Scientific Writing: How to Write a Lab Report!

A big part of being a scientist is being able to communicate your research findings to other scientists. The purpose of a lab report is to clearly demonstrate the purpose, methods and results of an experiment, to discuss these results and to draw conclusions. Lab reports follow the same structure as scientific research articles written by scientists and published in scientific journals for the broader scientific community. Writing a proper lab report not only shows that the student has understood the science behind an experiment and has a good grasp on the scientific method, it also prepares future scientists for the writing they will be required to do.
The class will begin with a discussion about why lab reports are important. We will examine scientific papers as examples to understand the structure and the purpose of each section. We will then move on to the structure of the lab report. We will discuss what each section should contain and what language should be used. I will use an example of a lab report to illustrate this.
At the end of class I will invite the students to write their own lab report to be submitted to me within the next week. I will provide written feedback. Students may write a report on an experiment they have already carried out, or I can give them ideas for simple experiments.