Email Susan Connell connell.luvs.bio@gmail.com for the electronic
version to edit and personalize for your own class!
WHAT SHOULD A LAB REPORT INCLUDE?
TITLE PAGE: This is the very first page your lab report. It is where you put the title
of the lab, your name, the course/class you are taking, the instructor’s name, and the
due date.
Sample Title Page Layout
The Effect of Temperature on Enzyme Activity
Student’s Name
Biology – Block 2
Ms. Connell
October 15, 2009
INTRODUCTION/ABSTRACT: The second page of your lab report begins with the
introduction section. This section of the report is where you give your reader:
a. Background information on the scientific concepts studied in the experiment.
For example, if you performed an experiment where you were studying the effect of
temperature on enzyme activity, the introduction is where you explain what an enzyme
is and how it works. Any information you found during your research should be cited in
this section. Explain any common methods you used during the experiment, such as the
procedure for a titration. Also include any chemicals you used during the lab and
indicate what they were used for.
b. The purpose of the lab. One or two sentences explaining why you are doing
the lab or what you are trying to find by doing the lab.
c. Your hypothesis. This should always be written in an If… then statement.
For example, “If temperature is increased, then enzyme activity will increase.”
MATERIALS: This section includes a list of all the materials used to complete the lab.
This includes equipment, glassware, chemicals, lab safety equipment etc. The list
should be written in such a way as to conserve paper. 
Sample Introduction, Materials & Procedure Layout
Introduction:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Materials:
- balance
- substrate
- goggles
- beaker
- pipette
- enzyme
- test tube
- graduated cylinder - H2O
Procedure:
1. Obtain the needed materials and put on
safety goggles.
2. Find the mass of 40mL of water.
3. Find the volume of 40mL of water.
PROCEDURE: This section should include the exact steps used to complete the
experiment.
RESULTS/DATA COLLECTION: This portion of the lab includes all of the data
collected during the experiment. The data should be organized into tables.
Additionally a graph of the data should be constructed. Be sure any graphs are
appropriately labeled with a title and have correctly labeled axes. All graphs and
tables should be centered on the page and should not have half of the table on one
page and the other half on the next page!
Sample Results page
Data Table #1: Enzyme Activity at Different Temperatures
20C
40C
1 min
3mL
8mL
2min
3min
3.5mL 3.8mL
10mL 17mL
4min
4mL
25mL
Graph #1
Amount of
Product
Enzyme Activity at Different
Temperatures
40
30
20
10
0
od
Fo
s
Ga
tel
Mo
Time
DISCUSSION/CONCLUSION: Clearly explain whether your results support or do not
support your hypothesis. This is where you explain what your results mean and explain
what conclusions you can draw from those results. If there were errors that occurred
during the lab which could have altered or skewed your results this is where you
explain what the errors were and what effect they had. Also include any suggestions
for improving the lab.
LITERATURE CITED: You should always include a citation of any source you use to get
information you put in your lab report. Citation sources include your textbook, the lab
activity, any Internet sources, scientific journals, and peer-reviewed articles. The
Literature Cited page should be the last page of your report.
Citations can be in MLA or APA format depending on what your instructor
prefers. The citations on the Literature Cited page should be in alphabetical order and
are NOT numbered. Any line after the first should be indented as shown below on the
sample page.
Example MLA Format Citation
On Literature Cited Page:
Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology. Eighth ed. San Francisco: Pearson
Benjamin
Cummings, 2008. Print.
In-text example:
An enzyme catalyzes a reaction by lowering the EA barrier, enabling the reactant
molecules to absorb enough energy to reach the transition state even at moderate
temperatures (Campbell, and Reece 77 -78).
Example APA Format Citation
On Literature Cited Page:
Campbell, Neil A., & Reece, Jane B. (2008). Biology. San Francisco:
Pearson
Benjamin Cummings.
In-text example:
An enzyme catalyzes a reaction by lowering the EA barrier, enabling the reactant
molecules to absorb enough energy to reach the transition state even at moderate
temperatures (Campbell, & Reece, 2008).
Some helpful Citation Generator Websites (For Free!) – Just plug in the info and it
makes the citation for you!
http://citationmachine.net/
http://www.palomar.edu/dsps/actc/mla/ - MLA only
http://citationcenter.net/ctool.php5
Sample Literature Cited Page
Literature Cited
Campbell, Neil A., and Jane B. Reece. Biology.
Eighth ed. San Francisco: Pearson
Benjamin Cummings, 2008. Print.
Enzyme Essentials. 11 Oct. 2006. Enzyme
Essentials, LLC. 11 Oct. 2009
<http://www.enzymeessentials.com/
html/ print_tour.html>.
GENERAL FORMATTING & STYLING
Font: Times New Roman
Size:
- Headings (Purpose, Materials, etc) = Bold, 16pt font
- Text = Normal, 12 pt font
Spacing: 1.5 or double
Language: A lab report in your science class is very different from writing a short
story in your English class. Lab reports are very “cold.” They never include pronouns
such as: I, we, you, my, our, us, they, them, etc.
Example of incorrect language:
1. My hypothesis is that a higher temperature will increase an enzyme’s activity.
2. We found that enzyme activity increased when the temperature was raised.
3. My conclusion is that an enzyme works best at higher temperatures.
Example of correct language:
1. The hypothesis of this lab states that if the temperature is increased, then enzyme
activity will also increase.
2. The results of this lab show that enzyme activity increases when the temperature
is raised.
3. It can be concluded from this lab that the enzyme used in this lab has increased
activity when the temperature is slightly raised to 12C.
TIPS AND TRICKS!
