Mrs. Fran Jiménez
Advanced Physical Science
September 14, 2015
fjimenez@sfponline.org
Guidelines for Writing a Lab Report
General Guidelines
1- Reports must be typed with no exception, printed out, stapled and turned in on time in
person and also submitted electronically using Turnitin.com (TBD for first report).
2- Reports must have 1” margins and use Times New Roman 12 pt. font.
3- The format of the report is very important. It is basically modeled for you below,
including how to label each section, when to bold, when to underline, when to use colons,
when to use single-spacing, when to use double-spacing, when to use different verb
tenses, etc. Please don’t ignore these seemingly small details; they are important for your
grade. I have used all single-spacing in order to save space; please don’t model it!
4- Spelling and grammar count in your overall grade for the lab report. It is my goal that
you become better writers, more specifically better scientific writers. Scientific writing
must be concise, free of flowery language, and particularly conscious of clarity.
Therefore, sentence fragments and misplaced modifiers are problematic in a lab report.
5 - The entire report should be written in passive voice which is often most appropriate for
scientific writing. This means no personal pronouns (no I, we, you, they, me, us, etc.)
This is typically the opposite of good writing as it is taught to you in English class.
Science is special!! 
5- No information may be shared between any two members of the class except for the
information that is contained in the lab notebook from the actual exercise. This includes
absentees. Nothing about the report may be shared. Even if results are the same, every
student must make his/her own tables and graphs. Even though background sections may
contain similar information, it may not resemble the language of another student in any
way. You are not to share sources with each other either. Part of the learning process is
to do your own research. Another student should never see any portion your typed lab
report or hand made graph unless instructed to share by the teacher.
Title and Personal Info
(DO NOT LABEL THIS SECTION- START AT THE TOP LEFT OF THE FIRST PAGE)
Must contain the following information: Title in Bold and Larger Font, your name, then
partners’ names, teacher’s name and date of the activity. SINGLE SPACE ALL THIS INFO
PLEASE!!
The Effects of Light Color on Photosynthetic Rate
Susan Smith
Lab Partners: Bob Builder and Spongebob Squarepants
Instructor: Mrs. Fran Jiménez
Activity Date: March 16, 2014
Introduction
Label this section as above in bold, no underline, no colon. This is a major part of the lab
report. Start double spacing in this section. Much of this section could be written before the
experiment is performed and, in some cases, you will be assigned to complete this part of the
report in advance of the experiment. This entire section is double-spaced and organized into
clear paragraphs like an essay. I will most often give you a list of topics that must be addressed.
This is to give you a jumping off point. It should not be treated as a strict outline, but you should
be aware that if something is on my list, then it had better appear in your reports.
This section should be as if you are giving us all of the relevant background that is
needed to understand the lab activity. Much of this section can come from your class notes and
the discussion we have before the lab is begun. However, you will also be required to use your
textbooks, and more importantly outside resources and reliable internet sources. All important
vocabulary words should be in this section. All important theories, rules, and processes should
be discussed. All important scientists should be discussed that are relevant to the material of this
investigation. In general, the background should be divided into logical paragraphs and include
transitions just as you would for an English essay.
The introduction should end with a paragraph that has at least one and maybe more than
one objective for the investigation. The hypothesis should also be given in this paragraph. The
hypothesis should indicate what was expected to happen and reiterate why, based on the
background given previously. (In some cases a hypothesis will not be appropriate for a given
exercise but you will be told this in advance.)
Keep in mind that although this section must be in your own words, it is not so much
your original thoughts as it is a summary of others’ ideas. You may not copy exactly what is
written in a text or on the internet or else it is considered plagiarism. In this introduction
section, there should be some in-text citations in APA style (to be discussed later) indicating
information that has been either quoted or paraphrased or even just supports what you have
written. Often, if all information in a given paragraph is from the same source, you can just cite
once at the end of a paragraph. If you have used your class notes, great, BUT be sure to find an
additional reputable source that confirms that information as truth and cite that source as you
should not be quoting class notes.
