Bio Lab Reports

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Lab Reports: general instructions

For scientists, lab reports are particularly important because they are evidence and a measure of their professional expertise. In particular, clarity and accuracy of writing is very important for scientists because further decisions may be made based on their findings. A scientist must be able to:

• 1) design the experiment
• 2) accurately record the result
• 3) reduce the raw observations to publishable or communicable form
• 4) explain the results to peers and perhaps also a general audience.

• - theory learned in your lecture and seminar courses.
• - practicing fine motor coordination while working at the lab bench to acquire data.
• - taking a statistics course to learn fundamentals of hypothesis testing and data analysis.
• - your writing courses in which you hopefully
  • - learn how to use a spreadsheet program to facilitate calculations of results from your raw observations.
  • - learn to use a graphics plotting program to display your results.
  • - learn to create a proper table using a spreadsheet, data base or word processor.
  • - learn how to properly reference contributions of past researchers.

Parts of a good lab report

• Title
  - "Lab Report" is not a sufficiently descriptive title
• Author
  - You are the author and will get no credit if you do not claim it!
• Abstract
  - in 200 words or less, what was the lab about and what did you find.
• Introduction
  - what is the background of this lab that the reader needs to know to appreciate the results and discussion.
• Materials and Methods
  - what methods were followed with what material. Reference Lab Handout for methods that need not be repeated. Add any changes to the referenced protocols.
• Results
  - include tables of data and derived figures with table and figure legends such that they can be understood by the reader. Provide a narative of the important steps in which the results were obtained.
• Discussion
  - Discuss the significance of the results obtained. Explain (in the case of negative results) what may have gone wrong. Remember, if this were original research, negative results would not be published. In a report to a supervisor negative results may have to be explained in order to decide on future action.
• Acknowledgements
  Each partner should acknowledge the help from the other. Further thanks are due to colleagues who read a draft of your report. Any financial support should also be given recognition here.
• References
  - list all the sources of information that were referenced in the report.
  - Authors, (Publication Date) Title. Source (Book Publisher; Journal, Vol.) inclusive pagination.

Precision and Clarity in Reporting Your Results

• Make every word tell.
  Consider every word and whether it is necessary.
• Avoid Double Speak-
  • double speak:
    water landing vs. crash into the sea
    environmentally stable vs. ??? (inherently incongruous; the environment is variable)
  • jargon:
    DNA = genetic material (unless you actually mean the chemical)
    RBC ghost = red blood cell plasma membrane obtained by hemolysis
    
  • euphemisms rarely correctly present the facts:
    final solution = genocide (tasteless because of historical associations)
    killing = unlawful deprivation of life (murder if ajudicated)
    sacrifice = killing a lab animal (in the course of an experiment) requires detailed method
  • gobbledygook = details written to obscure the situation (i.e. reference to a publication that does not solve issue).
  • inflated language = lofty language that does not fit the situation
• Avoid stacked modifiers:
  • hyphenate the modifiers to achieve clarity (i.e. 20-day-old mice vs. 20 day-old mice
• Promote Cohesion:
  Organize the essay, each paragraph and sentence prior to writing it. OUTLINE, Outline, outline
  • Organize sentences in a logical order.
  • Paragraph structure:
    each paragraph should have a point! Does it contain too much info?
  • Bridging concepts:
    paragraphs and their points should be in logical sequence.
  • Choose words carefully.
    A grammar checker will catch some inappropriate word use.
• Rules of writing:
  • Vary the length of sentences for effect.
  • Make smooth transitions between sentences and paragraphs.
  • Use a grammar checker. What is the readability index of your writing?
  • Try not to hedge. Let the reader know where you stand.
  • Write fairly?
    • Always cite previous work if it is relevant.
    • Acknowledge the ideas of other's!
      What is plagiarism?
  • Punctuate your writing correctly with:
    • periods to end a sentence;
    • colons to start a list;
    • semicolons to separate sub-sentences of a complex sentence;
    • hyphens to clarify word groupings
      (20-day-old mice vs. 20 day-old mice);
    • dashes -- for interruption of thought;
    • quotation marks "text" when exact words need to be attributed with a formal or in situ reference;
    • parenthesis (..text..) when readers could skip the included text unless they wanted more detail;
    • Comma, for a short pause, to help readers delineate the train of thought;
    • exclamation point for emphasis!
    • question mark (?) when a question is meant.
  • Reread your writing with particular points in mind:
    • Reread the instructions to authors. Have you followed them?
    • Do the ideas make sense?
    • Are all the sentences complete?
    • Have you checked spelling manually or with a 'Spell Checker'?
    • Are all text references in the Bibliography and are all Bibliography references used in the text?
    • Does the tempo of each sentence need additional punctuation?
    • Are all homonyms used correctly?
    • Are all figures and tables referred to in the text?
    • Are the Table and Figure legends complete and 'stand-alone'?
  • Know when to stop writing