Your Lab Report

A lab report serves several functions. In industry it serves as a legal document to establish priority of invention in patent disputes. While we don't expect many patentable discoveries to come out of 243 Lab, you should develop good lab report habits in case you should go to work for a company that does have such expectations.

In scientific research, it provides a record that allows you to duplicate your work if you succeed at your endeavor (or if you achieve some unexpected but significant result). It's also useful in identifying what might have gone wrong if you don't achieve your desired result.

In an educational environment, we have some additional goals. The lab report provides a mechanism for evaluating your performance.

The Report Itself

Each lab team will turn in a single report on Canvas on the day of their next lab session at noon. Lab reports may be written in Word or LaTeX. Both templates will be provided.

Here are links to lab report templates and useful guidelines:

• Word Template
• Getting Started with LaTeX
• LaTeX Template
• "Writing Lab Reports" Presentation
• Report Guidelines Handout
• Grading Rubric