INSTRUCTIONS FOR REPORT WRITING

You will be asked to prepare two lab reports during the semester. Here are some guidelines to help you in
writing your reports.
I.

II.

PAPER STRUCTURE
A. The paper will be structured as a typical biology journal article
1. Do not use statements such as the purpose of this lab Rather, say something like:
This experiment was performed to test the hypothesis that
B. The report will be divided into appropriate sections (see Structure section for details)
LATE POLICY
For each day that a paper is late, there will be a deduction of 20% of the total grade for that report.

III.

GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS:
A. Reports must be typed on a computer and the pages stapled together.
B. Hard copies only will be accepted; your report will be considered late if it is not turned in at the
beginning of class on the given due date (see below for late policy)
C. You must submit your assignment to Safe Assign on Blackboard

IV.

FORMAT
A. Face Page: The face page should contain the title of the experiment, the author of the report
(you), class section time, and date submitted.
B. Page Format:
1. One-inch margins all around, i.e., top, bottom, left, and right.
2. Last name and page number are to appear as the header in the upper right-hand corner.
3. Use double spacing so that the reader may insert comments and he/she does not go blind
reading your report.
4. Use section headings. The reader should not have to guess when the Results section has
concluded and the Discussion section has begun.
C. Other considerations:
1. A professional product is expected. This means that there will not be widows (the first
line of a paragraph is left hanging at the end of a page) or orphans (the last line of a
paragraph is left hanging by itself at the beginning of a page) and section headings will
not be found floating by themselves at the end of a page. This means you should look
over your hardcopy to be sure it is clean and presentable.
2. Tables, charts, and figures will be clearly labeled. References to these items in your text
will be specific, naming the referenced item by name, e. g., Figure 1 or Table 1.
3. When using abbreviations or Latin usages, be sure to use them correctly. The terms that
is (i. e.) and such as (e. g.) have different meanings.
4. Be sure of your usage of Latin or Greek words. The word data is the plural for the word
datum, meaning fact. Just as we say, The facts are clear in this case that, so we say,
The data are clear in the case that.

V.

GRAMMATICAL CONSIDERATIONS
A. Style and Composition
a. A proficient use of English and the rules of writing associated with English are expected.
All sentences are expected to use verbs.
b. Do not use command sentences (like this one).
c. Use correct spelling.
d. Syntax and use of language will be assessed.
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e. Know the differences among the following word: right, write, and wright; too, to, and
two; their and theyre; its and its; your and youre. This is by no means a complete list.
Use your grammar checker and proofread your work!
f. You will get a perfect score only when no spelling, grammatical, or analytical errors
occur in the paper.
B. Tense: Write your paper in the past tense. You are reporting something you have already done,
not something you will do or are in the process of doing.
C. Papers are written in the third person, not in the first person. You are trying to be
impersonal in your presentation of data. This is not a novel.
D. You may use the first person when you are communicating your thoughts and your
interpretations of the data in the Discussion section.
VI.

PLAGIARISM
Plagiarism is theft. It is dishonest. It will not be tolerated. Remember that you may quote another
persons work, or even paraphrase it as long as you give credit and cite the work you are quoting,
paraphrasing, or referring to. Remember, using someone elses ideas without giving them credit is a
form a plagiarism and is certainly intellectual theft. When in doubt, cite the source! Any act of
plagiarism (intended or unintended), will result in a failing grade for the lab report and CAN
result in withdrawal from class.

VII.

STRUCTURE
The basic scientific paper consists of an abstract, introduction, a description of materials and methods
used during the experiment, a presentation of the results obtained, and a discussion of those results:
A. Abstract: This appears first in the paper, but it is the last section written. In the Abstract:
1. State the major objective(s) and scope of the experiment,
2. Briefly describe the methodology used,
3. Summarize the results, and
4. State the major conclusions including reasons for failure (wherever applicable).
5. Was the hypothesis validated or invalidated?
B. Introduction: In this section you should provide general background information on the subject
to aid the reader. This can be followed by a very brief description (1-2 sentences) of the problem
that was investigated. Every report must include a clearly stated hypothesis. A hypothesis is a
statement of what may or may not occur under defined conditions. Your hypothesis must be
clearly (readily identifiable) presented in this section of your report. Remember that a hypothesis
does not have to be correct, just testable.
C. Materials and Methods: If you use any procedures NOT in the lab manual, describe them fully
and cite them. If the procedure was taken from the lab manual, you must the lab manual. This
section is always written in the third person using the past tense.
D. Results: Give a rationale for doing the experiment. You must describe what you did to obtain
the data that you are presenting in this section (If in doubt refer to a journal article). You
should describe the data in such a manner that if the reader chose not to look at the figures, tables
or graphs, they could still understand your data. The data must be summarized in figures, tables
or graphs, which must be clearly labeled (including a title and a figure/table number) and referred
to specifically by name when they are being discussed. Figures and tables must contain a legend,
explaining what briefly how the result was generated. You must present both your raw data and
calculated results. For the calculated results, a sample calculation can be provided so that we can
determine how you obtained the calculated values. When graphs are used, be sure that both axes
are labeled correctly. Remember that the dependent variable is ALWAYS presented on the
vertical axis. As a general rule, the intersection of the X- and Y-axes should be the zero point.
The spacing between time points should be proportional to the elapsed time. All data MUST be
reported. Deleting data to suite your hypothesis is the same as inventing data in order to suite
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your hypothesis. If there are data that appear to be erroneous, you may choose not to use those
data or datum, but you must still include it in the results and justify your decision not to use it.
Finally, if an experiment fails, consult your instructor (your instructor may allow you to obtain
results from a classmate). You cannot receive full credit for a report that has no data analysis. If
you use outside data, you must state the source of the results.
E. Discussion: This is generally the only section in which the use of the first person is acceptable.
Remember, in your Discussion, you do not reiterate your results, rather you interpret them and
discuss their meaning. It should contain a fluent description of what you expected to take place
during the experiment. Present a discussion of your results as it relates to your hypothesis. Bring
attention to data that support your hypothesis. You must also bring attention to data that
contradict your hypothesis and provide possible explanations for why the data do not correlate
with your hypothesis. It is typically easier to write a discussion when your data do not support
your hypothesis. However, that does not mean you should create a hypothesis that will purposely
not be correct. Finally, you should also compare and contrast your results with other work in the
field; do your results and interpretations agree or disagree with other members of your class?
Other considerations for the Discussion Section:
1. State you conclusions clearly and boldly
2. Summarize the supporting data for each conclusion you draw. Do not assume that the
reader can follow your logic.
3. Avoid being wordy.
4. End your paper with a short summary or conclusion regarding the significance of the
experiment.
F. Bibliography: In writing your Introduction, Mat & Meth, and Discussion, you will need to
support your assertions and contentions with citations from the literature. You may cite such
sources as journal articles, textbooks, the lab manual, an encyclopedia, a dictionary, or any other
useful sources. Be very wary of using websites anyone can write anything and put it on a
website.

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