How to write my chemistry lab report? Don’t worry; there are two ways out. The first one is to get help from a chemistry expert who works on a special helping service. They will deal with your report efficiently. The second way is to read this post further. It will walk you through the whole process of writing such a paper.
The first thing that you have to do is decide what type of your paper is. Typically, there are two types of chemistry lab reports: analytical and descriptive. Analytical reports require more labor. In a nutshell, they aim to draw some conclusions based on the data collected in your experiment. This doesn’t mean that you should be worried if you need to write a descriptive report only; this kind of paper also needs hard work to succeed.
The next step is choosing a proper format for your assignment. If you don’t know the basic requirements, here they are:
Cover page with such information as your name (the main one), the course title, and the date of submission; Table of contents (sometimes, it’s placed on a separate page); Introduction (a section where you should describe the purpose of your work and provide basic information about the conducted experiment); Procedure (you have to write everything that was done during an experiment step-by-step); Results (here, you need to present all received data in tables or graphs); Discussion (this part is devoted to analyzing your results and linking them with a hypothesis); Conclusion; References.
- Title of the experiment.
The title of your chemistry lab report has to be informative. Try to make it no longer than ten words. The title should give your reader a general idea of what your paper deals with.
- Abstract.
An abstract is a summary of your whole report. It should be laconic but informative at the same time. An abstract typically contains such sections as an introduction, results, discussion, and conclusion.
- Introduction.
An introduction is the first section of your chemistry lab report. Here, you need to write down the purpose of your work and provide some background information about the conducted experiment. Don’t forget to state your hypothesis (it has to be based on earlier research). The last sentence of your introduction has to lead readers to the main body paragraphs.
- Material and methodology.
This is the second section of your report, where you have to write down all materials that were used during an experiment as well as methods that helped you to achieve the desired goal. You should describe your procedures step-by-step.
- Procedure.
This section is devoted to describing the process of an experiment step-by-step. Everything that was done during an experiment should be presented here in a clear and concise manner. Use simple language, and don’t forget to proofread your text for grammar mistakes before moving to the next section.
- Data analysis.
This is the section where you need to present all received data. You can do it in the form of tables or graphs. All information should be arranged in a logical order.
- Error analysis.
This section is devoted to analyzing all errors that were made during an experiment. You need to find out the reasons why these errors occurred and how they influenced your results.
- Results.
After you have finished describing the procedure, it’s time to write down all received data in this section. You can either present them in tables or graphs (or both). All visual materials should be placed after a corresponding text description.
- Discussion.
This is one of the most important sections of your chemistry lab report as it aims at analyzing your results and linking them with a hypothesis. In other words, you need to discuss whether your results support or disprove your hypothesis. Start with restating your research question and move to explain what conclusions can be drawn based on the received data. Try to be concise and clear when writing this section.
- Conclusion.
A conclusion is the last section of your chemistry lab report, where you have to summarize everything that was done in your paper. Start with restating your research question and hypothesis. Then, provide a brief summary of the conducted experiment and its results. Finally, state what conclusions can be drawn based on the received data.
- References.
This section is devoted to listing all sources that were used during the research process (both primary and secondary ones). All references have to be formatted according to a chosen citation style (MLA, APA, Chicago/Turabian, etc.).
When all these sections are ready, the only thing left to do is proofreading. This stage is important because even one mistake can spoil the whole picture. To check your paper for mistakes more thoroughly, we recommend reading it aloud. Thus, you will notice errors easier. Also, don’t forget to ask someone else to proofread your text. A friend or a family member will do.
If you follow all the steps mentioned above, writing a chemistry lab report won’t be a problem for you anymore!