Writing the Laboratory Report

Everything You Wanted To Know But Were Afraid To Ask Verbage by Katzenstein

Heading
This includes the title of the paper, authors' names (in order or contribution) and other relevant information (affiliation, addresses...).

Abstract
The abstract is a condensed version of your paper. The abstract itself is a single-spaced (long) paragraph; again, its length is not to exceed a single paragraph. The abstract needs to contain a very brief introduction to your paper (including the purpose), reference to your experimental approach and, additionally, it must mention some of your results (i.e., your most interesting, outstanding...).

Introduction
The introduction needs to set the context for the study at hand and explain well the rationale of the study. A well-written intro will provide the reader with a compelling reason to read on.

Materials and Methods
This section needs to be sufficiently comprehensive and detailed enough to allow someone with a comparable level of knowledge/experience to faithfully reproduce your work. You may provide a list of materials used, though this is optional.
It is helpful to put various methodologies into subsections with an appropriate heading (i.e., Determination of the Density of H₂O, Determination os the Volume of a Drop of H₂O, etc.). If you are using a methodology that has been previously established (written), you may summarize the method and must include a reference to the original work. An example might be: "Using the methods of Frankenstein and Igor ^ref#, we performed a full brain transplant oin the anaesthetized patient with the following modifications, the procedure was done during the day instead of on a stormy night, a car battery was used in place of a lightning bolt as a source of energy and drama..."

Results
Results are results, not methodology, not conclusions or discussion; this section should include raw data and the calculated results derived therefrom. Results may be presented in a number of formats including: tables, graphs, pictorial, flow charts, etc. It may be helpful to the reader to see the same results reported in more than 1 format (i.e., tabulated and graphed data). The results must be titled and labeled appropriately (i.e., Table I-A Summary of the Blah Blah Blah, Figure II-A Summary of LaDiLaDiLa...)
**Click here to see a page which explains how to do calculations which might be helpful to your laboratory grade.

Discussion and Conclusion
This is the part of the paper where you discuss the meaning of your results and are allowed, and even encouraged, to conceptualize and wax poetic. Some of the most profound statements and predictions concerning science appear in this section of scientific papers.
You must discuss your results in terms of what you proposed to discover, what you discovered, and how your discovery fits into that which is known (this may necessitate a literature search). Additionally, any other things that have, to date, not been manifest by your report should be included.