Content

• To step
• Part 1 of 2: Bringing the right parts
• Part 2 of 2: Using the correct writing techniques
• Tips

If you've just finished an experiment in physics, you may need to write a report on it. This may sound tricky, but it's actually a simple process that will help you explain your experiment and your results to your teacher and anyone interested in learning more about it.Once you know which parts to include in your report and which writing techniques to use, you can write a great physics lab report in no time.

To step

Part 1 of 2: Bringing the right parts

1. Start with a cover page. For many lab and research reports, you should start with a cover page. Ask your teacher exactly what information should be included. Information usually on the cover page is:
   • Your name and the name of your lab partner (s)
   • The title of your experiment
   • The date you ran the experiment
   • Your teacher's name
   • Information that indicates which class you are in
2. Add a summary. The summary is the first part of your report that your readers will see, but it should be the last thing you write because it is a summary of everything else you have included in your report. The purpose of the summary is to provide potential readers with basic information about the experiment you conducted and the results you obtained, so that they can determine whether or not they are interested in reading the full report.
   • Keep your summary brief and note the purpose of the experiment, the hypothesis, and any important findings.
3. Consider adding an introduction. Depending on the nature of your experiment and the requirements of your class, you may want to add an introductory section to your report. In it, you should explain the underlying theory, provide background information on the research that has already been done, and describe your motivation for conducting this particular experiment.
4. Determine the purpose of the experiment. In this section, you will indicate in a few sentences what the purpose of your experiment was. If you wish, you can also state your hypothesis.
5. Explain the procedure followed. The procedure or method section of your report should provide a detailed explanation of exactly how you conducted your experiment. Go through each step you have taken, bearing in mind that a reader who is completely unfamiliar with your experiment should be able to read your procedure and repeat the experiment just as you did.
   • If a diagram will help your audience understand your procedure, include it in this section.
   • You may be tempted to write this as a list, but it's best to stick to the paragraph form.
   • Some teachers will require a separate section on the materials and equipment used to conduct the experiment.
   • If you are following instructions from a lab book, don't just copy the steps from the book. Explain the procedure in your own words to show that you understand how and why you collected each piece of data.
6. Add your raw data. In this section of the report, present the raw data you collected during your experiment, making sure it is clearly organized and includes units of measurement. A table is usually useful for organizing the data.
   • You can also include graphs or charts here that highlight the most important data, but don't start analyzing the data just yet.
   • Please explain any reasonable uncertainties that may appear in your data. No experiment is completely free of uncertainties, so ask your teacher if you are unsure of what to include.
   • Always include uncertainty bars in your charts if the uncertainties of the data are known.
   • Also discuss possible sources of errors and how those errors could have affected your experiment.
7. Provide sample calculations. If you used equations to analyze your data, include a list of them in your report, along with one example of how you used the equation to calculate your results. If you used the equation several times during the experiment, you basically only need to mention one example.
   • Some teachers are happy for you to include calculations in the data portion of your report.
8. Analyze your data and state your conclusion. The analysis is one of the most important parts of your report, because it allows you to highlight your insights into the meaning of the data and convey to your teacher what you have learned from it.
   • Integrate information about how your results relate to your expectations or hypothesis, what implications these results have for the physics field, and what further experiments could be performed to learn more about your results.
   • You can also add your own ideas to improve the experiment.
   • Be sure to include graphs that are appropriate to illustrate your analysis of the data and help your readers understand it better.
   • Some teachers may ask you to make two separate analysis and conclusion sections.
9. Include your sources. Don't forget to include a "Sources" or "Works Consulted" at the end of your lab report. List all the resources you used to complete the experiment. Format your resources in the style specified by your teacher (MLA, APA or Chicago).

Part 2 of 2: Using the correct writing techniques

1. Use complete sentences and correct grammar. In addition to your scientific data, your research report will also be assessed on writing skills, including grammar and spelling. Although writing skills may seem to have nothing to do with science, it is nevertheless vital that scientists can clearly articulate their methods and conclusions. Without a well-written report, your research results are worthless.
   • Lists are not suitable for most parts of your report. You may be able to use them for short items, such as your materials and equipment list.
   • Keep in mind that one of the main goals of your research paper is to help others replicate your experiment. If you cannot explain clearly what you did and how you did it, no one will ever be able to reproduce your results.
2. Focus on clarity. If you are sure that your report does not contain grammatical errors, you need to make sure your readers can actually understand it. Read it to see if it contains sentences that are too long or unclear. Remember, if it doesn't make sense to you, it will be even more confusing for someone unfamiliar with your experiment.
   • Active sentences are usually easier to understand than passive sentences, so try to limit the use of the passive voice whenever possible. Suppose you haven't written something like, “These results are easily reproducible by anyone with the right equipment.” Then try changing this to, “Anyone with the right equipment should be able to reproduce these results.” The passive voice is not always wrong, so don't be afraid to leave a sentence in the passive voice if you think it makes more sense that way.
3. Do not deviate from the topic. To make your report understandable, it is important that you organize your ideas by topic. Try to include only one main point in each sentence you write. Group thematically related sentences into paragraphs, and start a new paragraph when you change the subject.
   • Don't skip any of the research or discuss the results of the experiment until you get to that section. Just because you understand everything about your experiment doesn't mean your readers will understand. You have to guide them through it step by step.
   • Leave out sentences that don't add anything to your report. Your readers will only get frustrated when they have to read through a lot of nonsense to find your main point.
4. Write in the third person. When writing a research report, avoid using the pronouns "I", "we", "mine" and "our" at all costs. The third person sounds a lot more authoritative.
   • For example, instead of writing, "I noticed that the data we collected was not consistent with our previous results," you write, "The data is not consistent with the previous results."
   • It can be tricky to keep the active voice when writing in the third person, so it's good to use the passive voice if it makes more sense to do so.
5. Write in the present tense. For the most part, you should always write your lab report in the present tense. Instead of, "The data matched the hypothesis," you write, "The data matched the hypothesis."
   • The past tense is suitable for discussing your procedure and the results of past experiments.
6. Include headlines and labels in your report. To help your readers understand your report and find the information they are looking for, clearly identify each section. It's also important to title any graphs, tables or figures you include in your report so that you can refer to them and your readers know where to look.
7. Check your text. Always take the time to proofread your report before submitting it. Keep in mind that your word processor's spell checker doesn't pick up misused words.

Tips

• Try not to make your sentences too long or too difficult. You can write down even complex information in an understandable way.
• Your teacher may have a slightly different way of organizing a report, so it is always a good idea to ask about it. Make sure to add extra parts if your teacher specifically asks for them.
• If your experiment was multi-part, consider creating a mini-report for each part so that your readers can easily follow your data and results for each part before moving on to the next part.