What is an Informal Report?

An informal lab report contains the following three components:

Data - IF data was collected in the course of the lab exercise you should include a data table in the report. The table will include rows with labels and columns with headings. It should be of professional quality (done on a spreadsheet or word processor).

Title for Table

	Heading	Heading	Heading	Heading
label	data	data	data	data
label	data	data	data	data
label	data	data	data	data
label	data	data	data	data

Drawings - IF the procedure tells you to make biological drawings of specific structures you should include these drawings as part of your report. Drawings are done on 8.5 by 11 inch white un-ruled paper with 3H or 4H pencil.

Thoughtful Observations - Always include thoughtful observations in all informal reports. Thoughtful observations are statements of what you observed (saw, heard, smelled, felt, etc.) during the course of the lab exercise and what you thought about it.

An informal lab report should not include the following things:

• Any handouts or check-sheets (check-sheets are turned in separately)
• Procedure
• Information (other than labels on drawings) taken from a book, website, or other outside source
• Abstract, Introduction, or any other part of a formal journal style report other than data and observations

All reports should be professional quality documents and, with the exception of the biological drawings, should be done on a computer and printed out on a decent quality printer. No components of a lab report should be submitted on notebook paper or hand written.