Abstract
           
(The purpose of an abstract is to allow the reader to judge whether it would serve his
           
or her purposes to read the entire report. A good abstract is a concise (100 to 200 words) summary
           
of the purpose of the report, the data presented, and the author's major conclusions.)
           
Here I type in the abstract portion of the lab.
           
It only need be a brief summary of the entire report.
           
Introduction
           
(The introduction defines the subject of the report. It must outline the scientific purpose(s) or
           
objective(s) for the research performed and give the reader sufficient background to understand the rest of the
           
report. Care should be taken to limit the background to whatever is pertinent to the experiment.
           
A good introduction will answer several questions, including the following:
           
-why was this study performed?
           
-what knowledge already exists about this subject?
           
-what is the specific purpose of the study?)
           
           
           
Here I type in the introduction.
           
Simply describe the main questions that are being asked.
           
Include here a brief background discussion on the material.
           
           
Materials and Methods
           
(As the name inplies, the materials and methods used in the experiment should be reported
           
in this section. The difficulty in writing this section is to provide enough detail for the reader to
           
understand the experiment without overwhelming him or her. When procedures from a lab book or another
           
report are followed exactly, simply cite the work, noting that details can be found in that particular source.
           
However, it is still necessary to describe special pieces of equipment and the general theory of the assays or
           
procedures used. This can usually be done in a short paragraph, possibly along with a drawing of the experimental
           
apparatus. Generally, this section attempts to answer the following questions:
           
-what materials were used?
           
-how were they used?
           
-where and when was the work done?)
           
           
Here I type in the materials and methods.
           
Just list everything that you used to perform your experiment.
           
Then list, step-by-step, exactly what you did.
           
Also list and explain how you calculated your results.
           
           
Results
           
(The results section should summarize the data from the experiments without discussing
           
their implications. The data should be organized into tables, graphs, photographs, and so on. Commonly the
           
data may be organized into a table, but then must be displayed in a figure or graph for easy interpretation.
           
All figures and tables should have descriptive titles and should include a legend explaining any symbols,
           
abbreviations, or special methods used. Figures and tables should be numbered separately and should be
           
referred to in the text by number, for example:
           
1. Figure 1 shows that the activity decreased after five minutes.
           
or
           
1. The activity decreased after five minutes (fig 1.).
           
Figures and tables should be self-explanatory; that is, the reader should be able to understand them
           
without referring to the text. All columns and rows in tables and axes in figures should be labeled.)
           
           
Here I type in all the raw data (numbers) and all the results, including tables and graphs.
           
Make sure that both axis' of your graphs are labeled.
           
           
Discussion
           
(This section should not be a restatement of the results but should emphasize interpretation
           
of the data, relating them to existing theory and knowledge. Speculation is appropriate, if it is so identified.
           
Suggestions for the improvement of techniques or experimental design may also be included here. In writing
           
this section, you should explain the logic that allows you to accept or reject your original hypotheses.
           
You should also be able to suggest future experiments that might clarify areas of doubt in your results.)
           
           
Here I type in my discussion.
           
Talk about whether your results agree or disagree with your
           
hypothesis (the original question(s) that you asked).
           
Conclusions
           
(This section should be very brief, you have already presented all the data, and
           
discussed it in previous sections. All you need to do in this section is to state and summarize briefly
           
what you 'concluded'. Remember that the data is that data, and even if it shows that you made a mistake
           
or error in the experiment, you cannot alter the data, or alter your conclusions.)
           
Here I type in the conclusions.
           
Briefly state what the results show, what you can conclude.
           
           
Bibliography
           
(This section lists all articles and books cited in your report. The listing should be
           
alphabetized by the last names of the authors. Different journals require different formats for citing
           
literature. Here is a commonly used format:
           
For articles:
           
Fox, J.W. 1998. Nest building behavior of the catbird. Journal of Ecology 47: 113-17.
           
For books:
           
Hunt, W.Z. 1999. Ecological aspects of fox reproduction. Berlin: Guttenberg Press.
           
For chapters in books:
           
Smith, C.J. 1997. Basal Cell Carcinomas. In Histological aspects of Cancer, ed E.D. Wilfred, pp. 278-91.
           
Boston: Medical Press)
           
Here I type in all my sources, articles, textbooks, etc.
           
Remember also you should not use the first person, I or we, in writing.
Keep your wirting impersonal, in the third person.
Instead of saying, "We weighed the frogs and put them in a glass jar."
You should write, "The frogs were weighed and put into a glass jar."
Also, do not use slang, and try to keep everything in the past-tense.
Good luck.