Printed Page 531

WRITER’S CHECKLIST

Click each checklist item to read more about it.

Does the title

convey the major focus of your study?

use only words and abbreviations familiar to your readers?

use keywords that readers would likely use to search for research in your subject area?

Does the abstract

state the problem or question addressed by your study?

summarize your approach?

summarize key results and conclusions?

briefly discuss the implications of your study?

make sense to readers who have not read your entire report?

Does the introduction

concisely review research relevant to your study?

explain how your study contributes to the field?

state the purpose of your study?

briefly describe your methods?

Does the materials and methods section

describe the materials and equipment used (if appropriate)?

describe your procedures with enough detail for readers to understand what you did?

address any problems encountered and describe your solutions?

include a description and rationale for any subjective measurements?

present information in a logical order?

Does the results section

summarize all the data relevant to the question or hypothesis you discussed in your introduction?

exclude data not applicable to your argument?

emphasize important trends and patterns?

use text and graphics to present data concisely?

introduce and explain (if appropriate) each graphic in your text?

avoid interpreting, analyzing, and speculating about data?

Does the discussion section

address the question or hypothesis discussed in your introduction?

address the major trends, magnitudes of values, associations, patterns of statistical significance, and exceptions that emerged from your study?

present plausible explanations for your results?

support your argument with data from your results?

compare your work to and comment on relevant work of other researchers?

comment on problematic or “negative” results (if appropriate)?

Does the conclusion section

briefly review the purpose of the research or experiment?

summarize important implications of the findings?

avoid introducing new information?

Does the acknowledgments section

thank the people who helped you conduct the lab or write the lab report?

identify any sources of financial support for the study?

identify only people and organizations that have specifically given permission to be listed?

Does the references section

identify each source cited in your lab report?

contain complete and accurate information for each citation?

follow your instructor’s preferred format for references?

Do the appendixes contain information not needed to understand the body of your report?