All of the following instructions were created for use with Microsoft Word 2004 for
Mac and Microsoft Word 2005 for PC. If you have Office 2007, you many need to
search your formatting tool bars for the features mentioned.
INSERT A PICTURE OR CLIPART
For Mac
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click Insert
2. Highlight Picture
3. Choose From File… or ClipArt…
depending on what you want and where the
picture you want is located.
4. Choose the location.
(If you want to add a picture from a
website, it is easy to right-click on the
picture on the website and save it to your
desktop. Then follow the above
instructions and choose your desktop as
the location in step 4. Find the picture
and click Insert)
5. Choose the picture you want and
click Insert.
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click Insert
2. Highlight Picture
3. Choose From File… or ClipArt…
depending on what you want and where the
picture you want is located.
4. Choose the location.
(If you want to add a picture from a
website, it is easy to right-click on the
picture on the website and save it to your
desktop. Then follow the above
instructions and choose your desktop as
the location in step 4. Find the picture
and click Insert)
5. Choose the picture you want and
click Insert.
CHANGE THE MARGINS
For Mac
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on View
2. Highlight and click Formatting
Palette
The formatting palette window appears on
your desktop. You can move this palette
wherever you like on the desktop.
3. Click on the dropdown bar labeled
Document.
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on File
2. Highlight and click Page Setup
3. Click the Margins Tab
4. Increase or decrease the margins
as you like.
4. Increase or decrease the margins
as you like. You can also click inside the
boxes and type in the margins you want,
then hit enter to secure them.
CHANGE SPACING
For Mac
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on View
2. Highlight and click Formatting
Palette
The formatting palette window appears on
your desktop. You can move this palette
wherever you like on the desktop.
3. Click on the dropdown bar labeled
Alignment and Spacing.
4. Locate Line Spacing: and click on
the icon for the spacing you want. Leave
the mouse over the icon to find out what
the icon means.
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Format
2. Highlight and click Paragraph…
3. Click on the Indents and Spacing
tab and change the line spacing using the
drop down menu box.
MAKE SUBSCRIPTS AND SUPERSCRIPTS
For Mac
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on View
2. Highlight and click Formatting
Palette
The formatting palette window appears on
your desktop. You can move this palette
wherever you like on the desktop.
3. Click on the dropdown bar labeled
Font.
4. Click on the A2 icon for superscript
or the A2 icon for subscript. Clicking on
the icon again and un-highlighting it
removes the setting.
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Format
2. Highlight and click Font…
3. Click on the Font tab and check the
box for superscript or subscript.
For example: to make H2O look like H2O…
1. Type out H2O
For example: to make H2O look like H2O…
1. Type out H2O
2. Highlight the 2 and follow the steps
above.
*See Keyboard Shortcut Table!
2. Highlight the 2 and click on the A2
icon.
*See Keyboard Shortcut Table!
MAKE A TABLE
For Mac
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Table
2. Highlight Insert and click on Table.
3. Change the number of columns
and/or rows and click OK.
4. Add columns or rows as you go by
clicking Table, highlighting Insert, and
choosing to add rows or columns above or
below
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Table
2. Highlight Insert and click on Table.
3. Change the number of columns
and/or rows and click OK.
4. Add columns or rows as you go by
clicking Table, highlighting Insert, and
choosing to add rows or columns above or
below
MAKE A GRAPH
For Mac
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Insert
2. Highlight and click Object
3. Choose Microsoft Excel Chart and
click OK.
A small excel window appears, a small
formatting bar appears, and the chart
itself appears in the document where the
cursor is.
4. In the small formatting bar, choose
which type of graph you would like (bar,
line, pie chart, etc) by clicking on the
“chart type” icon drop down bar.
5. In the small excel window, doubleclick on any of the axes. Formatting
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Insert
2. Highlight and click Object
3. Choose Microsoft Graph Chart and
click OK.
A small excel window appears and the
chart itself appears in the document
where the cursor is.
4. Right click on the white space in the
graph in the word document to choose
chart type and change chart options.
5. Double-click or right-click on any of
the axes on the graph in the word
document. Formatting windows will appear
and you can change colors, ranges, units,
windows will appear and you can change
colors, ranges, units, fonts, and text
arrangement.
fonts, and text arrangement.
INSERT SYMBOLS
For Mac
For PC
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Insert
2. Highlight and click Symbol…
3. Choose the symbol you wish to
insert and click OK.
From the Menu Bar at the top of the
window…
1. Click on Insert
2. Highlight and click Symbol…
3. Choose the symbol you wish to
insert and click OK.
From the Formatting Palette…
1. Click on the Add Objects drop down
bar
2. Click on the  Tab and choose the
object you like.
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS
For Mac
For PC
For all these shorts cuts to work, you must press and hold all the mentioned keys at
the same time. For example… press and hold the apple key and then press and release
(=) key while your are holding down the apple key. This will make the cursor become
subscript. Hold down the apple key and press and release the (=) key again to return
the cursor to normal.
apple
apple
apple
apple
apple
& = key = subscript
& shift & = key = superscript
& B = Bold
& I = Italics
& U = Underline
ctrl & = key = subscript
ctrl & shift & = key = superscript
ctrl & B = Bold
ctrl & I = Italics
ctrl & U = Underline
shift & arrows = highlights text
apple & C = copy
apple & V = paste
apple & A = highlights everything in the
document
apple & Z = undo
apple & S = save
shift & arrows = highlights text
ctrl & C = copy
ctrl & V = paste
ctrl & A = highlights everything in the
document
ctrl & Z = undo
ctrl & S = save