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How to Write a Formal Lab Report
Ecology
General Comments on Writing a Formal Lab Report
The purpose of writing a lab report is to demonstrate scientific thinking and communication
by formulating hypotheses, designing, and conducting experiments as well as generating and
interpreting data. A well-written lab report will convey an understanding of the objectives,
process, and significance of the experiment. The writing style should be straight forward and
objective. This is not the place to write creatively; avoid fluffy statements and personal opinions.
While it is wonderful that you enjoyed the experiment or that the microscope is one of man’s
greatest inventions, scientific writing style is about unambiguous details. Personal pronouns
have no place in scientific writing. Do not use: I, me, mine, we, our, or they. Instead use
indefinite pronouns such as: each, either, neither, one, both, few, several, many, none, all, and
most. Do not use contractions such as can’t, don’t, etc. Run-on sentences should be avoided; a
lab report is a concise gathering of information, state the point and move on. It is acceptable to
use commonly accepted scientific abbreviations like mm (for millimeters), g (for grams), atm
(for atmospheres), etc. in scientific writing. Science is always reported in metric units.
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Introduction:
You will include two essential pieces of information in this section.
(1) Introduce the topic on which you gathered data and explain the phenomenon you studied.
Explain why the study is important. Include a problem statement and/or question. Color, soil
texture, albedo, and other factors.
(2) You must also state the scientific hypothesis you tested after leading up to it with your
explanation of the topic. State your prediction or expectation of your outcome.
Example: "Allelopathy is a chemical competition phenomenon produced in plants that
influences the growth of other organisms. The study of allelopathy is important in agriculture
because positive results can be used as a natural deterrent of invasive species. This experiment
was designed to test whether water-soluble American elm tree (Ulmus americana)...
The information for the background can be obtained from outside resources (must find
sources with a DATA!) and make sure to include these resources in the reference section and
cite in-text. This information should be written in original wording, not copied from the handout
or an online resource. All relevant text should be cited!
Materials and Methods:
For the lab performed,
In this section you will describe the procedure you used to gather data. (1) You will provide
information on the study area, how much/many samples were gathered, and how samples were
gathered; (2) a concise description of the procedures and rationale used to gather the data
(including a description of sample size and how data was gathered) — for both experiments; and
(3) a concise description of the statistical analyses that were used to analyze the data (statistical
analysis ex. excel ).
How to Write a Formal Lab Report
Ecology
General Comments on Writing a Formal Lab Report
The purpose of writing a lab report is to demonstrate scientific thinking and communication
by formulating hypotheses, designing, and conducting experiments as well as generating and
interpreting data. A well-written lab report will convey an understanding of the objectives,
process, and significance of the experiment. The writing style should be straight forward and
objective. This is not the place to write creatively; avoid fluffy statements and personal opinions.
While it is wonderful that you enjoyed the experiment or that the microscope is one of man’s
greatest inventions, scientific writing style is about unambiguous details. Personal pronouns
have no place in scientific writing. Do not use: I, me, mine, we, our, or they. Instead use
indefinite pronouns such as: each, either, neither, one, both, few, several, many, none, all, and
most. Do not use contractions such as can’t, don’t, etc. Run-on sentences should be avoided; a
lab report is a concise gathering of information, state the point and move on. It is acceptable to
use commonly accepted scientific abbreviations like mm (for millimeters), g (for grams), atm
(for atmospheres), etc. in scientific writing. Science is always reported in metric units.
, 2
Introduction:
You will include two essential pieces of information in this section.
(1) Introduce the topic on which you gathered data and explain the phenomenon you studied.
Explain why the study is important. Include a problem statement and/or question. Color, soil
texture, albedo, and other factors.
(2) You must also state the scientific hypothesis you tested after leading up to it with your
explanation of the topic. State your prediction or expectation of your outcome.
Example: "Allelopathy is a chemical competition phenomenon produced in plants that
influences the growth of other organisms. The study of allelopathy is important in agriculture
because positive results can be used as a natural deterrent of invasive species. This experiment
was designed to test whether water-soluble American elm tree (Ulmus americana)...
The information for the background can be obtained from outside resources (must find
sources with a DATA!) and make sure to include these resources in the reference section and
cite in-text. This information should be written in original wording, not copied from the handout
or an online resource. All relevant text should be cited!
Materials and Methods:
For the lab performed,
In this section you will describe the procedure you used to gather data. (1) You will provide
information on the study area, how much/many samples were gathered, and how samples were
gathered; (2) a concise description of the procedures and rationale used to gather the data
(including a description of sample size and how data was gathered) — for both experiments; and
(3) a concise description of the statistical analyses that were used to analyze the data (statistical
analysis ex. excel ).
