WRITING BIOLOGY LAB REPORTS

This document has some general information on how to write lab reports for the
introductory biology labs at SUNY Stony Brook. It also contains specific information on some
of the topics you should cover in each section of the lab reports to be assigned over the spring
semester, 2004 session of Biology 203. The T.A.s for the course are available for consultation
during their office hours. We can also suggest a paper called How to Write Lab Reports for
Biology at the Union College Biology Department web site,
http://www.union.edu/PUBLIC/BIODEPT/ResearchReports.html. If you are planning to go on
in Biology, you might consider purchasing the paperback book by Victoria McMillan, Writing
Papers in the Biological Sciences. (Third edition, 2001). Boston: Bedford/St. Martins. We
recommend it.
DO NOT PLAGIARIZE! Any instance of plagiarism is sent to the Academic Judiciary.
Even the use of a phrase from the internet without quotation marks and citing the reference is
considered plagiarism. Be especially careful in cases when you write your passages immediately
after having read information on the topic in a book or on the internet, or in cases in which you
and a lab partner work together. While you would have the same data, the ideas presented in the
rest of the lab report must be your own.
It is permissible in the introduction and the discussion sections, to use brief quotations (a
phrase or one sentence at most). Sometimes a book or reference has a phrase or sentence that
expresses exactly the thought you are trying to convey; you may use that phrase or sentence IF
you use quotation marks and cite a reference at the end of the sentence. It is NOT appropriate to
borrow extensive passages (more than two sentences) from a text or web site. You should also
acknowledge where ideas or knowledge not originally your own come from, even if you state
your understanding of the idea in your own words. This is usually done by putting the first
authors last name and the date of the paper, or the page of a textbook, in parentheses at the end
of the sentence containing the idea. Make sure you cite the course lecturer or TA if some of your
information comes from one of them. Any source you mention in the text of your paper should
also be included in a list of references in a separate section at the end of the paper. There is more
on how to cite references in the section of that title.
There are some points in each lab report, primarily in the introduction and discussion
sections, for the overall writing mechanics. This includes spelling, grammar, the flow of the
writing and general understandability of the paper. Therefore, you should make sure you
proofread your reports, and edit them as necessary. If you are not sure that a sentence is clear,
read it aloud to a non-scientist, and get his or her opinion. If you have problems with writing in
general, there is help available on campus: go to the Writing Center in the Life Sciences Library
(the small separate) building. If the problem is with scientific style and format, consult one of
the course T.A.s during his/her office hours.

Introduction
The point of this section is to give background information on the general topic of the
laboratory experiment. We want you to exhibit some independent understanding of what you did
in lab, and why you did it. Generally, there is one major process that a lab will investigate. You
want to explain how that process functions in the system you are studying, and the factors that
affect it. If there are two major experiments, you should cover the background of both topics.

Remember that when you write a lab report, you will have already performed the experiment(s),
so use the past tense. Make sure, towards the end of this section, to include your hypothesis and
specific predictions (again, if there are two experiments, two sets of predictions should also be
included).
Osmosis and Body Volume
Background information on osmosis; specifically how (and why) the process
occurs. Why do you expect it to affect body volume? Include information on
what osmoconformers and osmoregulators are and the advantages and
disadvantages of each.
Reflex Physiology
Background information on the neural pathway of a reflex. Topics should include
the anatomy of a neuron, receptors & neurotransmitters, excitatory vs. inhibitory
impulses, and involuntary responses.
Electrodiffusion
Background information on diffusion in general, and electrodiffusion in
particular. Also, demonstrate your understanding of the Nernst equation, and how
you are experimenting on membrane potential in the pH meter experiment.
Frog CV
Background information including the anatomy of amphibian hearts (and a
comparison with human CV anatomy and function), the measurement of ECGs
and nervous system innervation of the CV system.

Materials & Methods

In general, this is the section where you would explain exactly the experiment you did,
and indicate the equipment and any specialized chemicals or reagents you used. The purpose is
for another experimenter to be able to exactly repeat your experiment in order to directly
compare his/her results with yours.
However, since this is an introductory lab, you are repeating previously described
experiments. Therefore, the materials and methods are not unique. It is not necessary for you to
try to re-write the lab book. We just usually ask for a reference to the lab manual for a full
listing of procedures. That means that you just make a statement to the effect Procedures were
followed exactly as detailed in Foundations of Biology: Cell and Organ Physiology (Miyazaki,
ed., pp..).
It is analogous to a situation in which you develop a new technique to study a system.
You publish a paper detailing the technique and the results found using it. Then you decide to
try the new technique on another group of animals. When you publish the second set of results,
you do not repeat all the details of the new technique that would be a waste of your time, and
the journals space. You simply refer readers of the second paper to the previous one, which has
all the details.
The exception, of course, is the case in which the procedures were not followed exactly,
in which case you list any pertinent changes from the lab book, and the implications of those
changes. (Why did you make them? What effect will they have?) for example, make sure in
the Osmosis report that you include the exact concentration (in parts per thousand) of the
solutions you used. In any case, the full citation of the lab book would be contained in the
reference section of the report.

