from filling the page with vague generalities or needless repetitions. Standard English and correct grammar are expected.

In Your Own Words

Lab reports must be original and unique to the individual or the group handing in the report. Simply stated, the lab report is to be written in your own words. There are two major reasons for this:

1. Educational: You will develop the skills and knowledge you need only if you do your own work. If you hand in passages copied directly from the manual or another student's paper, or downloaded from a web site, you will not learn what you need to know. Keep in mind that the author(s) of a report are expected to be able to explain the meaning of text and graphics that appear in the report.
2. Ethical: Claiming someone else's text, data or graphics as your own is called plagiarism and is a form of fraud. In academic or professional settings, this can have very serious consequences. (See Polytechnic Institute of NYU's Code of Conduct for further information.)

Correct Use of Sources

At times, you will use a source outside your own experience — for example, to give background information in the Introduction section. At these times, put the information in your own words (paraphrase), and cite your source. If you need to use a direct quotation, then indicate the quotation with quotation marks in addition to citing the source.

(See the EG1003 Online Manual for more information.)

Help with Lab Reports

Your section's Writing Consultant and your TA are available to help with any questions or problems you have. Use the comments and corrections made on your reports to improve your writing skills from week to week. Take advantage of the Writing Center (JAB 373), where trained writing consultants, are available to help you with correctly written English and with the specific requirements of lab reports. This help is available free of charge to all Poly students.

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