Report writing method
These are the criteria according to which the four lab-reports for this course will be marked, The chief
emphasis this year is on getting the format of the reports right making sure that they are consistent
guideline of what report writing expected is about, presentation and referencing but obviously they should
be well-written (clear and packed with relevant, well-researched information).
1-Title
The full name of the project
The course
The name of the author
2-Abstract
The ABSTRACT is not a part of the body of the report itself. Rather, the abstract is a brief summary of
the report contents that is often separately circulated so potential readers can decide whether to read the
report. The abstract should very concisely summarize the whole report: why it was written, what was
discovered or developed, and what is claimed to be the significance of the effort. The abstract does not
include figures or tables, and only the most significant numerical values or results should be given.
3-Introduction
You need to define what you are going to talk about (introduce topic)
You need to show what you are trying to do with your topic (why is it important/relevant)
You need to show what you are going to cover
You need to give your marker background information necessary for understanding
An anticipation of the conclusions/
Don’t- put any results or decisions in the Introduction. Just because you are writing it last
doesn’t mean you should give away the story. After all – it’s called the “Introduction” for a
reason.
4- Method
The purpose of the MATERIALS AND METHODS section is to describe the materials,
apparatus, and procedures used to carry out the measurements.
Most importantly, the section needs to provide a clear presentation of how key measurements
were obtained and how the measurements were analyzed.
This is where the particular approach followed to reach the project's objectives should be
described. The detail should be sufficient so that the reader can easily understand what was done.
An accurate, schematic diagram depicting the apparatus should be included and referred to in the
text as needed (if a diagram has been already provided it can be used in the report, provided that
the source is properly referenced).
To improve clarity of presentation, this section may be further divided into subsections (ex. a
Materials subsection, an Apparatus subsection, a Methods or Procedures subsection, etc.).
5- Results The RESULTS section is dedicated to presenting the actual results (i.e. measured and
calculated quantities), not to discussing their meaning or interpretation.
The results should be summarized using appropriate Tables and Figures (graphs or schematics)
6- Discuss
The DISCUSSION interprets the results in light of the project's objectives.
Based on the results, how could the experimental procedure be improved? What additional, future
work may be warranted
The DISCUSSION should also present an evaluation of the particular approach taken
7-Reference
8-Appendix
Only the title page, the abstract, the introduction, and the references should start on a separate
page; the other sections should not. However, a heading needs to indicate the beginning of each
section.
A suitable font is Times Roman, 12 pt.