Results
The first paragraph is a general statement of the results of the paper. Do not give the
details in the text; readers can look at all the fine points of the data presented in tabular or
graphical form (including, for example, standard deviations if averages are given, and so forth).
However, all the data you collect should be presented. You should, of course, have evidence for
any statements you make. Therefore, attached to this section would be data tables (if they are
too large to include in the body of the report) graphs of this data, and/or printouts of computer
records. You should explain what is included, and label any interesting or important parts on
them. However, make sure that you state the results you actually found, even if they are NOT
what you expected or predicted. (For example, if in a study on the effects of chemicals on the
frog heart, the heart rate with Ringers solution was 36 beats per minute, and with Epinephrine it
was 30 beats per minute, do not state that the heart rate increased when Epinephrine was
applied!) Results in tabular or graphical form should have titles so you can refer to the results
shown in them in later sections. They should, of course, have explanatory labels of rows and
columns or of axes, with units indicated.
Osmosis
Make sure you include all the raw data tables (that is, a table that contain the
actual measurements you made in class, as well as that taken by other groups.
(You should indicate which data set is yours.) Then you can manipulate the data
(change the arrangement), in this case, first by indicating what data was averaged,
and by showing a table with the average change in weight of the organisms, and
then your graph of average change in weight vs. time.
Reflex Physiology
You would include anything requested in the lab manual, for example, a drawing
of leg in flexed and extended position, with an estimation of angle formed when
the tendon is tapped; a definition of direction (which way, flexion or extension, is
an increase in angle?), the results of calibration: measurement of the actual angle
compared to computer measurement and a graph of the calibration curve. You
should also have printouts of data for 20 trials of normal knee jerk, with
information on the average latency and amplitude; and printouts for the Jendrassik
maneuver and for the Latency experiments, (with requisite average
measurements).
Electrodiffusion
Specific tables are given in the lab book to present the information on the
electrodiffusion and membrane potential experiments
Frog CV
The section should include print-outs with all the mechanical events of the
heartbeat identified (e.g., atrial and ventricular contraction and relaxation), the
ECG, with the waves identified, and separate records showing the effects of any
drugs applied. There would be a table in this section of the heart rate, amplitude,
and notes on any other changes that might have been noted with drug application.

Discussion
In the discussion, you talk about what the results you detailed in the previous section
mean. Explain any cause-and-effect relationships. Are you sure that there was only one variable
that could have caused that result? For example, suppose you had been looking at the effect of
drugs on the frog heart. You expected Epinephrine to increase the heart rate and acetylcholine to
decrease it. However, if you put on the acetylcholine after the Epinephrine, how do you know
that any decrease in the rate was due to the second drug couldnt it just have been the
Epinephrine wearing off? How much variability is there in the results (if you did it twice, did
you get the exact same answer each time)? What are some possible causes of this variability?
How reliable is the data (can you believe it or do you think there was an error in carrying out the
experiment)? What general conclusions can be drawn? What is the importance of the
discoveries you have made? (This is especially important in experiments that are not repeated
from your lab book!)
You re-consider your hypothesis and predictions. Did you get the results you expected?
If not, why not? Did you carry out the experiment incorrectly? If so, explain the problem and
suggest how it could be carried out so that you would get the expected results. If the experiment
was performed correctly, perhaps the original hypothesis was incorrect. If this is the case,
suggest another hypothesis that could be tested.
Since you only did the experiment once, and on a very small sample, you may have
evidence supporting your hypothesis, but you have not PROVEN anything.
You should also make a point of answering any questions that are posed in the lab
manual. Do not make a separate section of the answers, but include them in the content of the
discussion, when the topic comes up as you discuss the results.
Osmosis
In this experiment, there are often large differences between individual organisms,
so it is especially important to look at the overall tendency of the data. What did
you do to minimize the differences between individuals? There are also major
differences between the two types of animal used, so you might want to compare
them on the basis of the original weight how much of a difference in percent
weight is 2 grams for a worm that originally weighed 8 grams and for a clam that
weighed 200 grams? Was there a time lag in seeing the results you expected?
Why might this be? Can you propose the mechanism by which the animals
maintained their body weight (if they did)? If they did not, what prevented them
from doing so?
Reflex Physiology
Talk about the normal operation of the knee jerk, its average latency, amplitude
and any sources of variation. Is the reflex working as expected? Discuss
variability. What was the reason for any effect of Jendrassik maneuver
(especially consider amplitude) and for any increased latency with selfstimulation?
Electrodiffusion
Explain the entire chain of logic that led to the identification of each substance in
the electrodiffusion experiment. Talk about the role of diffusion in determining
membrane potential, with particular emphasis on the role of temperature. Make
sure you answer all the lab report questions given in the lab book, not in a
separate section, but in the discussion, as the topic arises.

