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Laboratory Report Guidelines
Your laboratory reports should follow standard scientific writing conventions. Below are the
essential components and recommendations for creating clear, professional, and well-structured
reports.
You are strongly encouraged to review the sample laboratory report with comments
provided, as well as the assessment rubric your instructor or TA will use to evaluate your work.
Reviewing the rubric before submission will help ensure that your report meets all expectations.
General Format
Laboratory reports—similar to scientific journal articles—should include the following sections:
Title Page, Introduction, Methods (Experimental Section), Results, Discussion, Conclusion,
and References.
In addition, you will include a Research Connection section. While most scientific papers
include an abstract, it is not required for your lab reports.
Title Page
The title page should be the first page of your report and include:
• The report title (create an informative and original title; do not simply copy from the lab
manual)
• Your name
• Course and section number
• Instructor’s name
• Due date
Introduction
In this section, introduce the purpose and significance of your experiment. Clearly state your
objectives and explain why the experimental procedure effectively addresses them.
Include citations from credible sources beyond the lab manual or your TA, and properly
reference all information in the References section. The introduction should be detailed enough
to give the reader a solid understanding of your project and the chemistry concepts involved.
Methods (Experimental Section)
Describe how you conducted your experiment and why you chose those methods. This section
should be detailed enough for another person to replicate your work based on your description.
Results
Present the data that supports your objectives. Use tables, graphs, and figures where
appropriate, but remember to explain their significance—do not simply include visuals without
context or discussion.
Discussion
Interpret your results here. Explain:
• What your results mean
• Why they are relevant
• The strengths and weaknesses of your methods and analysis
Address any unexpected findings and compare them to your initial objectives or hypotheses.
Conclusions
Summarize your key findings and interpretations. Connect your conclusions directly to your
stated objectives in the introduction.
Note: In the lab report rubric, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion are combined. However, in
formal scientific writing, they are often presented as separate sections. You may choose your
preferred structure.
References
List all sources used in your report. Be sure that every source cited in your Introduction and
Discussion is included here. Follow the American Chemical Society (ACS) citation style.
Refer to the sample report or online resources for citation examples.
Research Connection
This section is unique to your lab report. Reflect on how your experimental work relates to
current research in chemistry. You may need to consult outside sources to explore these
connections.
Guiding Ideas and Planning Questions for the Project
1. What safety precautions must be taken with your materials?
2. Which criteria will you use to assess water quality?
3. Bring a community water sample and record the date, time, and location of collection.
Samples should come from unfiltered sources.
4. What standard or criterion can you use to evaluate water hardness?
5. Which physical and chemical properties of your samples will you test?
6. How can water hardness be reduced? What materials in water softeners achieve this?
7. What is an ion exchange resin (sodium or mixed type)?
8. Is time a factor when using filtration systems? How long should water remain in contact
with the filter?
Project Summary
1. What conclusions can you draw about your water sample’s quality? Are your results
within accepted standards?
2. How confident are you in your results? How does the number of trials affect your
confidence?
3. Compare your findings with another group’s results from the same sample and record
both sets of data.
4. Develop a strategy for analyzing the compiled data. What criteria or methods will you
use?
5. Is your data comparable to Tampa’s standard water hardness levels?
6. Compare your results with those of your peers. Can you explain any similarities or
differences?
7. By how much were you able to soften your water?
8. Compare the hardness values obtained using conductivity meters, pH meters, and
hardness strips. If discrepancies occur, explain possible reasons.
9. How could this experiment be expanded or modified to study other aspects of water
quality?
Things to Consider for Your Report
1. What is your final evaluation of the drinking water quality you analyzed?
2. Does your experimental evidence support your claims?
3. Are your claims consistent with your classmates’ who tested the same sample? If not,
justify the differences.
4. What conclusions can you make about your community’s water hardness?
5. Review the compiled class data—does it show variation in water hardness across the
community?
6. How much hardness was reduced using your filtration system?
7. Connect your experimental findings to current scientific research. What similarities
and differences exist?
8. Compare your results with official data on Tampa’s water quality and discuss your
findings.
Follow the rubric below and these formatting guidelines to create your report:
1. Each section, following the rubric, should have a header (Introduction, Results….
etc.). You can add sub-headers as well if needed. The font for the headers and sub-
headers cannot be larger than a size 14.
2. Use Times New Roman or Calibri as font styles for the body of the report with a
font size 12.
3. Number your pages but exclude the title page.
4. Your report has to be double spaced.
5. The introduction must be written in present or future tense. The rest of the report
must be in the past tense using passive voice. This means avoid using “you”, “I”, or
“our” in your report.
6. All the sections should be in paragraph form with the exception of the results
section.
7. All the data collected in the lab must be in the results section in tables as the ones
shown below. Create the tables in WORD and do not copy/paste the tables below to
avoid any issues. The tables must be numbered and contain a short descriptive
title.
8. Use Microsoft Equation Editor for ALL the calculations in your report.
9. Your references (you can use more than 3 if needed) must follow the ACS format. A
page can be found under the “Supporting Documents” Module titled ” ACS Citation
Sources” where you can find links to help you with the citations. Look at both and
use the one that is easier for you to follow. There is also a link above in this page.
