Laboratory Report Writing Supplemental Guide Biology 1406 Learning Objectives Writing 1. Write cohesive paragraph using succinct language. 2. Write in a manner that includes all the parts necessary for a laboratory report or short publication. 3. Write a professional style report that clearly conveys the most important data regarding a project or experiment. 4. Write a report that could be included in a portfolio for admissions to an university, college or submitted as a writing sample for future employment.

Analytical Thinking 1. Describe and understand the hypothesis. 2. Determine whether the hypothesis is based upon prior observation or known facts. 3. Determine why these tests are used to prove or disprove the hypothesis. 4. Describe and understand the experimental set-up and how this tests your hypothesis. 5. Describe the outcomes (results) of your hypothesis-testing. 6. Describe and understand how your results support and how they do not support your hypothesis. 7. Determine whether further experiments could be done to prove or disprove your hypothesis and whether your experimental outcomes suggest other avenues of inquiry.

Ask Yourself Writing 1. If you were reading your lab report for the first time, and you had just begun to study biology, would you be able to repeat the experiments? 2. Is it easy to read or is information disorganized and confusing? 3. Is the topic of the paper clear? Is there a reason your reader should wish to read your report? 4. Is the report “readable” or is it awkward linguistically? 5. Are there “sloppy” sentences or nonsense information included?

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Laboratory Report Writing Supplemental Guide Biology 1406 6. Is every sentence complete? Is there enough information in each paragraph for it to make sense?

Analytical Thinking 1. 2. 3. 4.

What is interesting about the report and experiments accomplished? Do the results make sense in light of the methods used? Are there any other methods you might choose in the future to answer the same question? What are the pros and cons of performing the experiment in the manner you performed it?

Key Writing Suggestions Key Style Suggestions1 Design – use the design given in the rubric on the last pages of this hand-out and the design given in your laboratory manual in the appendix on page 137 Make the paragraph the unit of composition – the paragraph should hold together on its own, it should stand as a single unit of composition. This means it includes a topic sentence, supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence. Omit needless words – professional writing is concise, and gets its point across quickly. However all of the information is still readily available for the reader to use. There are several examples of “filler” words or phrases which distract the reader from the true intent of the paragraph. These include examples like: “The reason why is that” which could be instead “because” “used for fuel purposes” which could be instead “used for fuel” “there is no doubt but that” which could be “no doubt” or “doubtless” “the question as to whether” which could be “whether” or “the question whether” Express similar ideas in similar form – Here is a writing example from E.B. White’s book: “Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method, while now the laboratory method is employed” The above is a POOR example of co-ordinate idea expression. Below is the revised sentence: “Formerly, science was taught by the textbook method; now it is taught by the laboratory method.”

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Laboratory Report Writing Supplemental Guide Biology 1406 In the second example the expression “laboratory method” mimics the expression “textbook method” This technique makes it easier for the reader to follow your writing. In summaries, keep to one tense – in science you should generally use present tense only in the discussion and introduction sections. In the materials and methods section generally the past tense is used. Why is this? Because the report or publication is supposed to contain information relevant to the reader in the present based upon the work you did in your experiment. Your experiments should have already been completed when you write the report, so they are in the past tense. Do not change tenses mid-way through a paragraph or section.

Key Grammar Suggestions2 (as an exercise correct your own grammar) Subject-verb agreement – when the subject of a sentence is mentioned in the singular form, the verb should be stated in the singular form. For example: “My class has begun” has a singular subject (class) and verb (has begun). In contrast “My classes have begun” has a plural subject and verb. Position your modifiers correctly – a modifier is part of a sentence that describes or qualifies another part of the sentence. Common examples are adjectives (something that describes a noun) and adverbs (something that describes a verb or action). You will want to avoid: (1) dangling modifiers, (2) misplaced modifiers, and (3) squinting modifiers. Dangling modifiers occur when the subject or clause to be modified is implied rather than directly expressed. For example: “Just two years after finishing graduate school, Gladys’s career took off.” We think it was probably Gladys (the missing subject) who finished graduate school, but can we be sure? Perhaps her next door neighbor just finished graduate school, and then Gladys’s career took off for no apparent reason? A more likely explanation is that it is Gladys who finished graduate school. Here is a re-written example: “Just two years after Gladys finished graduate school, her career took off.” OR “Just two years after finishing graduate school, Gladys saw her career take off.” There are other grammar mistakes that can be made while writing a lab report. If you are having trouble with your writing, there are a number of resources on campus to help you improve

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Laboratory Report Writing Supplemental Guide Biology 1406 your writing skills. You can also contact your instructor (me) about how improvements to your writing might be made in your next laboratory report.

Grade your own work by using the Rubric below3. If you would *honestly* give yourself a poor grade, re-write it. Remember you will receive a low grade if you cannot follow instructions in this hand-out. Section

Criteria

Abstract

Provide an overview Length: no more than 250 words, no less than 200 Content and Organization  Background  Hypothesis  Methods  Results  Implication Does the abstract:  Tell the message of the paper  Tell the most important result  Tell the implication of the most important result  Have useful background information included Use correct terminology

Introduction

Tell a story Does the intro tell the story of where your hypothesis came from? Observation Curiosity Prior experiments Known facts Does the intro state the question as a testable hypothesis (or state what you are testing if there is no hypothesis)? Is the intro length appropriate? Is the experimental approach (i.e. how the hypothesis or observation will be tested) evident?

Points 20 5 5

10

20 5

5 5 5 20

Materials and methods

What, where, when, how Materials: Chemicals (drugs, culture media, buffers, gases), use scientific name What was examined (your materials for your experiments) Methods Essential information What you did in your experiment In what order you did your experiments How you did your experiment Why you did your experiment Is enough detail present so that a trained scientist or science student could

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5 5

5

Laboratory Report Writing Supplemental Guide Biology 1406 repeat the experiment? Are quantities and instruments listed correctly?

Results

Discussion

Writing Style

Presentation data and outcomes Are results presented in tables, figures or lists so that they can be easily read? Are any data results accurately calculated? Are any observed results accurately and succinctly described? Are any variations from the planned M/M section noted? Your answer to the question(s) posed in the introduction Answers to questions are stated Explain how your results support the answers Explain how the answer fits in with your knowledge gained from the course (or existing scientific knowledge) If your experiment did not work as expected, explain why that maybe the case and/or provide an alternate hypothesis

5 20

5 5 5 5 20 5 5 5 5 20

Unnecessary detail or fussy detail or fuzzy logic

-5

Unscientific style such as excessive use of “I” and “you” or first person/second person writing. The notebook write-up should be written in 3rd person. Flowery language, run-on sentences or multi-clause prose, incorrect grammar Incorrect spelling and use of scientific terms, false information, failure to reference, switching tenses mid-paragraph or sentence

-5

Total number of points possible

-5 -5

100

References: 1. Principles of Composition Chapter in the text The Elements of Style by E.B. White, 4th Edition, Longman Publishers, 2000 2. Grammatically Correct: The Writer’s Essential Guide to Punctuation, Spelling, Style, Usage and Grammar by Anne Stilman, Writer’s Digest Books, 1997 3. Essentials of Writing Biomedical Research Papers by Mimi Zeiger, McGraw Hill Publishers, 2000

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