How To Write A Lab Report printable pdf download

Instructions: How to write a lab report

You need to use these guidelines to write the report. Really, it will help!

Refer to: A Short Guide to Writing about Biology J.A. Pechenik.

Purpose:

• The purpose of a lab report is to communicate the findings of your scientific study.

• Your question, hypothesis, prediction, methods, results, and conclusions are presented

within the context of a bigger scientific topic.

• Writing a lab report helps prepare you for writing scientific journal articles. You will

write the equivalent of a scientific journal article in BI 456, an upper level research

course required for the biology major.

General notes about a lab report:

• No title page

• Paper should be STAPLED, with pages NUMBERED in right corner (double-sided copy

preferred by some professors; ask your professor).

• Include in upper right corner, single spaced: Name, Lab Section, Lab Professor

• Informative title that begins near the top of the page, not 1/3 of the way down the page.

• Paper divided into sections that are labelled: Introduction, Material and Methods,

Results, Discussion, and Literature Cited

• All sources cited in paper should be listed in Literature Cited section.

• All sources cited in Literature Cited section should be found in body of paper (ACTUALLY

CHECK THIS).

• Available on my.wartburg is the Wartburg Biology Writing Style Guide, which includes

examples of citations, numbers, and units.

General notes about writing style: Pechnik, Ch. 1, 6

• Majority of papers are written in PAST TENSE, including findings from other studies,

your methods, results, and conclusions.

o An example of something that is not written in past tense would include

statements that are common knowledge,

o such as “dogs are mammals”

• “Data” is ALWAYS a plural word.

• Pechenik, p. 115

o “Affect” is only used as a verb or action (if you can substitute the word

“influence”, use affect).

o “Effect” is often used as a noun or thing (if you can substitute the word “result”,

use effect).

• ALWAYS italicize the entire scientific name (both genus and species).

• Don’t capitalize the species in the scientific name.

• Don’t bullet point anything in the paper.

How To Write A Lab Report