The main reason for writing a lab report or scientific paper is to communicate the results of a scientific study to the public (or your professor). Keeping this purpose in mind, there are some important things you want to remember when writing your lab report.
Use concise language that clearly communicates what you are trying to say. Scientists like to get straight to the facts without any distractions, so there is no need for the kind of "flowery" language you might use in a short story, poem, or personal essay. The sentences should provide enough detail so the reader knows what happened, but not so much detail that it gets overwhelming.
Learn how to write concisely, including how to avoid wordiness and redundancy and select appropriate lengths for sentences and paragraphs.
Academic Writer
© 2021 American Psychological Association.
Another important point about lab reports is that they should usually be written in third person, past tense. This means you should not use personal pronouns like "I" or "we." And all the procedures you used in your study should be written about as if they happened in the past. It can be a little awkward writing in the "passive voice" like this because most English classes teach that this style of writing is incorrect. But in science, try to use language that is impersonal and objective. Some scientists are not as concerned about this rule as they used to be, but your professor may require your lab reports to be written this way.
Learn how to write smoothly, including how to distinguish scientific writing from creative writing, choose verb tenses, and clarify modifiers in noun strings.
Academic Writer
© 2021 American Psychological Association.