Tips on Writing a Lab Report Please refer to the “Lab Report Reference Sheet” to help you as well.

Title Highlights the main purpose of the investigation. All main words are Capitalized Is at the top of the page

Research Question The purpose of the investigation Written in the form of a question Question should be answered by performing the lab

Background Information Information that may be helpful to the investigation Formulas to be used later in the experiment may be written and explained here. Data from previous studies/experiments may be highlighted here

Hypothesis Written in “If, Then, Because” format. Is an educated guess as to what the outcome might be. It is okay if your guess is incorrect.

Materials Write all items used in the experiment in this section List items in columns

Procedure Format in numbered bullets No pronouns allowed Directions are precise and concise Directions are in order Includes set up and clean up

Data / Observations Data is organized in labeled charts Captions are used to help identify the type of data collected Observations are written clearly Observations use the appropriate senses

Data Analysis Explains the data in words Displays the data in graphic form Highlights the patterns and trends in the data

Conclusion Tell what the data may suggest Uses evidence to explain possible reasons for the final outcomes Answers the research question Validates or refutes the hypothesis Addresses the errors Summarizes the findings