Structure

It is helpful, both for writing and marking, if the report can have a somewhat standardised layout or format. We cannot be too exact in giving a layout because different exercises may require a somewhat different approach. Also, the layout will have to be varied depending on the detailed problems or difficulties which you run into. Nonetheless, the following sections outline a preferred, generic, layout of the report, which you can use as a starting point. Note that these sections should be repeated as appropriate if the session is broken down into several separate exercises.

Note that, while you can simply try to write the report sequentially, as the Lab progresses, you may well find that you sometimes want to backtrack, and revise an earlier section, or add some new information to it. This is where the computer scores over a paper Lab book: it is easy to back up and revise, or delete, or augment what was already entered. You should not get carried away with this freedom of course; but equally, you should not feel compelled to write the report in a pure sequential manner, in exactly the order you tackle the exercises during the session.

Take a look at the skeleton report file. This shows the overall layout of a report. You can use this as the basis for your own reports.

• Heading
• Plan
• Development
• Conclusion