Understanding the Process of Writing Lab Reports

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Understanding the Process of Writing Lab Reports

Many scientists and engineers record their laboratory work in notebooks with numbered pages or use specialized software. These notebooks contain enough information for other researchers or colleagues to understand how the procedures were conducted, why the procedures were conducted, and what the writer discovered. Your instructor might ask you to keep a lab notebook.

Although lab notebooks can be useful in legal disputes over who was first to conduct an experiment or make a discovery, their main purpose is to serve as researchers’ personal records. When researchers are ready to communicate their findings by writing their lab reports, they turn to their notebooks. If you understand what information goes where in a lab report, you can plan ahead during your research.

The sections of a lab report do not need to be written in sequence. Some sections can be written early in the process; other sections must wait until you have finished your analysis of data. For example, although the title and abstract are often the first items to be read, they are usually the last items to be written. Likewise, it’s easier to write your introduction after you have written your methods, results, and discussion. Only then will you have a clear idea of how you wish to introduce your argument.