Lab Reports
A lab report is written to summarize the results of an experiment or test and to provide a road map for others who wish to repeat the experiment; it generally consists of the following five sections:
Introduction: Provides background information: the hypothesis of the experiment, the question to be answered, how the question arose
Methods: Describes how the research was conducted or the experiment performed
Results: Describes what happened as a result of your research or experiment
Discussion: Explains your results
References: Cites the sources used in conducting the research, performing the experiment, or writing the report
The content, style, and format of a lab report may vary from discipline to discipline or from course to course. Before writing a lab report, be certain that you understand your instructor’s requirements, and look at sample lab reports in your field. The sample in Figure 29.5 shows excerpts from a lab report written by two students in a soils science course. It uses the documentation format advocated by the Council of Science Editors (CSE).
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