Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore

STUDENT GUIDELINES FOR WRITING UP LABORATORY REPORTS

This is the general guideline for writing up practicals in the Department of Chemistry, and therefore please use these guidelines in your writing up. It is the specification against which the assignment called "Practical Write-up" will be assessed. These are general instructions, for individual modules there may be instructions (additional to these guidelines) given by the lecturer specific to that module. There are three forms of practical write-up you may be asked to deliver, although all are based on the same precepts, their format and content are different. Please be sure to use the correct guidelines for what you are asked to deliver. To use this information, first print out and read the precepts - these cover all practicals you will write-up in your time here. Then, look up the requirements for the type of practical write-up you have been asked to provide. Note: this document does not cover note-taking and recording in the laboratory. Please see Working In The Laboratory And Afterwards which is available via IVLE.

CONTENTS Precepts Guidelines for Full Reports Guidelines for Short Reports Guidelines for Pro-forma Reports p2 p8 p8 p9

1 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Precepts General format instructions: The report should be tidy, clear, and easy to read. The report should be concise, and since it is a scientific piece of work, it should also be accurate and logical. It is not a casual article. The style should open and evidence based, not didactic. The text should be 11 pt Times New Roman 1.15 spaced with 1 inch margins (left, right, top and bottom). Set no spacing before, and 6pt spacing after each paragraph. Paragraphs should be fully justified only. The report should be written in the passive voice not the active voice.

Structure is all important, and if the write-up (or any piece of work) does not flow, then usually this means you have put the wrong bits in the wrong place. What follows is guidance on what the various sections of a report should contain. Title This would usually be the Department of Chemistry Cover-Sheet. Abstract The abstract is a summary of the essential pieces of information and conclusions reached. The task is to put into a maximum of 150 words the major elements of the paper. The abstract should not be bullet pointed, but written in prose. Brevity is the key. Methodological details should be omitted unless the practical is about the method per se. and hence form conclusions. References to previous work or footnotes should be omitted. the abstract should be: what was done, what was found, and what it means. the question investigated and why. the general methods employed. the essence of the results, including key numbers. the principal conclusions .

Aims The aims section should contain the aims of the experiment. These should be bullet pointed, and as concise as possible. Often, these do not appear explicitly or completely in the script, and it is part of the assessment that you understand why you were in the laboratory and doing the experiment, as well as what you were doing. The aims ARE NOT a summary or abstract. 2 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Introduction Should present the scientific problem at hand to the reader. The level should be such that it brings a peer up to speed on why the experiment is being done. Give a brief explanation why the experiment is conducted and how it is designed. It should have a logical structure. Exceptionally, a brief theoretical context may be given, but it should be brief, specific, and closely related to the experiments conducted. DO NOT regurgitate lecture notes or textbooks, even in your own words. Any related and crucial matters not introduced in earlier experiments should also be addressed.

Procedure Remember: good science is written down, not written up. It is important that your laboratory report be a factual account of what you did and observed in the laboratory. It is not a sin to make a mistake in the lab, we all do. It is what you do afterward in the analysis and handling of the data that you do have, that will redeem you in the assessment. However, as a scientist, it is an unforgivable sin if you attempt to conceal what you did, or forge your data in any way. The procedure (or experimental or methods) section of the report should be a logical, coherent, and condensed account of the experiment(s) conducted. This section should be complete enough for a trained scientist to pick up the report and replicate the experiment. The experimental section in a laboratory report should be more concise than the corresponding section in the laboratory manual. Precautionary notes in the script should be removed. It should be in passive form and past tense. This section should describe what you did, rather than what the script says. It is assumed that you followed the method as written, if however you significantly differed from the method, then a short explanation of what you did and why is in order. You will have normally recorded any deviations from the method on your data-sheet while in the lab, with your observations. DO NOT REPORT RESULTS IN THIS SECTION. The first paragraph of the experimental section contains information on key chemicals used in the procedure. State if purification or drying of the compounds was required. State what instruments were used, (e.g. the instruments used to characterize a newly synthesized substance). If there is a lot of information here a sub-heading "Reagents & Equipment" may be used. For some experiments that require you to take environmental samples, then a short section describing when, where and how the samples were taken is in order. For common techniques, laboratory textbooks should be referenced. In some cases appropriate schemes or schematics can be drawn (e.g. a synthesis might include a synthetic scheme).

