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Writing Lab Reports
Writing Consultant PresentationEG 1003: Intro to Engineering and DesignNYU’s Polytechnic School of Engineering
Writing Lab Reports
Purpose of a lab report
Format
Available resources
Consider the writing situation
Audience: Other engineers
Purpose: Discuss significance of experimental results
Engineering needs reliable knowledge
1. Use what you can support with evidence.
2. Report only the results of your specific trial, not general ideas
3. Avoid claims that are beyond your evidence.
Analyze experiment, not yourself
Do not report what you “learned”:
your data is not the results of a quiz!
Report whether you reached your
experimental objective
1. Write complete sentences in passive voice
2. When using graphics, label and describe
3. Do not “cut and paste” from another source, even the Lab Manual
4. Print and proofread before you upload
5. Hand in report on time
Practice writing like a professional
Writing Lab Reports
Purpose of a lab report
Format
Available resources
Standard format conserves effort
1. Title page2. Abstract3. Introduction4. Procedure5. Data/Observations6. Discussion/Conclusions7. Works Cited
Logic, not time, organizes the report
AbstractBrief trajectory of the report
IntroductionBackground information to
understand the hypothesis you test in the experiment
Discussion/ConclusionsBased on the Introduction, did the Procedure produce the expected
results? What is next?
ProcedureThe steps you
took to test the hypothesis
Data/ObservationsWhat you saw when you used the procedure
Logic, not time, organizes the report
AbstractBrief trajectory of the report
IntroductionBackground information to
understand the hypothesis you test in the experiment
Discussion/ConclusionsBased on the Introduction, did the Procedure produce the expected
results? What is next?
ProcedureThe steps you
took to test the hypothesis
Data/ObservationsWhat you saw when you used the procedure
Summarizes the experimental objective (“what you did”) – tells
result and its significance
Logic, not time, organizes the report
AbstractBrief trajectory of the report
IntroductionBackground information to
understand the hypothesis you test in the experiment
Discussion/ConclusionsBased on the Introduction, did the Procedure produce the expected
results? What is next?
ProcedureThe steps you
took to test the hypothesis
Data/ObservationsWhat you saw when you used the procedure
Presents concepts and equations that come up later
Logic, not time, organizes the report
AbstractBrief trajectory of the report
IntroductionBackground information to
understand the hypothesis you test in the experiment
Discussion/ConclusionsBased on the Introduction, did the Procedure produce the expected
results? What is next?
ProcedureThe steps you
took to test the hypothesis
Data/ObservationsWhat you saw when you used the procedure
Allows an outsider to verify results
Objective, without
evaluation or
calculations
Logic, not time, organizes the report
AbstractBrief trajectory of the report
IntroductionBackground information to
understand the hypothesis you test in the experiment
Discussion/ConclusionsBased on the Introduction, did the Procedure produce the expected
results? What is next?
ProcedureThe steps you
took to test the hypothesis
Data/ObservationsWhat you saw when you used the procedure
Analyze and interpret how well the hypothesis was
supported
1. Abstract: State experiment clearly, avoiding educational goals
2. Introduction: provide important knowledge needed to understand what should happen
3. Data/Observations: Explain what happened so well that the report is like a movie
4. Conclusion: Analyze your data to explain close your test came to the ideal case in the Introduction
Learn to excel within this format
Writing Lab Reports
Purpose of a lab report
Format
Available resources
1. Lab Manual (http://manual.eg.poly.edu)
• “Specifications for Writing Your Lab Reports”
• “Annotated Lab Report”
2. The Writing Center (JAB 373)
• (718) 260-3425
3. Your friendly neighborhood writing consultant
Where to find help
Writing Lab Reports
Purpose of a lab report
Style and format
Available resources
