WHAT DO I PUT IN A LAB REPORT?
 
                I. Title and Date:  Make sure your title explains exactly what the lab was about
                II Purpose : What is the question you are trying to answer? 
                III. Hypothesis- State what you expect to happen. (This can be stated an an "if...then"
                      statement.)  A hypothesis ALWAYS makes a prediction.
                IV. Materials - This is a list of all supplies needed for the lab
              
                 V. Method- When publishing scientific work, an investigator must state his procedures and results in such a way that another person can repeat the procedures exactly.  You are expected to do the same.  You must state the exact material used (in biology this means the species of plant, animal, or microorganism used and the genetic strain, if it is known). You must give every step of the procedure.
               
                VI. Results- Present your data (measurements and observations) here- should be in the form of tables or graphs.  This is where you show "what" you got.  All calculations should be included here, also.  If you have a lot of raw data, summarize your data in tables in this section, and put all the raw data in the appendix.
               
                VII. Discussion- Analyze and interpret your data. DO NOT SIMPLY RESTATE YOUR DATA.  This is where you explain why you got what you did.  Include any errors you may have made and what effects they could have had on your data. Errors can be helpful in explaining any questionable results.  This should be lengthy.
               
                VIII. Conclusion- A brief summary explaining what happened and why.

                IX. Appendix- Organize all of your raw data here.
               
                X. Questions- With many labs you will be given specific questions to answer.  These must be written out, answered, and attached to the end of your lab report.


Click on the links below to find other sourses explaining how  to write a lab report.   The lab report formats may be a bit different, but the information, explanations and tips are wonderful!

RPI
NCSU- this is a tutorial
VT
ISU
CMS

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