Frog CV
Are the mechanical events and electrical events in the heart as expected? Could
you see the relationship between them? Discuss the relationship between the
electrical and mechanical events that you identified on the printouts, especially
considering causation (look at the timing sequence). Identify the various drugs
used and mention any relationship between them and nervous system innervation.

References
Here you list any books, papers, internet sites, etc. in which you found information about
the topic of the experiment. These references are usually listed in alphabetical order by the first
authors last name (this is the Harvard system of citation; an alternate system cites papers by
number in the text of the paper and lists them in the reference section in the order of appearance
in the paper). Make sure all the authors of a paper or book are listed, and include the title of the
book or article, the journal or publisher (and place), and the date. If you used just part of a book,
indicate the chapter or pages used. For web sites, give the exact electronic address and any other
information (It is best if you have an author (if one is listed) and the name of the organization
that sponsors the site.) you have about it. Again, you want to give any information necessary for
another researcher to find the facts you did. For general format, check a standard scientific
journal or a book like the Scientific Style and Format reference put out by the Council of Biology
Editors (Cambridge University Press; the most recent edition is the 6th, and is dated 1994) and
use a similar or recommended style.
Examples:
Book:
Author(s). Year. Title. Location: Publisher. Number of pages, or pages cited.
Hille, Bertil. 1992. Ionic Channels of Excitable Membranes. Second Edition. Sunderland, MA:
Sinauer Associates, Inc. 607p.
Article:
Author(s). Year. Title of Article. Journal, volume number, pages.
Huxley, A.F. and R. Stmpfli. 1949. Evidence for salutatory conduction in peripheral
myelinated nerve fibres. J Physiol. (Lond.) 108: 315-339.
Web page:
Name of web page. Creator or publisher. Subject. Web address.
The Animated Brain. Brainviews, Ltd. Saltatory conduction.
http://www.brainviews.com/abFiles/AniSalt.htm
Lecture or information from TA.
Name of TA or lecturer (alphabetically, by last name). Indicate the exact date and topic of the
lecture (including the course in which it was given), or for individual answers to questions you
asked a TA, you can call it personal communication and give the date.

Addendum
Definitions, according to www.dictionary.com
cite (st)
tr.v. cited, citing, cites
1.To quote as an authority or example.
2.To mention or bring forward as support, illustration, or proof: cited several instances of
insubordinate behavior.
quote (kwt)
v. quoted, quoting, quotes; v. tr.
1.To repeat or copy the words of (another), usually with acknowledgment of the source.
2.To cite or refer to for illustration or proof.
3.To repeat a brief passage or excerpt from: The saxophonist quoted a Duke Ellington
melody in his solo.
plagiarize (plj-rz)
v. plagiarized, plagiarizing, plagiarizes; v. tr.
1.To use and pass off (the ideas or writings of another) as one's own.
2.To appropriate for use as one's own passages or ideas from (another).
v. intr.
To put forth as original to oneself the ideas or words of another.
plagiarizer n.
quotation (kw-tshn)
n.
1.The act of quoting.
2.A passage quoted.
3.An explicit reference or allusion in an artistic work to a passage or element from
another, usually well-known work: Direct quotations from other paintings are fairly
sparse (Robert Hughes).
reference (rfr-ns, rfrns)
n.
1.An act of referring: filed away the article for future reference.
2.a. Significance in a specified context: Her speeches have special reference to
environmental policy.
b. Meaning or denotation.
3.The state of being related or referred: with reference to; in reference to.
4.A mention of an occurrence or situation: made frequent references to her promotion.
5.a. A note in a publication referring the reader to another passage or source.
b. The passage or source so referred to.
c. A work frequently used as a source.
d. A mark or footnote used to direct a reader elsewhere for additional information.
6.Law. a. Submission of a case to a referee.
b. Legal actions conducted before or by a referee.

7.a. A person who is in a position to recommend another or to vouch for his or her
fitness, as for a job.
b. A statement about a person's qualifications, character, and dependability.
tr.v. referenced, referencing, references
1.To supply references to: Our memories are addressed and referenced... by significant
fragments of their own content (Frederick Turner).
2.To mention in a reference; refer to: He referenced her book in his speech. See Usage
Note at allude.
referencer n.
referential (--rnshl) adj.
referentially adv.