Scientific Report Writing

A scientific report communicates your experiment clearly and completely so others can evaluate and reproduce your work.

Standard sections

1. Title — Concise description of the experiment.
2. Abstract — One-paragraph summary of aim, method, result.
3. Introduction — Background theory and purpose.
4. Method — Equipment, procedure, and diagram.
5. Results — Data tables, graphs, and calculations.
6. Discussion — Interpretation, comparison with theory, error analysis.
7. Conclusion — Summary of findings with uncertainties.

Writing data tables

Common mistakes

• Reporting results without uncertainty.
• Confusing precision with accuracy.
• Claiming "human error" instead of identifying specific sources.
• Plotting data without error bars.

Figures and graphs

• Number all figures and refer to them in the text.
• Include a caption explaining what the figure shows.
• Use consistent formatting throughout.

Key insight: The discussion section is the most important part. It shows that you understand your results — not just that you can collect data.

Common pitfall: "The result was verified" is not a conclusion. Compare quantitatively: measured value ± uncertainty against the accepted value, discrepancy in sigmas, dominant error source named. Numbers, not adjectives.