Materials and Methods
Label this section. In this portion of the report, you should describe the steps taken to
accomplish the experiment in a manner such that your steps could be used by someone else to
repeat this experiment. Most often, you will have been given steps to follow and you can re-type
these steps almost word for word as long as you add and tweak the steps to be sure that they
follow exactly what you did. For example, the procedure may have said to use either a 200 or a
250 mL flask. You should actually indicate which size you used rather than give the choice in
the report. If an error was made that you needed to correct, it must be included as well in this
section.
You must make sure that it is in paragraph form and in past tense as opposed to steps that
may have been given to you on your handout. It must be accurate and you must change it to
include any additions or modifications that took place in lab that day. You must have several
paragraphs in this section, starting a new one each time you feel that a new phase of the
experiment was started. DO NOT LIST THE MATERIALS!!
Results
Label this section. At this level, this section is often all tables and figures as opposed to
having written paragraphs.
There are rules and conventions for creating tables and figures. Nothing in a lab report is
called a chart, a picture, or a graph. Your only two choices are table or figure.
Tables are used to organize your data and observations. They must have titles and each
column and row of the table must be labeled appropriately. Units must appear if the numbers in
your table need units to be clear and correct. Tables should be titled at the top as follows: Table
#1. Results from the Addition of Sodium Chloride as an example. A second table would be
Table #2...” with an appropriate title and so on. Tables must be created in a word processing
program with visible lines for columns and rows. MSWord is sometimes easier for students to
use than MSExcel.
Figures are the more appropriate name for pictures or for graphs. If it is a picture, it
should be labeled with a title relevant to what the picture shows. They must be done on blank,
white, computer paper. It may be necessary to show colors if the colors were relevant to the lab
experiment. You will be given instructions about color during specific lab periods. Figures
should be titled as follows: Figure #1. A Sedimentary Rock When Cleaved for example.
If the figure is a graph, it must be done neatly on graphing paper unless other instructions
are given. Computer generated graphs are typically not acceptable (unless told otherwise),
because graphs must be done by hand on every Regents exam so this is our chance to practice.
Official graphing rules must be followed, which will be reviewed in class and posted on the class
website. These include using a title, axes titles, appropriately scaled axes, correct plotting, and a
key if necessary to differentiate between more than one set of data. Graph titles should also
begin: Figure #2. The Effects of Varying Sunlight on Plant Growth for example. The
numbering system is not connected to the numbering of the tables that may have come prior.
Tables are tables and figures are figures.
Even though some professionally formatted reports include captions at the bottom of each
table or figure, we will not be using them since the level of our work does not necessitate them.
It will only lead to redundancy within your report.
Calculations
This sub-section of results should be sub-labeled with underline and no bold. It may not
appear in every report, only in those in which calculations are necessary to obtain meaningful
results. Calculations must be in a strict 3-step format. This format will be taught in class. They
may be typed, but in consideration that math is sometimes annoying to do on the computer, they
may be done by hand, neatly, on looseleaf paper or computer paper and appropriately labeled.
Discussion
This major section should be labeled. This section should summarize the trends found in
the results section. It should use results to explain how the objective(s) was met and if
appropriate to the lab, the results should also be used here to say if the hypothesis was correct.
Theory from the introduction should be used to explain WHY results were obtained. If a result
was obtained but it is NOT supported by intro theory, then you will need to state that the results
were unexpected and most likely because of error.
An important part of the discussion section is the inclusion of possible error sources. It
may work best to discuss these sources as you discuss why you got your results. If you wait until
the end of the section, you often wind up sounding repetitive or failing to connect possible error
sources to the specific results. There is always a bit of error or at least the possibility of error, so
always discuss possible sources well. DO NOT simply say that “students should be more careful
next time” of that “the measurements could have been made carelessly.”  Students often do a
very poor job with error discussion. Once you state a possible error source, force yourself to
explain how it could have specifically impacted the results. You wouldn’t want to say “One
error source could have been air conditioning wind in the room, making our results inaccurate.”
Instead you want to say “There was an observed wind coming from air conditioning in the lab.
This wind could have caused resistance when the cars were rolled, resulting in lower velocities
than expected. This could account for the percent error observed for car velocities in this lab.”
