How to write a Laboratory Report.
Name and Partners names
Institution (School/Course/Section/Teacher)
Date
Ex Glebe SBI4U/P2/Harris
Testable Question

What is the effect of X on Y?
Hypothesis

What are the predicted results of your experiment?
Theory

Includes the background that lead to the hypothesis
Procedure

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Numbered, step-by-step
Established or published procedures can be referenced. Note variations or
modification from referenced procedures.
Avoid obvious information but provide enough detail so a peer could reproduce your
results.
Results

Tables and graphs (see below)
Discussion



Present and discuss the research results.
Relationship between variables.
Model of results
Error
 Reliability and precision of measured data
 Systemic and instrumental.
 Explain specific errors or variation from expected results. DO NOT discuss random
errors only error specific to the results.
 Improvements to technique
Conclusion



Close the loop. Did you answer your question?
Make it a very short summary of the principle finding. End with the most important
message that you want the reader to take away.
Questions raised. Next steps.
Tables


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Numbered
Title above
Footnotes below.
Table 1. Immune cells in the bone marrow
Immune cells
CD4+ T cells
+
Percent
~1.5%
CD8 T cells
2–2.5%
Regulatory T cells (Treg)
~0.5%
+
CD11c dendritic cells (DCs)
1–2%
B cells
~1%
Plasma cell
~0.5%
Natural killer T (NKT) cells
0.4–4%
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs)
0.01–0.1%
Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs)
20–30%
Figures



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Includes images, graphs, or any visual data.
Numbered
Title below
Figure legend – explains the figure, sometimes has basic procedure.
Figure 1: Genome size is the total number of base pairs in an organism. While the number of
genes in an organism's DNA (red bars) varies from species to species (numbers at right), it is
not always proportional to genome size (blue bars). Note how many genes a fruit fly can
squeeze out of its relatively small genome.
References
There are two common methods to order the references
 Number references in order of appearance and link as a number (5).
 List references alphabetically by author and link with Author (year). [Smith, 1999]
Reference Format
http://ia.juniata.edu/citation/cse/cse05.htm
More info @
Scitable
http://www.nature.com/scitable/ebooks/english-communication-for-scientists14053993/14571219#bookContentViewAreaDivID
NOTES:

Avoid using first person, I and we but they may be used at the start and end of the
report (To test this we… We found that…) but NEVER in the procedure.

Include the original data and procedures. These may be added as an appendix at
the end of the report.

Concise and to the point is much better than long and windy!