This planner walks you through the steps of preparing a scientific report, which is sometimes written in the format of an IMRaD report or an experimental report. This is sometimes called a lab report in Biology or Chemistry classes. This type of report presents the empirical research done by its authors. Your report tells the story of your research: how it fits into previously completed research, how you conducted the research and tested its reliability and validity, what your results mean, and what significance your research may have for others.
Step 1: Understand the assignment and genre, and gather your resources
Read the instructions carefully, highlighting the major questions being asked and goals of the assignment. This resource provides a list of questions to consider about your assignment. If you have questions, ask your instructor or TA during their office hours, or make an appointment with a tutor from the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center.
If you’ve never done this type of writing assignment before or would like a refresher, review the common expectations and features, do a genre analysis, and/or look at samples.
Gather together any readings already assigned in your class, your notes from class lectures and discussions, and any other sources you’ve already identified for the project.
(This step should take 5% of your project time)
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Step 2: Review your lab notes
- Define your objectives and hypothesis
- Gather the data and evidence you’ve collected
(This step should take 5% of your project time)
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Step 3: Find, read, and evaluate sources for your literature review (if needed)
If needed for your assignment, find secondary sources related to your topic, using peer-reviewed articles, books, or other reliable and relevant sources.
- Use OneSearch in the UT Libraries to find sources. Use keywords that are central to your topic. You’re encouraged to ask a librarian for help finding sources.
- If you’re taking a first-year composition course (English 101, 102, 112, 132, or 298), use the research guide that has been compiled by the UT Libraries. You can also read their research suggestions for a literature review here.
- As you search for articles, read the abstract first–it will help you decide whether it’s a good fit for your paper.
Read your sources.
- As you read, annotate each source–take notes on key research questions, methods, and findings.
- Tip: Annotation tools like PowerNotes help you keep track of your quotes and make notes on digital sources as you read them. (It also captures citation information!)
Evaluate the credibility of your sources.
- Once you’ve determined that a source may be useful to your project, make sure it’s credible by using these guidelines, or by viewing this tutorial.
- Find sources that provide context and rationale for your experiment.
- Remember to use PowerNotes and consult a librarian for research assistance.
(This step should take 25% of your project time)
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Step 4: Write a draft
Draft your report in sections, using your notes and the data that you’ve recorded over the course of your research. The following steps are listed in a suggested order, but feel free to approach them in whichever order will best help you with your project.
- Introduction
- Provide background information about your topic.
- Define any concepts that are essentials or unique to your research.
- Identify your purpose and objective(s).
- Write out your hypotheses.
- Methodology
- Describe the materials and equipment used
- Explain the process by which you used these materials and equipment
- Be specific so another person could replicate this process if they read your methods.
- Results
- Report your findings by detailing what you have observed without interpretation.
- Create data tables, graphs, or charts to clearly display results.
- Use subheadings.
- Organize the information so as to invite logical comparisons between data sets, such as side by side, or as tables or graphs. These patterns are what you will refer to later.
- Discussion and Conclusions
- Refer to your research question(s) or hypothesis and discuss the conclusions that you’ve reached in light of your results.
- Describe the patterns that emerged from your data and how they compare to the results found elsewhere (such as your literature review, if you included one) or what the expectations of the results were based on other studies conducted.
- Discuss the significance of your results and what future work might be done in light of your results, considering methodology as well as your findings.
(This step should take 25% of your project time)
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Step 5: Write the abstract
Create a brief (150-200 words) summary of your report, which will be placed at the beginning of the paper.
Include summary statements about the purpose of the study, the methods (participants and procedures), and results.
(This step should take 10% of your project time)
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Step 6: Get feedback
Get feedback on your draft from your instructor or TA during their office hours, from the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center, or from a peer using the assignment guidelines and/or a rubric.
One effective way to review a draft yourself is to read it out loud. See these suggestions. Another is to use the reverse outlining technique to help you identify areas for revision.
After feedback or self-review, write down at least 2-3 major things you need to revise. Rather than focus on sentence-level concerns, think more about things like how clearly you communicate the research you’ve conducted, its purpose, and its outcomes.
(This step should take 10% of your project time)
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Step 7: Revise
Revise as needed, based on the feedback you received.
- Review your work as a whole, making sure each of the sections is drafted appropriately.
(This step should take 15% of your project time)
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Step 8: Finalize the report
Check the assignment instructions to make sure you met all the requirements for the content and formatting of your paper.
Proofread your work carefully. Remember the “read out loud” approach to reviewing your work–it can help you find things you might otherwise miss.
If you used external sources, double-check that you have cited all sources (ideas, information, paraphrases, and quotes) correctly and that your reference/bibliography/works cited page is accurate. See this resource on how to avoid plagiarism.
(This step should take 5% of your project time)
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Contact your instructor or make an appointment with the Judith Anderson Herbert Writing Center anytime during the process of working on your project! It’s always a good idea to seek out more information and feedback.
The main Assignment Planners page includes access to the planner tool and links to the steps for other types of writing projects.