If you are taking a biology course, at some point you will have to do lab experiments. This means that you will also have to complete biology lab reports.
The purpose of writing a lab report is to determine how well you performed your experiment, how much you understood what happened during the experimentation process, and how well you can convey that information in an organized fashion.
Biology Lab Reports: Formats
A good lab report has a format that includes five main sections. They are the introduction, methods and materials, results, discussion and conclusion, and citation.Keep in mind that individual instructors may have a specific format that they require you to follow. Please be sure to consult your teacher about the specifics of what to include in your lab report.
Introduction:
The introduction of a lab report states the purpose of your experiment. Your hypothesis should be included in the introduction, as well as a brief statement about how you intend to test your hypothesis.
To be sure that you have a good understanding of your experiment, some educators suggest writing the introduction after you have completed the methods and materials, results, and conclusion sections of your lab report.
Methods and Materials:
This section of your lab report involves producing a written description of the materials used and the methods involved in performing your experiment. You should not just record a list of materials, but indicate when and how they were used during the process of completing your experiment.
The information you include should not be overly detailed, but should include enough detail so that someone else could perform the experiment by following your instructions.
Results:
The results section should include all tabulated data from observations during your experiment. This includes charts, tables, graphs, and any other illustrations of data you have collected. You should also include a written summary of the information in your charts, tables, and/or other illustrations. Any patterns or trends observed in your experiment or indicated in your illustrations should be noted as well.
Discussion and Conclusion:
This section is where you summarize what happened in your experiment. You will want to fully discuss and interpret the information. What did you learn? What were your results? Was your hypothesis correct, why or why not? Were there any errors? If there is anything about your experiment that you think could be improved upon, provide suggestions for doing so.
Citation:
All references used should be included at the end of your lab report. That includes any books, articles, lab manuals, etc. that you used when writing your report.
Example APA citation formats for referencing materials from different sources are listed below.
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Book
Name of author or authors (last name, first initial, middle initial)
Year of publication
Title of book
Edition (if more than one)
Place where published (city, state) followed by a colon
Publisher name
For example: Smith, J. B. (2005). Science of Life. 2nd Edition. New York, NY: Thompson Brooks.
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Journal
Name of author or authors (last name, first initial, middle initial)
Year of publication
Article title
Journal title
Volume followed by issue number (issue number is in parenthesis)
Page numbers
For example: Jones, R. B. & Collins, K. (2002). Creatures of the desert. National Geographic. 101(3), 235-248.
What is an Abstract?
Some instructors also require that you include an abstract in your lab report. An abstract is a concise summary of your experiment. It should include information about the purpose of the experiment, the problem being addressed, the methods used for solving the problem, overall results from the experiment, and the conclusion drawn from your experiment.The abstract typically comes at the beginning of the lab report, but should not be composed until your written report is completed.
Do Your Own Work
Remember that lab reports are individual assignments. You may have a lab partner, but the work that you do and report on should be your own.Always give credit where credit is due in your report. You don't want to plagiarize the work of others. That means you should properly acknowledge the statements or ideas of others in your report.
