Science Lab Report

In science, the preservation of technical information in written form is a necessary step. This precise form of technical knowledge is called a Science lab report. The preparation of reports from the experimental findings is part of the course work of the science students. In such reports, the students need to discuss some essential components of research like in a dissertation. Some important heads of Science lab reports that resemble common heads of dissertations are:

  • Aims and objectives
  • Methodology
  • Results and Discussion
  • Conclusion

If you are a science student and want to write science lab reports, then the following sections will allow you to do so;

Steps Of Structuring The Science Lab Report

Before making rough drafts, the initial understanding of the structure of academic manuscripts helps writers a lot. So, below are some common heads that science students can follow to construct a good Science lab report. Table 1 represents a necessary section of the science lab report.

Table 1: Essentials of Science lab report

Compulsory Heads of Practice report Estimated Word count
  • Title
  • According to the demands of the experiment
  • Abstract
  •   Mainly a part of a long report
  • Introduction
  • Approximately 200
  • Methods
  • Approximately 300
  • Results and findings
  • Approximately 300
  • Discussion
  • Approximately 500
  • Conclusion
  • Approximately 200
  • References
  • As much as you can
  • Appendix
  • Section to cite necessary details of the experiment

Details of Section Heads of Science Lab Report

According to experts of a dissertation writing service, this section will provide basic information about what to write in each section head of the science report. If the lab supervisor gave you the necessary details to construct a lab report, then use that. If not, you can get back up information from this article. Still, some supervisors instruct students to write such a report in the lab notebook; in contrast, others ask students to make a separate report. The following section will guide you about different steps of Science Lab Report writing.

Step 1: Title writing

  The title of the science lab report must have the following qualities;

  • It must reflect the content of the experiments
  • It must attract the reader
  • Use specific keywords to a make good research title
  • While making the title of the science lab report, the writer must use concise and precise wording
  • The inclusion of variables in the research report title is a good practice

Step 2: Abstract writing

The abstract is a part of long reports. It is the most readable part of academic papers. The right position of the abstract is just after the cover page. However, usually, the writers write an abstract after the completion of the whole report.

The abstract is a short overview of the Science Report (approximately 150-300 words). While searching for evidence, the researchers usually don’t have enough time to read complete articles. Hence, it allows readers to get the essence of the whole research in a few minutes. Generally, writers can use two types of abstract formats. The writer can use separate heads for each abstract section in the first one, as shown in Table 2. While in the other type, the abstract contains all necessary components without distinctive heads.

Essentials of Abstract

  • A brief introduction to the problem statement (1-2 lines)
  • Methods you used to address the problem statement (1-2 lines)
  • Results and findings (1-2 lines)
  • No need to include a discussion section here
  • Give a conclusion of the profound findings of your experiment
  • Future perspective may or may not be a part of the Science lab report abstract section

Step 3: Introduction writing

In the science lab report, the third part is the introduction of the problem. The introduction of such reports must be concise. Most tutors recommend students to write one paragraph (150-200) in the introduction section of the report. Table 3 will present the essentials of the introduction.

Essentials of the introduction of the Science Lab

  • Short introduction of the problem statement (1-2 lines)
  • The purpose of the experiment
  • Hypothesis (1-2 lines)
  • A brief history (1-2 lines)
  • The summary of the experimental work (1-2 lines)
  • The summary of the experimental findings (1-2 lines)
  • A brief list of conclusion (1-2 lines)

Step 4: Material

Before starting the report’s methodology section, the inclusion of lists of chemicals and materials you used in the experimental works is a good practice. You can use a numbering system as well as bullets style for listing the experimental materials and chemicals.

Step 5:  Writing Methodology 

This is the section that addresses the details of the protocols you used to solve the scientific problem. Here, it is necessary to give every minor detail of the experimental procedure used. This section aims to provide enough information so that other students can replicate your work. The following example will help you to  understand what does the term ‘minor details’ mean here;

Add  0.2 ml  of Sodium hydroxide in the conical flask of 250 ml.

This example gives enough information amount the quantity, name and apparatus feasible for the reaction. So, any student can duplicate the experiment by using these minor details. While writing the methodology section, the writer must avoid baisness or fake reporting of data.

Step 6: Results Writing

The results are a most helpful section of the science lab report. It reflects the success of the experiments. Here, it would help in correlating the variable included in the experiment. The length of this section depends on the availability of the data. But, still, you must keep the content short and precise in the Science lab report results sections. It may also include the tables and figures showing the relation between the variables.

Step 7: Discussions

The discussions section is the longest part of the Science lab report. Here, you can compare your findings with findings of previously published articles. You can use opposing and supporting evidence from other studies to show the validity of your findings.

Step 8: Conclusion

Like, other sections of the science report, the conclusion section must include key points. Here, you can summarise the experimental findings and tell the reader about the success of the practical work, if any.

Step 9: References

To meet the Research ethical code of conduct, placing a reference list at the end of the report is necessary. Here, you can write a  list of Journals, websites, and books to help readers get similar information.

Step 10: Appendix

An appendix is a section where the writer can add detailed information to help readers who want to duplicate experimental work.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *