Guidelines for Writing Lab Reports

1. Report Structure
Introduction:
The introduction of a lab report typically starts with an explanation of what you are trying
to accomplish or observe in the experiment. Include a brief discussion of why this is interesting.
You should introduce the compounds to be studied and/or the techniques to be used and their
interpretation. In the Linkage Isomers lab for instance, you might discuss the long history of the
cobalt complexes or the concept of linkage isomerism with reference to the nitro ligand. In the
Arene Molybdenum lab it would be appropriate to discuss arenes and CO as ligands in contrast
to typical (historical) inorganic coordination chemistry, and how 1H NMR and IR spectroscopies
can help characterize these compounds. This section should include references to help establish
the context of your work as a small piece in the general body of chemical knowledge.
Results:
This section should tell a story, describing what you did and what results you obtained. It
should describe the experiment as you performed it, not the one described in the manual.
Balanced chemical equations are strongly encouraged. Diagrams of the proposed and actual (if
different) structures of the complexes should be shown with labels on the atoms or groups of
interest. Data tables summarizing your characterizations should be included here, along with an
explanation of the data and corresponding assignments. For instance, in the Arene Molybdenum
lab you will record IR spectra for your starting material and products. Assign the peaks you see
in the IR spectra of the various compounds and how these spectra relate to each other.
When possible, numerical data should be presented in Tables rather than as part of the text. Then
the text can refer to the Table, as in Voltage readings were obtained over the temperature range
280 - 340 K and the data are given in Table 1. All tables and graphs should be labeled as well as
referred to directly within the text. Any problems with data collection should be explained.
Whenever possible include the raw data, and show how the quantities of interest were derived,
giving any relevant equations. Always show sample calculations and use units. Error analysis
should be included in all calculations.
The Results section is a factual account only, interpretation should be left for the Discussion
section.
The grammatical tense in the Results section is generally past tense, but is not strictly adhered to.
Discussion:
The Discussion section should first of all provide your analysis of the results. Did you
make what you wanted? How do you know? If the expected product was not formed, discuss
why this might be the case and whether the actual product can be identified. Discuss what went
wrong, if anything did. In the Arene-Molybdenum lab, youll want to analyze your spectral data,
for example what the CO stretching frequencies indicate about what happened. Compare the
spectral data for the products to those of the starting materials and make comparisons. The
Linkage Isomers lab requires significant data and error analysis which go into the Results and
must be discussed in the Discussion section.
The Discussion section must include a clear description of your conclusions. You
could conclude that the error bars are too big for you to conclude anything or that the procedure
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didnt work because .... But its important that you take a stand no waffling. The Discussion
should return to the questions, goals, and issues raised in your Introduction. In a way, the
Introduction and Discussion are the bookends for the Results.
Experimental:
This section is a completely factual account (in past tense ONLY) of the experiments you
preformed and a formalized report of their characterization. The format in which this section
should be produced is strict and unwavering. This section is written in cook book manner, so
that future chemist could pick up your report and repeat your experiments exactly using only the
descriptions you provided. It should describe your actual procedure, not the one in the manual.
The first section should include general procedural methods although not standard procedures
(assume that we all know how to use a balance, glove box, IR spectrometer, etc.) Subsequently,
it should include descriptions of the reagents, the amounts of reagents used (grams, mL, eq., and
moles), your yields of the products obtained (both in grams and percent) for each product
obtained. A list containing all spectroscopic features and assignments (and specifics of how they
were obtained) and other methods of characterization should conclude the individual compound
sections. In general scientific writing, compounds already reported in the literature are referenced
only, however, you will include all synthesized compounds in your experimental.
Proper formatting is important in this section more than any other. There is an immense
amount of information which needs to be conveyed in a small amount of space, improper
formatting will only add to the confusion which often prevails in this section. The best way to
understand how to format this section properly is to look at an example from a published journal
displaying similar information.
References: This section should include a numerical tabulation of all the previously published
scientific literature which you cited in the above text. It should be in normal ACS (American
Chemical Society) format, authors, journal, year, volume, pages. For example
1. Kawamura, K.; Hartwig, J. F., J. Am. Chem. Soc., 2001, 123, 8422-8423.
2. Error Analysis:
It is important to understand and describe the uncertainties (the errors) in any numerical
values that you report. Errors are typically divided into two types: systematic errors and random
errors (and of course there are simple mistakes, like typing a number incorrectly into a
calculator). Random errors result from the fact that no measurement is perfect, for instance that
you cant measure the temperature on a typical mercury thermometer without an uncertainty of,
maybe, 0.2 C. You should estimate your random errors when you make a measurement. For
example, if you measure an absorbance with a UV-vis spectrometer, measure the same sample
twice or three times to get a sense of how reproducible the values are. Systematic errors result
from problems that are not random, such as miscalibration of an instrument (e.g., your balance
doesnt give 100.00 g for the standard 100 g weight). Perhaps your starting compound is only
95% pure, so your calculated concentrations are systematically 5% too high or perhaps your
procedure leads to an inadvertent dilution of your samples. Systematic errors are more difficult
to identify and analyze but you should be on the lookout for them at all times.

