Title

Summary/Abstract

5 Marks

This should be written last and should be a short summary (100 to 200 words)
of the report that details the significant findings of the laboratory exercise.
Introduction

15 Marks

The introduction should be approximately 1 page long. It should include an

introductory paragraph that details the relevance of this the lab to the
demonstration of engineering principles.
3 marks
A few paragraphs should be written that give good examples of where this
work occurs in industry/engineering design etc. What are the benefits of this
lab?
9 marks
The introduction should conclude with a short paragraph that details the
objectives of the laboratory exercise
3 marks
Theory

15 Marks

All background theory should be explained here; this section will need more
information than is available in the laboratory handout. All equations and
sample calculations should be detailed here. Always use SI units and include
them in each equation.
You might want to show some calculations from theory and compare them to
experimental calculations. Can you show how to calculate the efficiency of the
system etc?
Equipment

10 Marks

This section should include clearly labelled photographs or schematics (often

preferable) of the laboratory equipment.
5 marks
All components should be described and the system itself show be described
(i.e. how do all the part go together; how does it work?)
5 marks

Procedure

10 Marks

This section should outline the test procedure in bullet-point format. It should
be clear and concise and have enough detail so that the tests can be
repeated easily.
Results & Discussion

25 Marks

Results will be plotted in a meaningful way. Only on very rare occasions will
there be a need for a table of results. In general the measurements should be
plotted (on the y-axis) against the settings (on the x-axis). Label your graphs
clearly and use SI units.
10 marks
The discussion should compare and make sense of the trends displayed on
the graph. Questions that should be answered in this section are:
o How does the theory compare with the experiment?
o Have I connected the dots correctly? (i.e. should the trend be
linear/parabolic etc?)
o How does a change in setting influence the measurement? Quantify it!
o How can the results be used in a real engineering context?
o How can the experiment be improved?
o Answer all questions that are asked of you on the lab sheet.
10 marks
It is important to realise the shortcomings of the experimental apparatus,
however this sections should not just list the problems/perceived inaccuracies
of the laboratory equipment. Know the difference between precision and
accuracy (i.e. Analogue instruments are generally very accurate and
sometimes no very precise; Digital instruments may read to several decimal
places but does this make them more accurate?)
5 marks
Conclusions

10 Marks

This section (100 200 words) should briefly summarise the main
conclusions of the laboratory exercise. A brief opening paragraphs followed
by a 2 or 3 bullet points should suffice.

References

5 Marks

Any academic textbook, research article etc to which you have referred in the
report should be detailed here in order of appearance.
Bibliography

5 Marks

A bibliography should include further relevant sources that you have read and
are relevant to the report but to which you have not specifically referred.