3 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore NOTE - UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should you be recording data or observations directly into a laptop or handheld device. It is unsound to do this, and represents a Health and Safety risk to you. Instead, record your observations on your datasheet - see above. Results and Discussion Results and Discussion can either be reported together , i.e. Results and Discussion (as one section) or separately, as a Results section, followed by a Discussion section. Structurally: if you choose to put them together, then Results and Discussion result A discussion on A result B discussion on B

or separately, then Results o result A, B, C Discussion o discussion on A, B, C

Results In some experiments involving large amounts of data and calculations or analysing databases, or requiring extensive analysis of errors and uncertainties, a subheading "Data Treatment and Analysis" should be used, see below. Remember that in the Results section, the results are presented and summarised in a reader-friendly form. This section should contain your work-up of the raw data, and your analysis of that data. Your raw data will be included as the Appendix, attached to the report. Raw data should not be presented. It is appropriate to include the average calculated concentration of a solution but not the original absorbance values that were collected from the spectrophotometer, (N.B. these will be recorded on your datasheet as the notes you take while in the lab). Graphs 1 and tables often make the data more understandable and should be used. A graph is presented in the report as a figure. All Figures and Tables should be titled individually, e.g. Figure 6 the variation of reaction rate with Temperature, or Table 3 Contributions to overall error of the rate constant. In general, a graph or table is an appropriate presentation of the data when more than two or three datum are involved.

See below for guidance on Graphs.

4 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore The Results section also reports comparable literature values for the properties obtained and/or calculated in the paper: "...e.g. Recrystallization of the product from hexane gave 2.08 g of the product (23% yield). Melting point of product is 85C, sharp (literature 8789C)1...." (N.B. the reasons for differences between your data and literature data are not discussed here if there is a Discussion section) Observation of trends in the numerical data can be reported here, but interpretation of the trend should not be discussed here if there is a Discussion section. Report only the facts. Use past tense to describe a specific piece of data or finding.

Data Treatment and Analysis Occasionally, an experiment may involve large amounts of data. An example might be the practical "The Determination of Ksp of Potassium Hydrogen Tartrate at Different Temperatures." For this experiment you might wish to: Present the data directly used for subsequent calculations, e.g. V(NaOH), rather than the initial and final readings from the burette. (N.B. your datasheet which includes notes taken during the practical will contain this information). Record the factors of reaction conditions that directly affect the results, e.g. concentrations of standard NaOH, temperature, atmospheric pressure (if relevant)..etc. Tabulate calculated values of T, V(NaOH), [HT], [K+] and Ksp.

Show one sample calculations of [HT], [K+] and Ksp. Discussion The Discussion section is where the results are interpreted. The data should be presented or referred to if presented in the results section. The reliability of the data should be commented on, and the evidence to support the comments should be included from your observations (recorded on your data-sheet). This section should assess the quality of what you have done. Done properly it will contain your reasoning and indicate and lead to your conclusions. Note, please see separate guidance on Error Analysis, and below for guidance on graphs. First, evaluate the data: Are the date good, mediocre, terrible, or un-interpretable? Estimate or evaluate the error Evaluate the results by comparing to literature values or other precedents. Explain what results should have been obtained and whether these expected results have been obtained. Do the data look the same to the expected results within one or two standard deviations? If the results turn out to be unreliable, explain why. 5 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Use statistical analysis or chemical principles to support the claims. Was there a systematic error? Is the error due to the limitations of the apparatus? Evaluate the statistical significance of the data.

After validating the data, interpret the results; state what the results mean. How do the results help the reader understand the scientific problem? How do the results relate to the concepts outlined in the introduction?

Note, because you will only be discussing your results in the light of matters raised in the introduction, it is best to write the introduction after you have finished the discussion. Do not assume that the experiment failed or was successful. Prove the value of the study to the reader, with logical arguments and supporting evidence.

