FORMAT FOR LABORATORY REPORTS

Department of Mechanical Engineering

Every student is required to submit a Laboratory report on the completion of a Practical work of
any course.

All laboratory reports should be presented in the format prescribed below. The report contents
should be legible and neatly written. The pages should be numbered (except the cover page) at
the bottom of the page and centered, and properly stapled at least at two places on the left hand
margin. The text should always appear on the right hand side except for graphical illustrations.
Failure to adhere to these guidelines may result in loss of marks.

COVER PAGE

The cover should consist of following items according to the format given in the SAMPLE COVER
PAGE given at the end.

TITLE OF THE PRACTICAL WORK

NAME OF THE INSTRUCTOR(S)
NAME
REGISTRATION NUMBER
INDEX NUMBER
GROUP
DATE OF PRACTICAL
DATE OF SUBMISSION

INNER PAGES

Page format: Page borders should be according to the format given for the cover page.

The inner pages written in one side of the paper should have the following sections in the order
presented here and in the same format.

1. AIM
Clearly state the purpose of conducting the Practical Work.

2. APPARATUS
All equipment/ apparatus/ instruments/ tools etc. used in the Practical Work should be
listed. Any non-standard instrument or any special instrument used should be adequately
described.

3. THEORY
The underlying theory on which the Practical Work is based should be stated in brief. Any
formulae used should be presented along with the standard symbols and associated units.

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4. PROCEDURE
This is a short description of the Practical Work procedure adopted and any precautions
taken during the Practical Work. The procedure is presented in past tense, passive voice,
preferable in numbered steps.

5. OBSERVATIONS
All observations recorded during the Practical Work should be recorded in the observation
sheet in ink. This sheet should be attached to the report. The observation sheets should have
the date stamp of the Department of Mechanical Engineering/Laboratory and signed by the
Instructor.

At the end of every Laboratory Class, you are required to submit the observation sheet
to the instructor for his/her signature. The observation sheet signed by the instructor
should essentially be attached to the report.

6. CALCULATIONS, ANALYSIS AND RESULTS

Calculations, analysis and results based on the theory and the observations should be
presented here.
If there are graphical illustrations related to the analysis, those should be displayed on the
left hand side along with the reference related to such graphical presentation/s presented on
the next page facing the graphical illustrations, as far as possible.
The results of all calculations should be clearly presented. They may be presented in tabular
form with the working given very clearly and, if necessary, separately.

7. DISCUSSION
This is the most important section of the report. The discussion could include the following
items in addition to the requirements specified in the lab sheet.

a) Necessity and importance of the Practical Work and its relevance.

b) Analysis of the final results and comparison of the results with standard/theoretical
values.
c) Comments on the accuracy of the Practical Work.
d) Alternative method/s which could be adopted for achieving the aim of the Practical
Work.
e) Any other relevant information or suggestions.

8. REFERENCES
Manuals, any other text books or journals referred to the Practical Work should be stated
according to Referencing System recommended by the Department/Faculty.

9. APPENDIX
Any calculation, that has not been presented under Section 6 (i.e. CALCULATIONS, ANALYSIS
AND RESULTS) and any other important data used in the calculations should be given under
Appendix.

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TITLE OF THE PRACTICAL WORK
NOTE: USE BLOCK CAPITAL LETTERS
INSERT CORRECT TITLE

INSTRUCTED BY: 3 mm 3 mm NAME: (As given in the attendance sheet)

(Name of the instructor/s) REGISTRATION No.: XXXX

INDEX No.: XXXX

GROUP: (eg. A1)

DATE OF PRACTICAL WORK:

DATE OF SUBMISSION:

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10 mm
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