Science Writing: Writing a Lab Report

Author: Dan Kerwin

Edited by Dana Canastar, Lydia Norton and Susan Lyons
Last updated: September 2013

Lab reports are a large part of any science course, and as you progress through your upper level classes
and labs you need to know how to write a solid lab report. These reports are not only a compilation of
any data gathered, but require writing skills as well. When completed, your lab report should allow a
reader to understand your experiment, to understand the results and their implications, and to recreate
the experiment themselves. A good lab report is composed of seven parts: a Title Page, an Abstract, an
Introduction, a section on Methods and Materials, a section on Results, a Discussion, and a Works
Cited/References page. After going into the field or doing an experiment in the lab, it will be necessary
for you to gather your notes and data and organize them to fit into these seven sections.

1. Title Page
Sounds simple, right? It actually takes a bit more than you might think. Your Title Page is the first page
of your report, and should contain the following, depending on your professor’s preferences:
 A concise but descriptive title that clearly explains your experiment
 your name
 the name of the course
 your lab time
 your instructor’s name
 and the due date of the paper
2. Abstract
The Abstract is the first written part of your lab report, and will start the page after your Title Page.
However, it should be the last part you actually write. This is because it is a literal summary of the rest of
your paper, and should help the reader understand the concept, hypothesis, methods, results, and
conclusions of your entire report. A reader should be able to understand your entire report from reading
the Abstract alone. There is no specific length for an Abstract. It simply needs to be long enough to
serve its purpose. However, to give you an idea, a good Abstract will have one paragraph for every two
pages of the rest of your report. Once your report exceeds ten pages, the Abstract should be one page
long. Even so, keep the abstract brief; it is frequently read by readers who have little time to spend on
the entire report.
3. Introduction
The Introduction should begin by giving background information on your experiment. The question
being asked in your experiment should be presented. The location, date, time, and conditions (i.e.
weather if you worked in the field) that your experiment was performed in should be provided.
Published information about your topic should be provided, including outside sources, cited properly
both in the text and in the Works Cited section. You should then present your hypothesis.
The majority of your introduction should be based around background information gathered from
outside sources. While writing, keep word tense in mind: when referring to your own experiment, write
in the past tense; when referring to your outside sources, write in the present tense.
4. Materials and Methods
The Materials and Methods section should describe every detail of your experiment as you performed
it. The reader should be able to perfectly replicate the experiment based on this section. It should also
be written as a narrative, describing your actions in the experiment, not as a numbered or bulleted list.
Be sure to include every item used, no matter how small or how briefly used, and include any measured

Avery Point Academic Center

 Science Writing: Writing a Lab Report
Author: Dan Kerwin
Edited by Dana Canastar, Lydia Norton and Susan Lyons
Last updated: September 2013

amounts (i.e. do not write “We added hydrochloric acid to the solution,” instead write “We added 3
milliliters of 0.1 molar hydrochloric acid to the solution.”) Write this section completely in past tense.
5. Results
Your Results section should include several paragraphs that describe (again, narrate; don’t list) the
results of your experiment. Also include any figures (i.e. graphs, pictures) and tables that you may use to
organize your data in this section, and remember to number and label them properly (for example, if
one figure follows another, the first will be “Figure 1” and the second will be “Figure 2,” however if a
table follows a figure, the figure will be “Figure 1” and the table will be “Table 1”). Put these labels
below figures and above tables. A brief description of the figure next to the number looks professional
and may be helpful to readers.
As you write, make references to your figures and tables. If possible, place a figure or table below the
paragraph in which it is referenced. Write this section in the past tense.
Remember, the Results section is purely for results. Include your data or observations, including
graphed data and data that was subject to statistical analysis, exactly as they were recorded in your lab.
Do not report what you thought would occur, and do not discuss the implications of your results.
6. Discussion
The Discussion section is where you interpret and analyze your results. Provide the question being
asked in the lab, and answer it based on your results. Talk about what caused the results you gathered.
Show whether or not the data supported or did not support your hypothesis (do not say “proved” or
“disproved”). Connect your results to the information you already gathered in your Introduction section,
and see how they compare and contrast. If there were any possible sources of error in your data, discuss
them here. You may also mention the need for future research or what your plans are for further
pursuing this hypothesis. This section should be written in the present tense.
7. Works Cited
The Works Cited section should properly cite every source you used in your paper in the proper format
(most likely MLA). Your professor may have certain preferences for this section; if you are unaware of
those preferences, be sure to clarify.
Works Cited

Morgan, Judith G., and M. Eloise B. Carter. "Investigating Biology." The Benjamin/Cummings Publishing Company,
Inc. Web. 1 Dec. 2010.

"Sample Lab Report-Ecology 101." North Carolina State University :: Welcome to North Carolina State University.
Web. 12 Dec. 2010. <http://www.ncsu.edu/labwrite/res/labreport/res-anno-sample-labrep.html>.

More questions? Contact the Avery Point Academic Center at 860-405-9058 or email us at apac@uconn.edu.

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