General Instruction(s) Reminders:

• All labs must be written in PEN and be submitted to the teacher in a composition notebook.

• Always use THIRD person (NO personal pronouns --- me, I, you, we, etc.) when writing all parts of a lab report. (USE HE, SHE, THEY, THEIR, THEM, ETC.)

• The following things should be written clearly in marker on the front cover --- "Subject" Lab Notebook; Teacher name; Student name; Block.

• Number each page of the composition notebook in the lower right hand corner.

• On Page 1, write the subject, year, student name, class period, and teacher name.

• Page 2 should have "Table of Contents" written at the top and TWO columns, one for "Page" and the other for "Lab Title".
• Page 3 should be reserved for the “Table of Contents” as well.
• The “Table of Contents” should be maintained as the semester progresses.

• Begin writing the first lab on page 4 of you notebook. DO NOT WRITE ON THE BACK OF YOUR PAPER!

• SKIP A LINE BETWEEN EVERY SECTION!  
  

• TITLE and UNDERLINE each section & then begin writing on the NEXT LINE!

• If a mistake is made during the lab write up, draw a SINGLE LINE through the mistake.
• NO WHITE OUT OR ERASABLE PENS ALLOWED.

Sections to be Included for Mini-Lab Write-up.

Title - points  (center on top line; on the right of line 2, put date & lab #)

• The title should indicate clearly & concisely the subject and scope of the report. 
• Example: - “The Effect of Temperature on Tropical Plant Growth”

Research Question - points (Problem)

• What question is your laboratory experience addressing?
• Must be an open-ended question.
• Example: - "How does the amount of sunlight reaching plant leaves affect plant growth?"

Hypothesis - points  (SINGLE SENTENCE) (If applicable)

• The hypothesis should be a single if-then statement telling the exact thing you are trying to prove in your experiment.
• Identify the independent and dependent variables within the hypothesis.
• NEVER write this statement using "first person".  
  
• Write the hypothesis in past tense and in third person.

Results - points {Data Tables; Charts; Graphs; Pictures}

• Step 1: If you haven't already done so, create appropriate TABLES, GRAPHS, and other figures to enable you to visualize your lab data. Use a spreadsheet program or table function in a word processing program. If your lab data consists of only drawings, or observations, you may want to organize these in tabular format as well. If not, go to Step 2. Remember that representing your data in a visual format will allow you to identify trends, relationships, and other patterns in your data more easily. LABEL EACH VISUAL (Ex: -Table #1; Graph #3)
  
• Step 2: Once you have generated visual representations of your data, determine the best order for presenting the visuals. If the proper order for visuals is already determined by the lab manual, go to step three.
• Step 3: Review all the data from your experiment. In a sentence or two, summarize the main finding of this lab. This is the opening sentence(s) of the Results section that follows the data tables, charts and/or graphs.
• Step 4: In separate paragraphs, summarize the general finding in EACH of your visuals--tables, graphs, drawings, or other figures. First, describe any relationship or interaction which exists among variables for each visual. Then include any specific details from the visual(s) that are important for understanding the results. REFER to your tables, graphs, drawings, or other figures as figure or table 1, 2, 3, etc.
• Step 5: Complete the Results by placing all the elements you've written in the proper order: (1) the sentence summarizing the overall data for the lab; (2) the paragraphs of word descriptions for each visual arranged in the order the visuals are presented. Remember that the Results only reports and describes what you observed and collected during your lab. The Results does not explain, discuss, or draw conclusions.