Lab Report Guide Directions
Write a lab report for this lesson’s lab. Be sure that your report:  includes all major elements of a lab report.
 meets your teacher’s content and format expectations.  is clearly organized and formatted.
 demonstrates strong scientific reasoning and writing.
While writing, you can revisit previous parts of the lesson by returning to the course map. Be sure to refer to the lab’s student guide, which you can find on the first page of the lab experiment activity. You may also find it helpful to refer to the remaining pages of this guide, which provide general guidelines for writing lab reports.
You can upload your completed report with the upload tool in formats such as OpenOffice. org, Microsoft Word, or PDF. Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to turn in a paper copy of your report or to use a web-based writing tool.
Lab Report Checklist Introduction
 Did you title your lab report?
 Did you state the purpose of the experiment?
 Did you state the question you posed before the experiment?
 Did you restate the hypothesis (or prediction) you formulated before the experiment?
 Did you list all variables and label the independent and dependent variables? Did you indicate any controlled variables?
Materials and Procedure
 Did you make a list of materials? Did you include quantities and SI units?
 Did you present the steps of the procedure as a numbered list? Did you note any changes to the original procedure?
 Did you identify your experimental and control groups?
Data Collection and Organization
 Did you organize all data in a clearly labeled table and/or graph?
 Did you check that your data is accurate and complete?
 Did you title any tables and graphs? Did you label rows, columns, axes, etc., and include units?
Analysis and Conclusion
 Did you interpret your data and graphs in the analysis rather than just restate your findings?
 Did you determine whether your data supported or refuted the hypothesis?
 Did you describe possible sources of errors?
 Did you suggest ways to improve or further your
lab investigation?
Overall
 Did you make sure that your writing is precise, unbiased, and concise?
 Did you meet your teacher’s content and format expectations?

Overview
The Purpose of Lab Reports
When scientists make discoveries, they write reports to share their discoveries with the world. Likewise, after you complete an experiment, you can write a report to share what you discovered.
Writing a lab report is an important skill because it helps you demonstrate what you learned in a science experiment. It also helps you practice writing accurately and clearly about technical things—a skill that is valuable in the real world.
This guide describes the format and style of lab reports. It has many tips that will help you write stronger lab reports. Use it as a reference throughout your science studies.
Lab Report Format
Although the format of lab reports varies somewhat, it typically includes all of the following components in the order shown.
Science Writing Style
Science writing is different from other styles of writing you may be familiar with, such as persuasive writing and narrative writing. As with all types of writing, science writing has its own style; it is both precise and objective.
Science writing is precise. Be concise, but use descriptive language and specific details to help readers “see” what you observed. For example, a student who observes the presence of bubbles in a liquid during an experiment may write “The liquid had bubbles.” This sentence is concise, but it doesn’t tell the reader what kind of bubbles the student saw. Two precise alternatives follow:
 “The liquid had small bubbles—the size usually seen in soda.”
 “The liquid produced bubbles the size of grapes or marbles.”
Science writing is objective. Avoid bias and subjective descriptions such as “The liquid had huge bubbles.” Also, use the third-person voice and avoid personal pronouns such as I, we, you, he, she, and they. This will allow readers to focus on the scientific topic without being distracted by thinking about the person who did the work.