References
By your first report, I will have posted an online link to help you to appropriately
reference different sources. Science uses APA rules so these are the ones I would like you to
learn. English uses MLA rules so please don’t reference the same for lab reports as you would
for English essays. You will need to cite in-text (Hammond & Shire, 2006) in the introduction
section and also cite at the end of the report in a references section. For the references at the end,
you should list all sources that you consulted in order to complete the report. Every report must
have at least one source, and your text can often be one of a couple of sources. You need at least
one source in order to verify the theory in your class notes. No Wikipedia can be directly
references, but you may be able to use the original references from a Wikipedia site to find a
reputable website.
General guidelines for a References Section:
1 – The title of the section is: References
Then skip a couple line.
2 – List the references in alphabetical order according to what comes first be that author or title.
3 – Numbering them is optional but generally not done for APA.
4 – Indent the opposite way that you would a paragraph. You’ll have to press enter in order for
the computer to allow you to use tab properly. Example below:
Reference references references references references references references references references
references references references references references references references references
references references
Appendix
It would be best if your graphs were cut out and neatly pasted or inserted onto the
computer paper of your reports in the appropriate sections, but if that proves difficult, graphs or
any other addition like ipad pictures or calculations, may be put in an appendix in the back of the
report. In the body of the report, where they belong, it should say its title and then the
corresponding appendix. For example…. Figure #1. Effects of Sunlight on Plant Growth
(Appendix A). The same is true for calculations in the format as illustrated above for those.
Tables should not be appended since they work nicely into the body of the report.
Then be sure to label the top of each extra sheet with the word ‘Appendix” You might
have multiple appendices - Appendix A might be graphs and then Appendix B is Calculations.
HINTS AND REMINDERS OF SOME COMMON ERRORS
1 – Work on your writing!! You must have transitions and logical flow of ideas and paragraphs.
Grammar must be correct as well as spelling. Common errors that must be avoided:
EFFECT is a NOUN. AFFECT = VERB (usually, but always for your purposes)
“The effects of the sunlight were observed.” “Sunlight affects plants.”
Its = possessive. It’s is a contraction for it is. There should not be ANY contractions in the
report. It is considered poor unprofessional writing.
“THAN” is a comparison. “THEN” indicates sequence. “The red plant was taller than
the green plant.” “Then, the mixture was stirred for three hours.”
2 –Most of the report is double spaced. (Title section is single spaced and the tables themselves
can be whatever spacing is convenient to get them a good and appropriate size.)
3 – No personal pronouns. These include but are not limited to: I, me, my, us, our, you, yours,
he, she. One of the worst and most unprofessional phrases you can use is: “as you can see.”
The proper scientific way to write in lab reports is to use passive voice – “It can be concluded
that the sunlight benefited the plants” or “The flask was heated on the Bunsen Burner for ten
minutes.” Avoid “I heated the flask on the Bunsen Burner for ten minutes” and even “The
experimenter heated the Bunsen Burner for ten minutes.” These last two are unprofessional
writing styles for science.
4 – Bold, no underline, no colon, start a new line (NOT A NEW PAGE) for text for major
headings. (It is basically modeled in these guidelines.)
5 – Each section flows into the next. If you don’t want to split up a table, or if you want to insert
a figure immediately next, you may leave a bit of empty space on the prior page.
6 – Don’t forget to refer to tables and figures by number when in your discussion section. (“As
indicated in Figure #1, the temperature rose when the volume decreased.”)
7 – Every table and every figure must have a FULL title as modeled in the guidelines above.
8 – Cite Cite Cite! Remember to use parenthetical ones in your introduction and full references
at the end references section – all in APA style strictly followed.
9 – Never turn in a report without checking everything against these guidelines and then also
with any additional more specific guidelines that might be given to you for the lab. If I have
mentioned something in these guidelines and you violate it, there will be a severe grade
deduction. It will take everyone a while to get the hang of what to write. However, careful
reading and responsibility should have you avoid ALL formatting issues even on the first report.
If you have any questions, please email me or come for extra help.
Please sign and detach below
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------I have read these guidelines thoroughly and understand that these guidelines must be used in
order to complete every lab report in conjunction with more additional guidelines given for each
lab exercise.
