Part IIA Laboratory Reports and Full Technical Reports (FTRs)
Laboratory Records
Bring your own laboratory notebook to every experiment, and record all the readings, observations and
calculations that you make, at the time. Do not use loose sheets of paper, these can easily be misplaced. Start on
a new page for each experiment performed, and follow good professional practice by giving a title and date.
Record data in tabular form and make sure that the column headings show the quantity measured and the units
used. Decide on how many columns you need and set out the table before you start taking readings. Plot graphs
as the experiment proceeds so that serious divergence from the expected behaviour can be checked there and
then. Label the axes of the graphs and, where possible, indicate the accuracy of the data points on the graph.
Laboratory Reports and Full Technical Reports
Complete the module coursework / FTR coversheet, but also include on the first page of the report the module
code and title of the experiment / FTR, followed by your name and college. You should also read and absorb
the note on the marking schemes on the reverse of the coversheets, before writing your first lab report / FTR.
First read the instructions on the report in the lab / FTR handout. If the handout defines a required
structure, then this takes priority over generic guidance such as the common report structure below. At Part II
level you will be expected to develop the structure of a report for yourself, to some extent. If the report format
is left open-ended, the following generic framework provides a starting point for organizing your writing:
Summary. This is a brief resumé of what you have done, why you have done it, and what you have concluded,
in not much more than 100 words. The summary appears on the title page; leave space for it and write it after
you have written the rest.
Introduction, Experimental Work, and Theory. In Part IIA Laboratory Reports and FTRs these are primarily
covered in the lab handouts, so be very concise in outlining this content, including the handout as an Appendix
to the report for reference.
Results, Observations and Calculations. This section will contain your readings and measurements – the raw
data – followed by the calculations you perform using the data and the results obtained by calculation. Only the
general method need be covered in the body of the report, with perhaps one specimen calculation. Details of
the calculation method (e.g. computer program listings, equations or annotated graphs from which data were
read) should go into an Appendix. When there is a large amount of data it can be put into tables in an
Appendix to the report, or you may refer to the relevant table in your laboratory record (annotating each Tables
with a clear number and caption, so that you can refer to them in the text). Numerical data are often best
displayed graphically, again using clear figure numbering and captions. Comment on the accuracy to which the
observations have been made and the consequential uncertainty in any derived results. You may wish to make
use of spreadsheet and plotting software to display your data, but there is no obligation to do so and neat handdrawn graphs, figures and formulae are quite acceptable.
Discussion. It is often (though not always) good practice to separate the presentation of results from the
discussion of their significance, and any comparison between what was predicted and what was actually
measured. In some cases, the handout may prompt you to treat the results and discussion together, which is
sometimes preferable. The handouts may also ask you to address specific questions in the Discussion.
Conclusions. Your report should end with your conclusions, a concise summary of the basic findings of the
experiment. It is often a good idea to number your conclusions (or use bullet points). Be careful not to include
material which is ‘discussion’ and should have been included in the previous section – nothing should appear
for the first time in the Conclusions. And do not include as conclusions any statements which, while true,
cannot rightly be seen as conclusions which can be drawn from your report.
References. Further reading is always a good idea, but may not specifically be required for a lab report or FTR.
Include a list of references to any specific papers, books or lecture notes used to justify points in your
Discussion. Even in short reports it is best to include references explicitly by numbering their appearance
consecutively in the text [1], [2] with the full reference listed in a section following the Conclusions. A generic
list of related literature without specific links to your report is a Bibliography, and adds little in this context.
For further advice on referencing (including formats), see the section in the online Guide to Report Writing.
Units, symbols and abbreviations. Use standard SI abbreviations and conventions for writing units. Symbols
are conveniently used when a theory is expressed mathematically, but it is not uncommon for symbols to be
used elsewhere as well, e.g. in diagrams referring to the apparatus etc. Make certain the same symbol or letter
is not used twice for different purposes. If you use a lot of symbols, you should list them with their meaning in
a section at the start entitled ‘Nomenclature’ for easy reference.