If you have just completed an experiment in physics class, you need to write the report. It might seem like a difficult job, but in reality it is a fairly simple process that allows you to explain the laboratory experience and the results you have found to the teacher and to all the people who are interested in reading the document. Once you understand which sections you need to include in your paper and which writing techniques to use, you can produce a great report in no time.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Inserting Suitable Sections
Step 1. Start with the cover
In most cases you have to start with this page, but ask the teacher for more details to know what information you need to enter. Typically, the cover reads:
- Your name and that of your laboratory partner (s);
- The title of the experiment;
- The date it was conducted;
- Teacher's name;
- Information about the course you are taking or the class you are in.
Step 2. Add a table of contents
It is the first part of the report that is read, but it really should be the last thing you write, because it is a summary of all the content of the report. Its purpose is to provide readers with basic information about the experiment performed and the results obtained, so that they can determine whether or not they are interested in the document.
Write a summary that is short but engaging enough to make readers want to move on
Step 3. Consider writing an introduction
Depending on the nature of the experiment and the requirements imposed by the teacher, it may be necessary to provide an introductory section to explain the basic theory, provide general information about the research that has been carried out and describe the reasons that led you to gain specific laboratory experience.
Step 4. State the goal of the experiment
It should be a section consisting of a few sentences in which you describe the purpose of the work; if you wish, you can state your assumptions.
Step 5. Explain the procedure
In this part of the report you should describe in detail how you conducted the experiment. It presents all the steps you have taken bearing in mind that the reader is not familiar with the experiment and should be able not only to read the text, but to follow the instructions and repeat the procedure just as you did.
- If you think a diagram could be useful to better understand the various stages, add it in this section.
- It may be tempting to write the stages as a list, but you should stick to a more discursive style.
- Some teachers require you to add a separate section listing the materials and tools used during the lab experience.
- If you are following the instructions from a physics book, do not copy the various passages from the text. Explain the process in your own words to show that you understand why you are collecting this data and the correct way to do it.
Step 6. Add the raw data
Introduce the ones you detected while working in the laboratory in this section of the report; make sure they are organized clearly and don't forget the units of measure. A table is useful for this purpose.
- You can also insert graphs or tables that underline the most important data; however, you don't have to start analyzing them in this section.
- Explain any reasonable uncertainties that appear in the numerical data. No experiment is completely free of errors and uncertainties; if you have any doubts about it, ask the teacher for more information.
- If the uncertainty of the data is known, always plot the error bars in the graphs.
- Remember to always discuss potential sources of error and how these uncertainties affect the experiment.
Step 7. Provide a calculation example
If you have used equations to analyze your data, always present them in the report along with an example of how you used them to find the results; if you have used them several times during the experiment, you still have to write only one example.
Some teachers allow you to enter calculations in the data section of the paper
Step 8. Analyze the numerical information and draw conclusions
The analysis is one of the most important sections of the laboratory report, because it allows you to highlight your point of view regarding the meaning of the data and to demonstrate to the teacher what you have learned from the experience.
- Discuss the results by comparing them to your expectations or assumptions, present their implications in the world of physics, and what other experiments you could conduct to investigate them.
- You can also propose some of your own ideas to improve the experiment.
- Remember to add graphs that illustrate the analysis appropriately and help readers understand it better.
- Some teachers sometimes require you to write two separate sections for analysis and conclusion.
Step 9. Include your references
Don't forget to add a section called "References" or "Citations" at the end of the document. Also include any sources you used to complete the report. As for the formatting (MLA, APA or Chicago), use the style requested by the teacher.
Part 2 of 2: Using the Most Correct Writing Techniques
Step 1. Write complete sentences and pay attention to the grammar
In addition to the scientific data, the report is also evaluated in terms of style and writing, including spelling and grammar. Although literary skills may seem light years away from science, it is actually crucial that scientists are able to clearly explain their methods and conclusions; without a well-written report, the results of the laboratory experience are useless.
- Bulleted lists are not suitable for most sections; you should limit them to the short parts where you describe the materials and tools.
- Remember that one of the main goals of a laboratory report is to guide the reader so that he is able to repeat the experiment; if you can't clearly describe what you did and how you did it, no one is able to reproduce your results.
Step 2. Focus on clarity
Once you are satisfied that there are no grammar errors, you need to make sure that the reader is able to understand the report. Reread it for too long or convoluted sentences; remember that if it doesn't make sense to you, it's even more confusing for someone unfamiliar with the experiment.
Active phrases are easier to understand than passive phrases, so try to minimize the use of them whenever possible. For example, instead of writing: "These results are easily reproducible by anyone with the right equipment" choose: "Anyone with the right equipment can reproduce these results." However, the passive form is not always incorrect, so don't be afraid to use it when you think the concept is best expressed this way
Step 3. Stay on topic
In order for the paper to be understandable, it is important to organize the ideas according to the topic. Try to include only one main point in each sentence; groups the ones that are relevant by theme thus forming paragraphs and start a new paragraph every time you change the subject.
- Do not jump to conclusions and do not discuss the results of the experiment until you have reached the appropriate section. Just because you understand everything that happened during the lab work doesn't mean it is the same for the readers; you have to guide them step by step throughout the procedure.
- Eliminate any sentences that do not conceptually enrich the relationship. Readers just get frustrated reading pages and pages of trivia before getting to the "gist" of the matter.
Step 4. Write in the third person
When writing a laboratory report, you should at all costs avoid using the pronouns "I", "we", "mine" and "ours"; the third person makes the paper more authoritative and impartial.
- For example, instead of writing: "I noticed that the data we collected is not consistent with our previous results" choose to put it this way: "The data is not consistent with previous ones".
- It may not be easy to keep your voice active when writing in the third person, so it's okay to use the passive form if it makes more sense to you.
Step 5. Use the present tense
You should write most of the sections in the present tense; instead of: "The data was consistent with the hypothesis" write: "The data was consistent with the hypothesis".
Past tense verbs are good for discussing the procedures and results of previously performed experiments
Step 6. Enter the titles and labels
To help readers understand the document and find the information they are looking for, remember to clearly define the sections. It is also imperative to add a legend to every chart, table, or image you use so that people refer to it and know where to look for the data.
Step 7. Correct the draft
Always take the time to check the paper before giving it to the teacher; remember that the word processing program cannot recognize terms that are used improperly.
Advice
- Don't write too long or difficult sentences; even the most complex information can be described in a way that is easy to understand.
- If there are multiple parts of the experiment, you should consider writing "sub-reports" for each of them, so that readers can easily track the data and results before moving on to the next section.
- The teacher may prefer a slightly different schematic subdivision, it is always worth asking to be sure; remember to also include specific sections requested by the teacher.
