AP Biology Laboratory Notebook Policy
1. Get a bound college-ruled composition notebook with sewn-in pages.
2. Use only black pen to make all entries into the notebook. Graphs and diagrams may be
in pencil. Be careful when making entries. Incorrect entries may be lined out with
a single line only and must be labeled with initials and the date.
3. Graphs and other small sheets of paper may be pasted into your notebook when
necessary. When pasting, use a glue stick, not white glue. There should be no loose
papers in the notebook.
4. Number every page of the notebook, at the top outside corner, starting with the front side
of the first page as number 1 and the back of the first page as number 2. Continue
numbering the front and back of every page of the notebook. Do this while you watch TV
or something... but keep the counting correct!
5. Make page 1 the title page. In the middle of the page, in large bold print, write:
AP Bio Lab Notebook
Lakeland High School
(Your name here)
Class Period: ____
2012-2013
6. Make pages 2 through 5 the Table of Contents. Write "Table of Contents" at the top of
each of these pages. Record the page and title of each new project or lab in the Table of
Contents.
7. Glue the "Laboratory Notebook Policy" sheet onto the inside back cover of the
notebook. Read the policy carefully before recording information into your notebook.
8. The record of your work begins on page 6.
9. Sign and date the bottom of every page as you complete your investigations. Also, write
"go to page [number]" on the bottom right-hand side of the page to tell the reader where
the rest of the information for this topic is located in the notebook. On the page you "go
to," write "from page [number]" on the top left-hand side of the page showing the page
you came from. If you set up your notebook this way, it should be relatively easy for you
or anyone familiar with your work to find the data, observations, and conclusions about a
specific topic...even if you're working on several projects at the same time.
Adapted from "Setting Up a Legal Scientific Notebook" in Biotechnology: Science for the New
Millennium by Ellyn Daugherty as posted on MilksClass.com.