The script may contain some specific questions designed to help you on your journey, you should make sure that they are answered in this section. Conclusions The Conclusions section is typically a one-paragraph summary of the things you have concluded, and summarizes the major results of the experiment. It can be bullet pointed. If the discussion has been completed successfully, it could be simply cutting and pasting of the pre-indicated conclusions in the discussion, under one or two line introductory paragraph. References Cite other peoples work wherever appropriate. There is no need to cite information that is common knowledge or is exclusively your idea. The References section is a compilation of all citations made within the paper. Bibliographies are not usually used in science, and are not required here. They are most used in the Humanities and are lists of works that the author has read and been influenced by. They are not cited specifically in the text. There is specific Department-wide guidance on references and referencing style 2. In brief here, references should appear in a numerically ordered list in a section called "References" which should appear at the end of the report before the Appendix. They should all be cited in the text by their superscripted number. This style is referred to as abbreviated ACS style. Appendices Usually just your data-sheet, which will include ALL the notes and observations you have made during your laboratory time (signed by demonstrator).

Checklist for Formal Laboratory Reports. Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore.

6 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Guidance on Graphs "..a picture paints a thousand words..", and for a scientist graphs and equations are those "pictures". The basic rules are easy, if you are in the lab and want to check your data, sketch your graph on your data sheet. When you to write up, it is better to produce your graphs programmatically, the example below is using Excel. Figure N: the density of water with temperature.
1 0.9995 0.999 0.9985 0.998 Density /g mL-1 0.9975 0.997 0.9965 0.996 0.9955 0.995 10 15 20 Temperature /C 25 30 y = -5E-06x2 + 9E-06x + 1.0002 R = 1

The important characteristics of the graph above are as follows: The graph has a title (outside of the graph frame, the graph is of a reasonable size, the data fills the field, i.e. the scale of the axes is appropriate, there is a grid to assist the eye, the axes are labelled and have units, the individual datapoints are visible and of appropriate size, there is a best-fit line through the data (in this case a polynomial), with an R2 value 3.

Note, the meaning of the value of the Pearson Correlation Coefficient (R ) is limited, and does not necessarily tell you anything about goodness of fit. If in doubt, please see separate guidance on Correlation.

7 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Guidelines for Full Reports As a general guideline, the report should be split into the following sections: Title Abstract Aims Introduction Experimental Procedure Results (or Results & Discussion) Data Treatment and Analysis (if applicable) Discussion (or Results & Discussion as above) Conclusion References Appendix (TA signed data sheet from your lab session)

There is no strict limit on the length of full or formal laboratory write-ups, but it would be unusual for the body of the report to be more than six sides. The lecturer in charge of the module will confirm whether there are any specific limits for that module. Guidelines for Short Reports As a number of famous people have remarked, "..I would have written a shorter letter but I didn't have time..", (this particular quote is attributed to Pascal). A short report is a challenge, because you need to get all of the key information, reasoning, comparisons, analysis and conclusions into a short format, no more than 5 (FIVE) A4 sides (excluding references and the Appendix). As a general guideline, the report should be split into the following sections: Title Aims Results and Discussion Conclusions References Appendix (TA signed data sheet from your lab session)

The report should not contain a methods/experimental/procedures section, it is assumed that you followed the method as written. So if you want to put a heading "methods", and beside it you write "as per schedule", then fine, but this has taken up a line you might want to use! If however you significantly differed from the method, then a short explanation of what you did and why is in order. Your raw data, (the TA signed data sheet from your lab session), will be included as the Appendix, attached to the report.

8 of 9

Department of Chemistry, National University of Singapore Guidelines for Pro-forma Reports This style of report is written within the laboratory session and submitted that day, by the end of the session. It consists of your data sheet data sheet ( including experimental observations, results, data analysis (applicable to physical/analytical experiments), product and characterization (applicable to synthesis experiments), and finally a synopsis (a short paragraph illustrating what has been achieved in the experiment). As with all the other reports, your TA must sign your data-sheet.

9 of 9