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3. Presentation and Style

The ability to write a clear and concise description of what you did and what it means is
an important skill, regardless of what job you find yourself in. This is a formal report, a single
document with a logical lay-out and flow. The arguments must flow within each paragraph and
from one paragraph to the next. Proper grammar, spelling and formatting must be used.
Scientific writing has its own peculiar styles. The experimental section is typically
written in the past passive voice. For instance: The sodium methoxide and 3-mercapto-3methyl-2-butanone solutions were then combined, and the resulting mixture was allowed to stir
at room temperature for 30 minutes. This deprotonated thioketone solution was then slowly
added to a Schlenk flask containing manganese sulfate monohydrate (0.630 g, 3.7 mmol)
resulting in the formation of a yellow solution. You should not imply that chemicals are active
agents, avoiding, for example: the deprotonated thioketone turned the manganese ions yellow.
Use the past tense when you are describing what you did at some time in the past. In other
places, try to use present tense: Understanding the dioxygen activation is important because ...
or A plot of modified absorption versus time is shown in Figure Z. The rate constant, k, is
obtained from the slope of this plot .... The order of the reaction obtained in this manner implies
that ... Use present tense because what you are describing is independent of time. You imply
that anyone looking at your data would derive the same rate constant, and reach the same
conclusion. For examples of scientific writing, refer to journal articles on the acs website (
http://pubs.acs.org/ ) , accessed via the uw librarys ejournal website (
http://guides.lib.washington.edu/ejournals )
You should avoid using personal pronouns, such as I added sodium methoxide to ....
The statement Addition of deprotonated thioketone to a solution of Mn2+ causes a rapid change
in color to yellow is true whether you do it or someone else does it; it is true today and will be
true in the future. You can indicate that youre not sure of something with phrases such as it
seems likely that or it is possible that or perhaps.
These are guidelines, not firm rules. The most important features are clarity of thought and
writing. Maintain your focus on the important issues and lead the reader through your story and
your arguments. Ask yourself what am I really trying to say here?
4. Plagiarism
Reports which are plagiarized (in whole or in part, from published material or from other
students) will be automatically assigned a grade of zero, and will be referred to the Vice Provost
for Student Life in accordance with the University of Washington Student Conduct Code. See
http://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/plag.html
Below are some excerpts from the University of Washington web site on this issue.
1. Using another writer's words without proper citation. If you use another writer's words,
you must place quotation marks around the quoted material and include a footnote or other
indication of the source of the quotation.
2. Using another writer's ideas without proper citation. When you use another author's ideas,
you must indicate with footnotes or other means where this information can be found. Your
instructors want to know which ideas and judgments are yours and which you arrived at by

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5.
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consulting other sources. Even if you arrived at the same judgment on your own, you need
to acknowledge that the writer you consulted also came up with the idea.
Citing your source but reproducing the exact words of a printed source without quotation
marks. This makes it appear that you have paraphrased rather than borrowed the author's
exact words.
Borrowing the structure of another author's phrases or sentences without crediting the
author from whom it came. This kind of plagiarism usually occurs out of laziness: it is
easier to replicate another writer's style than to think about what you have read and then
put it in your own words. The following example is from A Writer's Reference by Diana
Hacker (New York, 1989, p. 171).
o Original: If the existence of a signing ape was unsettling for linguists, it was also
startling news for animal behaviorists.
o Unacceptable borrowing of words: An ape who knew sign language unsettled
linguists and startled animal behaviorists.
o Unacceptable borrowing of sentence structure: If the presence of a signlanguage-using chimp was disturbing for scientists studying language, it was also
surprising to scientists studying animal behavior.
o Acceptable paraphrase: When they learned of an ape's ability to use sign
language, both linguists and animal behaviorists were taken by surprise.
Borrowing all or part of another student's paper or using someone else's outline to write
your own paper.
Using a paper writing "service" or having a friend write the paper for you. Regardless of
whether you pay a stranger or have a friend do it, it is a breach of academic honesty to
hand in work that is not your own or to use parts of another student's paper.

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