ABSTRACT is a single paragraph that is a concise but specific summary of each section of the lab report. While the abstract appears before the introduction in terms of placement in the report, it is common practice to actually write the abstract last once the rest of the report is done.
INTRODUCTION section provides relevant background information to understand what the lab report contains. You must in-text cite the source of the background information. It also must include a specific PURPOSE STATEMENT (or objective or research question) of the work done and your HYPOTHESIS. For example, you may wish to investigate how the production of carbon dioxide by yeast is affected by nutrient source. You would formulate your Research Hypothesis Statement as “IF….., THEN…..” whereby your hypothesis follows the “if” & the “then” is followed by a possible testable possibility. Ex.: If yeast are selective to their nutrient source, then yeast fed sugar will have different carbon dioxide production than yeast fed protein.
METHODS section is a formal narrative written in paragraph format that presents how the experiments were done such that a person of science could be reasonably expected to repeat them. You write how you did what you did, and you also include how you collected/analyzed the data obtained. It is ok to say “I/we”….write in past tense….in-text cite the lab manual procedure.
RESULTS section is where you report the data obtained in an unbiased manner. You may include illustrations of data. However, you still need formal narrative written in paragraph format in which you tell what your data is while referring to any given numbered figures. For example, a sentence within a paragraph of your results section might be as follows: Figure 1 shows the production of carbon dioxide decreased after five minutes.
DISCUSSION section is where you interpret the data….what does the data obtained mean/imply? Does the data support your hypothesis or not? Explain. If relevant, how do your results compare with the expected results? What might be considered sources of potential error or what problems occurred while conducting the work? The lab manual may pose discussion questions on which you can reflect. Do not simply put answers to such questions in your lab report discussion section. Instead, use any discussion questions as a guide on a way to incorporate material into your formal written discussion narrative. The discussion must end with a brief and concise CONCLUSION that should be in synch with the stated purpose and/or hypothesis stated in the lab report. The conclusion should state the major finding(s) of the work, but it is NOT to be a summary of the entire work.
LITERATURE CITED section is the full reference listing of all sources that appear as in-text citation anywhere in the document. At a minimum, you should in your methods section in-text cite the lab manual used for the methods. Other sections in which citation maybe relevant is the introduction and discussion. All work contained in the lab report is to be the original writing of the student author. Paraphrases should be in-text cited and direct quotes contained within quotation marks.
The Name/Year Method for in-text citation is expected.
If writing a sentence in the introduction & you need to cite source for a fact, it would look like: The gene we describe in this report is identical to the one first isolated in 1989 (Smith, 1991). Or you are reporting a statistic and you paraphrase the source that you need to cite:
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The incidence rate for cancer in 2010 in NY was higher than that of NJ (CDC, 2010).