-----------------------------------Student signature
PRINTED STUDENT NAME:
-----------------------------------Parent signature
Mrs. Jiménez’s APA QUICK REFERENCE GUIDE
Examples of proper in-text citation for articles, textbooks, websites, and books:
One author
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (Grech, 2007).
Then you either continue writing your paragraph or start the next paragraph accordingly. Note
that the first initial/first name of the author is NOT INCLUDED IN TEXT.
Two authors
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (Grech & Loeser,
2007). Then you either continue writing your paragraph or start the next paragraph
accordingly. Note the use of the & rather than “and.” This is mandatory for APA.
Between three and five authors
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (Grech, Loeser,
Kunk, Freeman, & Portsy, 2007).
More than five authors
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (Grech et al., 2007).
Then you either continue writing your paragraph or start the next paragraph accordingly. Note
the exact format of the et al. Note the proper punctuation and capitalization surrounding it.
No author can be found (Look hard before deciding this!)
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (“Story of the Brown
Fox,” 2007). The title at the top of the webpage has been substituted for the author’s name.
This should be the specific title of the document, not the general homepage name, nor should you
ever give the url (www.) address here. Also notice that the comma is inside the quotes.
No date can be found (Look hard before deciding this!)
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (Grech, n.d). n.d.
has been substituted for the date as it means “no date.”
No author nor date can be found (Look hard before deciding this!)
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. He did so in 1943 (“Story of the Brown
Fox,” n.d.). The title at the top of the webpage has been substituted for the author’s name. This
should be the specific title of the document, not the general homepage name, nor should you ever
give the url (www.) address here. n.d. has been substituted for the date.
Examples of end of report References section:
*For textbooks or any other book really, it follows this format:
Author Last Name, Author First Initial. (Year). Title with only the first word and proper names
capitalized and italicized. Location: Publisher.
Example:
Grech, L. & Kursch, J. (2007). The World of Physics. Washington, D.C.: Prentice Hall.
*For articles, it follows the basic format of:
Author Last Name, Author First Initial. (Year). Title with only the first word and proper names
capitalized. Publisher in italics, volume # in italics, page numbers.
One author
Grech, L. (2007). Knowing about the quick brown fox. Science Magazine, 17, 23-32.
Two authors
Grech, L. & Kursch, J. (2007). Knowing about the quick brown fox. Science
Magazine, 17, 23-32.
More than six authors
Grech, L., et al. (2007). Knowing about the quick brown fox. Science Magazine, 17, 2332.
*Online documents (These can be very tricky depending on the source.) Use the class homepage link for more
detailed, specific ways to cite different online sources. Generally, titles of the page are italicized, unless there is no
author. When no author, bigger source names or authoring foundation would be italicized in place of the title in
these cases. See the examples below. Be sure to give the retrieval date and the website as modeled below.
Online document with an author and a date
Grech, L. (2007). Knowing about the quick brown fox. Retrieved September 20, 2015
from http://www.foxworld.com.
Online document with no author
Knowing about the quick brown fox. (2007). In Chemical Heritage Society. Retrieved
September 20, 2015 from from http://www.chemicalheritage/fox
Online document with no author or date
Knowing about the quick brown fox. (n.d). In Chemical Heritage Society. Retrieved
September 20, 2015 from http://www.chemicalheritage/fox
General guidelines for a References Page
1 – The title of the section is: References
Then skip a couple line.
2 – List the references in alphabetical order according to what comes first.
3 – Do not number them.
4 – Indent the opposite way that you would a paragraph. See below.
Grech, L. (2007). Knowing about the quick brown fox. Retrieved September 20, 2015 from
http://www.foxworld.com. If need be continue typing and then even the next line is
indented as well. Only the first line is flushed all the way to the left.
5 – References are double spaced between them, but single-spaced within them. See below.
Knowing about the quick brown fox. (2007). In Chemical Heritage Society. Retrieved
from http://www.chemicalheritage/fox
Knowing about the quick brown fox. (n.d). In Chemical Heritage Society. Retrieved
from http://www.chemicalheritage/fox