Biology Lab Report Checklist
The references are to page numbers in the Fourth Edition.
TITLE (p. 80)
 Descriptive and concise
AUTHORS
 Each author’s first name is followed by his/her surname
ABSTRACT (pp. 79–80)
 Contains an introduction (background and objectives)
 Contains brief description of methods
 Contains results
 Contains conclusions
INTRODUCTION (pp. 78–79)
 Starts with a general introduction to the topic
 Contains a question or unresolved problem
 References support the background information
 Selected references are directly relevant to your study
 Citation format is correct
 Citations are paraphrased. Direct quotations are not used.
 Objectives of the study are clearly stated.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 Contains all relevant information to enable the reader to repeat the procedure (pp. 52–53).
 Routine procedures are not explained (p. 52)
 Written in paragraph form (not a numbered list) and in complete sentences (pp. 51–55)
 Written in past tense (p. 51)
 Written in passive voice (active voice is allowed in some disciplines) (pp. 51–52)
 Materials are not listed separately (p. 53).
 No preview is given of how the data will be organized or interpreted (pp. 54–55)
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RESULTS
 Figures and tables are present. Figure caption goes below figure; table caption goes above table (pp. 61–72).
 Text is present. Every sentence is meaningful (p. 58).
 Reference is made to each table and figure, and the results are described in words (p. 59).
 Figure and table titles are informative and can be understood apart from the text (pp. 61–72).
 No explanation is given for the results (p. 57).
DISCUSSION (pp. 76–78)
 Results are briefly restated.
 Results are explained and interpreted.
 Results are related to published work.
 Errors and inconsistencies are pointed out.
 Implications of the results are described.
REFERENCES (pp. 81–94)
 References consist mostly of primary journal articles, not textbooks or websites.
 Reference format is correct and complete.
 All end references have been cited in the text. All in-text citations have been included in the References section.
REVISION
 All questions from the laboratory exercise have been answered.
 Calculations and statistics have been double-checked (p. 97).
 Overall structure (pp. 96–97)
 Figures and tables (pp. 61–72 and 111)
 Sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words (pp. 98–111).
 Word usage (pp. 106–110)
 Grammar (pp. 111–114)
 Spelling (p. 115)
 Punctuation (pp. 115–119)
 Standard abbreviations (pp. 120–122)
 Numbers (pp. 120 and 123)
 Format (pp. 123–124)