Laboratory work report – writing principles

Perhaps at first glance, compiling a work report may seem difficult and overwhelming, but it is really a simple and sweet task. If it is difficult for you to write a laboratory work report, or if you intend to write it for the first time and you have no idea about it; In the continuation of this article, join us to review in simple language the correct principles regarding the preparation of a laboratory work report for physics, chemistry or any other subject in several steps. How To Write A Lab Report?

The main parts of a lab work report

A work report of a physics or chemistry laboratory should include appropriate and essential sections as follows. Compliance with these points has made the work report orderly, as a result of which, at a glance, relatively good and complete information can be obtained about the said experiment.

1. Proper header

For many laboratory reports, it is important and necessary to use a proper cover letter. In order to know exactly what materials are included in the header or the cover of the work report according to the rules of each laboratory, or how they are arranged, be sure to ask your professor. But normally, the following information must be included in the header:

• The title of the experiment
• The date of the test
• Name and surname of yourself and group members
• Instructor’s name
• Information that states your class, degree, field, and similar information.

2. Summary of the article

The “abstract” part is the first thing that the readers of an article or work report see. But “abstract” is the last thing that is written by you! Because “abstract” is a summary of the information you have mentioned in your work report. The purpose of compiling the “abstract” is to familiarize the readers with basic information about the experiment and the results obtained. In fact, a good “abstract” promotes the reader to read the full article or work report.

In the “Abstract”, be sure to mention the summary and purpose of the experiment, your hypotheses, and main results.

3. Introduction

The nature of the experiment and the requirements of the classroom may require that you add an introduction to your work report. A good introduction should include the principles and theory of relevant experiments and previous research; Also describe your motivation for doing this particular experiment.

4. Determining the goal

State your purpose for conducting the experiment in a few sentences. It may be that your goal is to investigate a physical law or to obtain the parameters of a physical object or phenomenon. If necessary, you can fully state your hypotheses for conducting the experiment.

5. Test method

This section should clearly, fluently, and completely describe the method you used to perform the experiment. When writing this part, be careful to write all your steps. So that the reader can repeat the experiment exactly by reading the work report. It can be useful to observe the following points for writing this part:

• If your workflow can be included as a step-by-step diagram, do so. This diagram is like a programming flowchart (algorithm) and helps the reader a lot.
• It is better to compile the test steps in paragraph form instead of listing them.
• Depending on the nature of the experiment, you may need to write a description of how the devices work, the properties of the materials, and the tools used in the experiment.
• If you are following the instructions for conducting an experiment from a book or a specific article, it is better not to copy the contents of the book and write each section in your own pen. This will give you a thorough understanding of the subject.

6. Primary data

This section is about the graph or data that you have reached during the various stages of the experiment. Make sure that you have written the measurement units correctly. You can organize your data in table format. Note that no analysis has yet been done on this so-called raw data. Analysis of results and conclusions is the last part of an article or work report.

Remember to record your data along with the measurement error after a few repetitions of the experiment, taking into account all the environmental noise and errors in the experiment.

7. Sample calculations (example)

If you used an equation to analyze or obtain specific data, it is better to include an example of how it was used in your work report.