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Lab Report Guide
Directions
Write a lab report for this lesson’s lab. Be sure that your report:
includes all major elements of a lab report.
meets your teacher’s content and format expectations.
is clearly organized and formatted.
demonstrates strong scientific reasoning and writing.
While writing, you can revisit previous parts of the lesson by returning to the course map. Be sure to refer
to the lab’s student guide, which you can access from a link in the lab experiment activity. You may also
find it helpful to refer to the remaining pages of this guide, which provide general guidelines for writing lab
reports.
You can upload your completed report with the upload tool in formats such as OpenOffice.org,
Microsoft Word, or PDF. Alternatively, your teacher may ask you to turn in a paper copy of your report or
to use a web-based writing tool.
Lab Report Checklist
Introduction
Did you title your lab report?
Did you state the purpose of the experiment?
Did you state the question you posed before the experiment?
Did you restate the hypothesis (or prediction) you formulated before the experiment?
Did you list all variables and label the independent and dependent variables? Did you indicate any
controlled variables?
Materials and Procedure
Did you make a list of materials? Did you include quantities and SI units?
Did you present the steps of the procedure as a numbered list?
Did you note any changes to the original procedure?
Did you identify your experimental and control groups?
Student Guide (continued)
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Data Collection and Organization
Did you organize all data in a clearly labeled table and/or graph?
Did you check that your data is accurate and complete?
Did you title any tables and graphs? Did you label rows, columns, axes, etc., and include units?
Analysis and Conclusion
Did you interpret your data and graphs in the analysis rather than just restate your findings?
Did you determine whether your data supported or refuted the hypothesis?
Did you describe possible sources of errors?
Did you suggest ways to improve or further your lab investigation?
Overall
Did you make sure that your writing is precise, unbiased, and concise?
Did you meet your teacher’s content and format expectations?
Student Guide (continued)
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Overview
The Purpose of Lab Reports
When scientists make discoveries, they write reports to share their discoveries with the world. Likewise,
after you complete an experiment, you can write a report to share what you discovered.
Writing a lab report is an important skill because it helps you demonstrate what you learned in a science
experiment. It also helps you practice writing accurately and clearly about technical things—a skill that is
valuable in the real world.
This guide describes the format and style of lab reports. It has many tips that will help you write stronger
lab reports. Use it as a reference through...
