FORMAT OF REPORT WRITING OF BCM 312

This a guide to writing a lab report for BCM 312/202.

It is preferred that student use their hand for writing their reports. Individual report is recommended. Students must produce a clear, precise and relevant results and discussion solely based on the lab session. Do not copy any material or data from textbook or the internet. Use your hand to write the report.

The format of reports is as follows:

FRONT PAGE: Provided

THE CONTENTS INCLUDE:

1. Objective(s)

This should be a one or two statement of the purpose of the experiment, e.g. to distinguish various types of specialized cells in eukaryotes.

2. Introduction

This should a concise, well-written paragraph describing the concepts underlying the lab and techniques used during each session. The purpose of this section is to show that the students understand what the lab is about.

3. General Procedure/Materials and Methods

This should be a summary of the procedures in the lab. Do not go into too much detail and never restate the procedure statements given in the laboratory manual.

4. Results and Discussion

This should include observational results, data, figures drawings, graphs and tables. Students are advised to present their results according to sections depicted in the laboratory manuals. In this section you should catalogue everything you see such as the accuracy of measurements, mistakes that you may have made, raw data as you collect, and anything that you observe while conducting the experiment. Students should re-organize the data into neat, legible tables, graphs, figures and drawings with complete labels that are well ordered and easy to read. Be sure that each result has a title, unit of measurement, magnification power, brief texts or calculation method.

5. Discussion/Conclusion

In this section students should refer to the purpose and introduction of the lab topics. Discuss whether the experiment supports the assertions made earlier. You will use information in the Observation and Data/Calculations sections to determine if the experiment was a success or failure. Discuss why the data doesnt support the theory and where errors may have entered. Thus, observation is critical to this section of the lab. If the results are poor the students will need to be able to discuss where error came into the procedure. The Discussion section is the most important part of the lab. Do not discuss on the theoretical aspects alone but combine both facts and findings.

6. References

This section should include list of references such as textbooks, journals and internet materials the students use as the reference materials; e.g. histology atlas, etc. (Using APA Style writing): https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/560/10/ or http://courses.semo.edu/library/infolit/apastyle_web.htm

Submission and Grading of Lab Reports

Date of submission: Students are given a week to prepare the report and expected to submit it one day prior to the subsequent lab session.

Grading: Marks will be given as below. However, your instructor may use his/her discretion for the distribution of marks for the reports.

Report ComponentDescriptionMark

TitleShort and precise0.5

Objective(s)Short and precise1.0

IntroductionIncluding hypotheses, background 1.5Information

Materials and MethodsPast-tense, passive voice2.0

ResultsLabeled drawings, tables and graphs 2.0with titles

Discussion and Evaluation of hypotheses and purpose 2.0Conclusions of experiments

Overall presentationReferences, grammar, creativity and 1.0use own words and not restate sentences from manual

Total mark10