Report writing guidelines
An experiment report is an important tool to communicate the experiment results and findings to
others, it should be organized and written in clear a way. Reports should be original and
contain the basic required elements detailed below, copying from any source will result in a
zero grade and proper academic punishment.
The report must contain the following sections:
1. Cover page
Cover page must contain: course number and name, section number, experiment name and number,
author name, date performed, lab partner(s) name(s), and the instructor’s name.
2. Table of contents:
A list sections headings and page numbers.
3. Abstract
This section provides a brief summary explaining the aim of the experiment, and the methods used.
Use your own words; do not copy objectives from manual.
4. Theory
This section should include any relevant theory along with mathematical formulas. The following
should be considered when writing the theory section:
Avoid copying from lab manual; summarize the theory in your own words.
If you used information from any resources, state them in references.
Explain symbols in the mathematical formulas, and use graphical representation of
formulas (curves) where applicable.
5. Procedure
This section describes in detail the way the experiment was conducted. This is very important so that
anyone who reads it should be able to re-produce the experiment and its results. In this section, what
was measured and how it was measured should be provided.
6. Data, Calculations, and Analysis of results:
Your report must include a section for data aside from the sheet you used to record data in
the lab, which must be attached at the end of your report. The data should be recorded in
clear and readable fashion, be provided in tables where possible, and should have units.
Calculations should be performed to get the required quantities from measured ones, you
must show a detailed sample calculation showing any equations used.
You have to discuss all results comparing with what was theoretically expected from
prelab exercise and explaining any differences. Discuss results qualitatively i.e. no need to
state numeric results for each result as the experiments usually contains measurements of
many quantities, it is enough to state the general behavior of results. The discussion should
contain answers to the following questions:
Is the result acceptable?
What is the behavior of graphs/plots?
What are the possible sources of error?
Any questions in the procedure section must be answered in this section when discussing
results.
7. Conclusions
Restate the main objectives and how or to what degree they were achieved. What principles
were validated by the experiment? Were there any major experimental complications? How
the result can be improved in the future if the experiment is repeated (optional)?
8. References:
List any references you used in writing your report, examples on IEEE references formatting
are given below:
example of textbook:
[1] J.W. Nilsson and S.A. Riedel, Electric Circuits. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 5th ed.,
1996, pp. 111-113.
example of Internet web page:
[2] Approximate material properties in isotropic materials. Milpitas, CA: Specialty
Engineering Associates, Inc. web site: www.ultrasonic.com, downloaded Aug. 20, 2001.
General Format Guidelines
1. Use bold font with size (14 point) for titles (Times Roman or Arial), and 12 points elsewhere.
Also, use 1.5 line spacing, and justify all paragraphs.
2. Place page numbers on all pages, bottom (though title page is page 1, don’t display the
number 1 on the title page).
3. Equations are centered and the equation numbers are right justified. The equation number is
placed in ( ). See example.
∞
F ( s ) =∫ e−st f (t )dt (1)
−∞
4. Center all tables and include a heading and caption with the appropriate table number
above each table. For example, “Table 1: Voltage measurements for Part 3”
5. Figures must be centered, and the figure number and caption are centered beneath the
figure. For example, “Figure 1: Circuit schematic of Butterworth filter”.
6. All graphs must be done with a computer (e.g. Microsoft Excel or even Matlab).
7. All graphs require labels and units on the axes, and require a legend for more than one set of
y-axis data.
8. Include a leading zero when a number’s magnitude is less than 1 (use 0.83 instead of
writing .83). Include a space between any number and an associated unit (i.e., 3.4 mA, not
3.4mA).
9. Use your word processor for Greek symbols for common engineering quantities as β, π, φ, ω,
and Ω. Also use Microsoft word to make any necessary superscripts and subscripts. (Use V =
10R2 instead of V = 10R^2).
10. Verb Tense:
- Use past tense when describing a procedure that was implemented in order to produce
your results. For example, “After constructing the circuit of Fig. 1, power was applied.”
- Use present tense when analyzing the results and making conclusions. For example, “The
data shows that the efficiency of the process is 92%.” Also, when making reference to a
figure or data within the report, use present tense. For example, “The test setup is shown
in Fig. 1.”
Report Grading Guidelines
The laboratory report grade will depend on the following:
Is the report well-written and organized?
Does the theory contain the necessary illustrative figures? Are these figures meaningful and
clear?
Do data and calculated quantities have correct units?
Are the calculations made correctly?
Does the report contain all information to reproduce the experiment?
Is the result correct and consistent with what is expected?
Are the graphs complete, correct and properly labeled (title, axis labels)?
Are all elements of the report included?
Is the report submitted on time?
