AP Lab Report Grading Criteria revised 2014

5 = excellent 4 = very good 3= good 2 = average 1 = weak

OVERALL APPEARANCE, CONTENT, FORMAT

Text is typed.
NASA: Neat, Attractive, Succinct, and Appealing.
Free of spelling and grammatical errors. Proofread, or have someone else proofread it for you
before submission.
Required sections are all present and in the correct order.
Pages numbered, center bottom, starting after the cover page.
Section order, formatting as prescribed.
Single-sided pages.
Use a standard font (ex: Times New Roman, Ariel, Helvetica). Do NOT use Comic Sans or any
“frilly” font! This is supposed to be a serious paper.
Use 12-point font size, so it can be easily read (and graded!). Exception: Title page.
Please extend your line spacing so teacher had room to make corrections and write in
comments. Use 1.5 or double-spaced text lines.
Page margins (right and left) should be standard (1”). Avoid indents.
Be consistent throughout. Every page should match in font, font size, indents, etc.
Written in 3rd person “point of view”, no use of personal pronouns- like “I”, “we” or “you”-
whatsoever. For example: rather than writing “We then added salt to the solution”, write it as
“Salt was then added to the solution.”
Written in past-tense.
Always save document in MS Word or pdf format so it can be downloaded on both PC and Mac.

COVER Info:
Descriptive Title (centered on page)
Your name
Partner(s)’ name(s)
Date(s) experiment was performed.
Academic institution, class

ABSTRACT
An abstract is a shortened version of the paper and should contain all information necessary for the
reader to determine:

(1) What the objectives of the study were;

(2) How the study was done;
(3) What results were obtained
(4) The significance of the results

A good start might be a clearly written statement of the intended objectives should begin
with….”The purpose of this experiment was to…”(i.e.: determine, observe)

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HYPOTHESIS : This is NOT a separate section of your report, rather it should be incorporated within
the Abstract and then reiterated again in the Discussion section.)
Basically this outlines your predictions/expectations for the outcome of your experiment,
once you apply the variables. A good hypothesis could be re-worded into an “If…then…”
statement. For example, “If ‘X’ is applied, then ‘Y’ is expected to happen”.
Be sure to follow up your predictions with scientific support, in other words, based on what
you know and have learned about scientific principles WHY do you predict what you do?
You will need to thoroughly EVALUATE your hypothesis in the Discussion section of the
report. Did your experimental outcome support/not support your hypothetical
expectations? Why/Why not? Any insight? Might you need to revise your hypothesis? How
so?

INTRODUCTION
The introduction of your lab report is a chance for you to "hook" the reader and preview the important
details you'll be talking about in the later sections of the paper. It's meant to provide background, or
context, about your experimental topic. While the abstract was a very short summary of the entire
paper, the introduction will be a longer section with more detail. It could be anywhere from three or
four paragraphs to a couple pages long, depending on the complexity of the topic and, of course, the
requirements of your instructor.

Here are some tips for organizing your introduction:

1. Start off with a very broad introduction to the topic. For instance, let's say you are writing a lab
report about an experiment where you tested the effect of temperature on the enzyme
catalase. You should start the introduction by talking about what enzymes are and how they
work.
2. Next, narrow down the introduction to talk more specifically about the topic you are
investigating, and why the study you did was so important. In the catalase example, you should
now talk specifically about what the catalase enzyme does, where it is found, how it works, and
why it is important enzyme to study how temperature affects this enzyme.
3. The introduction should also include a literature review that discusses what is already known
about the topic. This where you will summarize the research you have done about your topic.
Make sure you properly cite all of the sources you used in your research.
4. Within the Introduction, make sure that you state the purpose of the study, the hypothesis you
tested in your study, and/or the question(s) you were trying to answer.

The introduction should not include details about the procedures you used in your study. Save these for
the Materials and Methods section. You should also leave out the results, which will go in the Results
section.

What should be included in your Introduction:

The purpose of the study
General information about the topic being investigated
A brief literature review that summarizes what is already known about the topic.
What should not be included in Introduction:
Specific details about how the study was done
The conclusions you have made based on the results of your study

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

This is essentially a narrative of what you did and what materials you used to perform the lab. It’s
essentially a “play-by-play” or recap of everything you did, and should be succinct, yet detailed enough
so that a person reading your report could essentially repeat your experiment exactly.
It should not be written as a numbered list of steps. It should be written in paragraph form,
presenting a chronological commentary of everything you did in the experiment.
Again, it should be written in 3rd person, and maintains the past tense throughout the
paragraph. Remember, you’ve already done the experiment; therefore it’s in the past.
Should include a comprehensive, detailed account of all lab tools and reagents, properly
identified, that were used.
Units and amounts properly documented.
The first time you mention an item in your report, you must use its proper name and denote any
abbreviation you will be using for it in the rest of your paper. For example, with chemicals, if you
used hydrochloric acid (HCl) name it, give its abbreviation, then the abbreviation can be used
alone.
If a chemical formula needs a subscript, learn how to do this (or ask your teacher). Points will be
deducted for “H2O”, when it should be typed as “H2O”!

RESULTS
Anything included in this section MUST be directly referred to in some other part of your lab report.
Otherwise, it’s extraneous and should not be included. Example: “As indicated in Table 1, the steepness
of the slope indicates a rapid rate change in accordance with temperature increase.” (Note how Table 1
is boldfaced and capitalized when mentioned, as it should be!)
May include:

FIGURE(S) (essentially pictures)

Labeled Diagram of apparatus, if appropriate. This MUST be referred to in your M & M section.
Sized appropriately
Appealing use of color
Don’t include these too often. Only use if essential to the comprehension or understanding of
the lab.

TABLES and GRAPHS of collected data

All charts, graphs, tables and figures are titled with a number and description
Qualitative observations are described in complete sentences in Table format
Quantities observations are clearly organized in logical, chronological order.
Measurements are recorded using the correct number of significant figures and proper units
All tables, graphs, figures should be CENTER aligned on page, and all numerical data should be
center-aligned in columns.

CALCULATIONS (if applicable) are labeled/included. If several sets of data are calculated in the same
way, show calculations for the first set only, along with the formula you used. Indicated that the
same method was used for all the remaining data
Equations (formulas) used are listed (if applicable)
Calculate percent error when applicable.

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AP Lab Report Grading Criteria revised 2014

CONCLUSIONS & DISCUSSION

Labeled as “Discussion” or “Conclusions” (or some hybrid)
A clear, well written response to the experiment. It should answer 4 questions in paragraph format.
1. What are the results of your experiment? Do not just restate your results, rather talk about why they
are significant and important. All tables, charts, graphs should be referenced.
2. What do the results mean? Can a trend be identified? You may want to include an interpretation of
calculations, data, and make note of any interesting or unexpected observations.
3. Did you achieve the expected result? Why or why not?
4. Are your results valid? (Suggest improvements in the techniques. Do not be afraid to criticize and add
your own creative input. How did your individual results compare to those of other lab groups?)

Your hypotheses should be clear, and revisited within the Discussion section!
Expectation of outcome must be made clear
Should include a clearly written statement of your predictions regarding the
outcome of the experiment
Provides 2 or more justifying pieces of evidence

LAB MANUAL QUESTIONS: answers to all applicable questions posed in the lab manual or
handout should be incorporated within your discussion.

REFERENCES
Should include a minimum of 3 reference sources:
a. Lab manual(s)
b. Any book other than your lab manual
c. An internet site

If in doubt, use MLA format. Reference notation will include:

Author
Title of book or name of article
Pub. date
Volume number, page number
For websites, you must include: title of page, entire http:// address, access date

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