How to Write a Conclusion for a Lab Report
Knowing how to write a conclusion for a lab report is very important because the conclusion is a vital part of the entire report. The conclusion of a lab report is a section where the main findings of the experiment are reiterated and the overview of the entire lab trial given to the reader- wikihow.com. This section demonstrates that the student has effectively learnt the assignment’s objectives by writing a good conclusion for the report of the experiment.
How to write a conclusion for a lab report that serves the intended purpose
The conclusion of a lab report is basically the section where you should sum up all the findings and discussions of the report and give a punch line. In this section, you should discuss the way the purpose or goal of the performed activity relates to data analysis. As such, it should show what you learnt from the experiment- iqa.evergreenps.org. Therefore, the conclusion should stick to facts only without commenting on whether the activity was enjoyable or not. The stated statements should be specific.
In case the outcomes of the experiment did not meet your expectations, suggest ways of improving the activity so that better data can be collected in future experiments. If the activity raised questions that the experiment did not answer, state them. Always remember that a conclusion is a connection that is not obvious from the surface. It is usually a statement that is made after hypothesis and the acquired data have been evaluated. This is when the most appropriate explanation of the results of an experiment is determined. The conclusion should include the results as well as the relationships that may have been discovered. The conclusion should also explain the accuracy of results and discrepancies. In the conclusion, you should convince readers that you understood the findings of the experiment.
Simple steps for writing a conclusion for a lab report
When you know how to write a conclusion for a lab report in simple steps, the entire process that at first seems complex becomes easy.
To write a good lab report conclusion, follow these steps:
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Outline the conclusion
This entails reviewing the assignment to verify if all aspects of the assignment have been accomplished in order to address them properly in your conclusion. You need to list down what the assignment required you to demonstrate using the experiment. The outline should aim at showing how the activities of the conducted experiment met specific objectives- water.me.vccs.edu. You should also revisit the introduction to ensure that what you include in the conclusion is aligned with the content of the entire report.
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Discuss the hypothesis and the experiment
You should have several paragraphs in the conclusion of your lab report as follows:
Paragraph 1: Introduce the experiment
In this paragraph, provide an overview of the lab experiment in a brief manner. Use a few sentences to describe the lab experiment.
Paragraph 2: Restate the purpose or problem
State if the collected data supported the main purpose of your experiment. This is an important part to master in your endeavors to know how to write a conclusion for a lab report because the conclusion should be related to the purpose of your lab experiment. For instance, “This experiment’s purpose was to compare an acid pH after adding different bases to it. The collected data supports the theory or notion that acid’s pH increases after adding base to it.”
Paragraph 3: Discuss how the conclusion was reached at on the basis of the collected data
Always use graphs that may have been produced during the experiment to indicate any relationship in the data. Also explain any relationship that the produced graphs indicate. If there is an equation that can be produced using the graph, use it to explain the relations. In some cases, simple calculations are enough for a lab report- writing.utoronto.ca. This paragraph is very important because it enables the readers of your lab report to understand the relationship.
Paragraph 4: Demonstrate the learnt lesson
Depending on the given instructions or requirements of the experiment, you may have to describe the learnt lesson. This could be proving a particular theory or principle. In that case, you should reflect that in the conclusion. For instance, you can start by saying, “In this laboratory experiment, it is apparent that specimen A was nickel based on its crystal structure (fcc) as well as the atomic radius (about 0.124nm)” Include all the details of what you have learnt from the experiment and how you learnt it. If there was a question that relates to the experiment, make sure that you have answered it.
Paragraph 5: Discuss errors and their sources
If you may have noticed errors during the experiment, that is, while recording measurements, in the employed procedure or dependent variables, discuss them in the conclusion. Every experiment will always have error sources. Therefore, explain how and why such errors can make your data and the conclusion inaccurate.
Paragraph 6: Close the conclusion
Close the section by restating the problem and the conclusion. Make suggestions on changes that should be made in order to make the procedure of the experiment better as well as how the changes can affect data that will be collected. For instance, “During this lab experiment, different bases were used to determine the acid’s pH and to indicate their neutralization effect. It would be better if the bases will be poured into an acid slowly using a dropper rather than a beaker during future experiments because this will prevent base spillage.”
If there are uncertainties such as uncontrollable situations that may have affected the experiment, for instance, unavailability of some supplies or weather changes, discuss them in the conclusion. You can also relate the results of the experiment to those of other experiments and then describe what you may consider innovative or new about your experiment.
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Read through the entire report
Once you have known how to write a conclusion for a lab report and perhaps, written one, you need to read the entire lab report. Reading through the entire report enables you to find out if what you have written is logical. It also enables you to ensure that there are no contradictions in the report. The conclusion ought to reiterate the lesson that has been learnt from the lab experiment. It should also indicate how the learnt lessons were reached at and understood. Additionally, while reading through the report, proofread it carefully to make it grammatical and spelling errors free. Errors decrease the reliability of a lab report- wikihow.com. Therefore, make sure that your report is free of all kinds of errors.
More tips on how to write a conclusion for a lab report
Basically, the conclusion ought to describe the purpose of your experiment, discuss the findings, explain those findings and give recommendations or suggestions for future lab experiments.
Make sure that you have addressed the following in your conclusion for a lab report:
- The overall purpose or goal of the lab experiment
- The findings of the experiment. These should be summarized using graphs, data and equations.
- Whether the data that you collected during the experiment supported the hypothesis
- How future experiments can be improved
- What could or should be studied after your experiment and why
If the report is intended for a non-scientific audience, give it to non-technical people to read it first to determine if the used wording is appropriate for them. Additionally, double-check all results of mathematical equations because this can save you from possible embarrassment especially if you misplace even a single decimal point.
After reading your conclusion for a lab report, one should see and understand the trends of the data in the whole report. The learnt lesson should also come out clearly in the conclusion. The conclusion should also tell if the lab experiment succeeded or not and if it failed, why- ehow.com. Additionally, the conclusion should show if the hypothesis was proven true and questions that may have emerged from the experiments. The reader should not struggle to understand what happened and what was concluded from the experiment.
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Online Sources:
http://www.wikihow.com/Write-a-Good-Lab-Conclusion-in-Science
http://iqa.evergreenps.org/science/resources/general/lab_report/conclusion.html
http://water.me.vccs.edu/reports.htm
http://www.writing.utoronto.ca/advice/specific-types-of-writing/lab-report
http://www.ehow.com/how_5838573_write-lab-report-conclusion.html