Writing Lab Reports
Writing Consultant Presentation
EG 1003: Intro to Engineering and Design
NYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering
Writing Lab Reports
 Purpose of a lab report
 Format
 Available resources
Consider the writing situation
Audience: Other engineers
Purpose: Discuss
significance of
experimental
results
Engineering needs reliable knowledge
1. Use standard procedures and describe your
findings qualitatively
2. Report only the results of your specific trial,
not general ideas
3. Avoid claims that are beyond your evidence.
Analyze experiment, not yourself
Do not report what you
“learned”: your data is
not the results of a quiz!
Report whether you
reached your
experimental objective
Practice writing like a
professional
1. Write complete sentences in passive voice
2. When using graphics, label and describe
3. Do not “cut and paste” from another source,
even the Lab Manual
4. Print and proofread before you upload
5. Hand in report on time
Writing Lab Reports
 Purpose of a lab report
 Format
 Available resources
Standard format conserves effort
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Title page
Abstract
Introduction
Procedure
Data/Observations
Discussion/Conclusions
Works Cited
Logic, not time, organizes the report
Abstract
Brief trajectory of the report
Introduction
Background information to understand the
hypothesis you test in the experiment
Procedure
The steps you took to
test the hypothesis
Data/Observations
What you saw when
you used the procedure
Discussion/Conclusions
Based on the Introduction, did the Procedure
produce the expected results? What is next?
Logic, not time, organizes the report
Abstract
Brief trajectory of the report
Introduction
Summarizes
the experimental
Background information to
understand the
hypothesis you test in the
experiment
objective
(“what you did”) –
Procedure
The steps you took to
test the hypothesis
tells result and its significance
Data/Observations
What you saw when
you used the procedure
Discussion/Conclusions
Based on the Introduction, did the Procedure
produce the expected results? What is next?
Logic, not time, organizes the report
Abstract
Brief trajectory of the report
Introduction
Background information to understand the
hypothesis you test in the experiment
Procedure
Presents concepts
The steps you took to
testthat
the hypothesis
and equations
come up later
Data/Observations
What you saw when
you used the procedure
Discussion/Conclusions
Based on the Introduction, did the Procedure
produce the expected results? What is next?
Logic, not time, organizes the report
Abstract
Objective,
Brief trajectory of the report
without
Introduction
evaluation or
Allows an outsider to
Background information to understand
the
calculations
verify results
hypothesis you test in the experiment
Procedure
The steps you took to
test the hypothesis
Data/Observations
What you saw when
you used the procedure
Discussion/Conclusions
Based on the Introduction, did the Procedure
produce the expected results? What is next?
Logic, not time, organizes the report
Abstract
Brief trajectory of the report
Introduction
Background information to understand the
hypothesis you test in the experiment
Procedure
The steps you took to
test the hypothesis
Analyze and interpret
Data/Observations
how well the hypothesis
What you
sawsupported
when
was
you used the procedure
Discussion/Conclusions
Based on the Introduction, did the Procedure
produce the expected results? What is next?
Learn to excel within this format
1. Abstract: State experiment clearly, avoiding
educational goals
2. Introduction: provide important knowledge needed
to understand what should happen
3. Data/Observations: Explain what happened so well
that the report is like a movie
4. Conclusion: Analyze your data to explain close your
test came to the ideal case in the Introduction
Writing Lab Reports
 Purpose of a lab report
 Format
 Available resources
Where to find help
1. Lab Manual (http://manual.eg.poly.edu)
• “Specifications for Writing Your Lab Reports”
• “Annotated Lab Report”
2. The Writing Center (JAB 373)
• (718) 260-3425
• tutoring@poly.edu
3. Your friendly neighborhood writing consultant
Writing Lab Reports
 Purpose of a lab report
 Style and format
 Available resources