Lab and Practical Report Sheet

Who this is for

A practical write-up with the shape already on the page. Aim and apparatus at the top, the method as numbered steps, a results table you label for your own measurements, and room for observations and a conclusion underneath.

School and college science students, undergraduates writing up practicals, and anyone doing hands-on work — engineering, food, horticulture, workshop — who has to record what was done and what happened.

What this helps you track

• What the practical was for, in one or two lines
• The apparatus and materials used, written down before you start
• The method as steps, ticked as they are carried out
• Measurements in a table you label with your own quantities and units
• What you observed and what you concluded from it

How to use it

1. Fill in the title, subject, date and who you worked with before you begin.
2. Write the aim in your own words, and the safety points you were given for this practical.
3. List the apparatus and materials, then write the method as numbered steps and tick each one as it is done.
4. Label the results table with what you are measuring and the units, then record the readings as you take them.
5. Write observations as they happen, including anything that went wrong — that is often the most useful line in the report.
6. Finish with the conclusion at the foot of the sheet: what the results show, and what you would change if you did it again.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The online version keeps what you enter in your own browser and builds the completed PDF on your device.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Will this match the format my course wants?

It may not. Write-up formats differ between subjects, courses and teachers, so use this to capture everything at the bench and rearrange it into whatever structure you are asked for afterwards.

The results table headings do not suit my experiment.

Cross them out and write your own on paper; in the browser version the headings sit above ordinary columns and the note tells you what each is for. Record one quantity per column with its units.

Where do I put a graph?

On squared or graph paper attached to this sheet, with a note in the observations saying what it plots. There is no grid printed here so the results table gets the room.

Does it tell me what safety precautions to take?

No. The safety line is for the precautions you were given for this particular practical by whoever is supervising it. Nothing is printed in because it depends entirely on what you are doing.