After completing the laboratory work, it is necessary to draw up a detailed report. Read about how to correctly draw it up in the article.
What is lab work?
Most often, laboratory work is a kind of adventure for the student. And it is this adventure that should be told in the report. How to write a report and not miss anything, how to properly characterize all the stages – these questions are often asked by many. Now let’s figure it out.
To get a good grade on a report, a student must follow certain requirements. It is not always easy, especially if you write a lab report for the first time. In this case, special services will help you, which you can find simply by googling “write my lab report for me.” The experts will help you write a good report that meets all the requirements.
Formatting of the lab report: subtleties and important points
Title page
The first page of the report is the title page. The top of the page begins with the name of the institution and faculty. Then comes the title “Lab Report on the … Discipline” and the topic. On the right side of the page, you should write your name. Below is the full name and academic degree of the teacher who checks the report, at the bottom of the sheet – place and year of the study.
We recommend compiling the title page in a separate document. As you write your report, you will most likely be making edits. If you correct the text after the title page is formatted, the markup and formatting may go awry.
Introduction
The next page is an introduction as the report lacks content. But a certain structure must still be seen. Therefore, we focus on it and try not to change anything. So, the sequence is as follows:
- Theory
- description of the experimental technique
- research results
- detailed discussion of the experiment
- conclusions.
As for the introduction, the main thing here is to correctly and clearly formulate the goals and objectives. You cannot put them in such a way that after the end of the experiment, it will be impossible to link the research to goals. Remember that the main thing in laboratory work is the usefulness and practicality of the experiment.
Theoretical part
Of course, the discipline affects the theoretical part. In chemistry, a description of the reagents used and the reaction scheme is required; in physics, formulas are needed. The required information is presented in a condensed form.
Practical part
It is the main body of the report. It may be divided into subsections describing different methods or logical steps in the lab work. It describes the progress of work in steps or the main, key elements of the implementation of the lab work.
Conclusion
The easiest way to format this section is to copy and slightly reformulate the introduction. A more difficult option for drawing up the final part is to make valid conclusions based on the goals, objectives, and theory, based on the results of laboratory work. The last method is recommended by teachers, but it is not required as the only way to end a lab report – therefore, you can use the first method when writing this section.
List of used literature
This section is optional for a report on laboratory work; it is created only at the request of the teacher according to the given requirements. It should always be on a separate page.
Pagination
Although the title page is included in the report pages, it does not need to be numbered. Pages are numbered in Arabic numerals in the center of the bottom of the sheet without a dot. For the convenience of page numbering in the document, the title page can be placed in a separate file.
Graphic material
There are also special conditions for drawings, photographs, and tables. They are regulated by the requirements which you can ask your teacher about.
Images and tables should follow the text that refers to them. Graphic elements need to be centered on the page. The name of the image is written after the word “Figure,” for example, “Figure 1 – Diagram of the device”. The text is centered on the page.
Tables
The table content should be clear from its title. The name is placed on the left above the table in one line with a number separated by a dash. For example: “Table 1.1 – Information units”. More detailed requirements for the format of tables are contained in guidelines which you can get from your teacher.
Text presentation
The text must be presented impartially, from the third person. The presentation style should be scientific. Use only generally accepted abbreviations. The paragraph should begin with a hyphenation; place the text in width. Before writing, you should check the list of recommended literature.
These are general requirements for writing a lab report. If you want to draw up a report correctly, ask the teacher for its template in advance. Study the accepted lab reports of other students carefully. Good luck!