Our labs cover a vast range of competencies, one of which being appropriate technical writing. This helps students who are going into industry (where 40-80% of your job could be documenting your work) or university (where lab reports and publications are important).  To meet the demands of both industry and university, we have adopted 3 levels of lab reports that students will use throughout our degree program. Each report mimics a type of document they will be required to write in the field. We have provided templates for the second two which you can download by simply clicking the linked title. The three types are:

Worksheets: This is modeled after a communication you might have with another Engineering Technologist or technician on your team. This might include math, some code, and a paragraph of explanation if needed. For the written section, you may be asked to fill out and provide this Lab Cover Sheet to accompany your worksheet.

Informal Lab Report Template: This is modeled after a communication you might have with your project lead or team leader. This person is expected to have some relevant background information and typically can contain an introduction of relevant theory, bullet points with important information documenting procedure and a discussion of results. Here you can find a great example of an informal lab report a student submitted in Fall of 2015. (Do not submit this report as your own, that is cheating and you will be subject to CPCC’s anti-cheating rules). If you must turn in a hard copy of your report, please fill out and attach this Lab Cover Sheet as the first page of your report.

Formal Lab Report Template: This document is modeled after what you might be expected to produce for your customer. Your customer might not have any background knowledge and need more detail. If you must turn in a hard copy of your report, please fill out and attach this Lab Cover Sheet as the first page of your report.

References should use IEEE format. It is actually simpler than MLA or APA format. This guide will show you the proper ways to reference your citations and build your works cited page.

The following video explains the workflow and tips on how to write great lab reports every time.

How to Use These Templates

1. Download the appropriate template for the assignment you are required to do from this website.
2. Read the template and the comments to see what the sections should contain
3. Delete the text within each section making sure that you leave the section heading the same. Do NOT change the section headings.
4. Type the data from your lab as well as the relevant theory and background and the discussion of your results.
5. Be sure to use proper citations when referencing datasheets, images, or any other material that you used but did not create yourself.
6. Save the file in the PDF format with the following filename structure: Firstname_Lastname_Course_Section_Semester.pdf
   For example: Adam_Harris_ELN133_05_SP2016.pdf
7. Submit the file the way your professor requires (wither submit it to your blackboard shell assignment or print it off and hand it in).

How to Avoid Plagiarism and Correctly Reference your Sources

We use IEEE Reference format. Luckily Microsoft Word has a great referencing tool built in that can do this for you. Watch the video below to see how to use it.

Understand How These Reports will be Graded

We use a standard lab report rubric to help us grade lab reports. You can see the rubric below. This is how your labs will be graded, so it is a good idea to pull this page up and refer to it as you write your lab reports.  We assess each row to count up the total number of points you will get for a lab assignment. Depending on the instructor’s policy, they may accept late work but deduct points for lateness. Read your syllabus or ask your instructor how this works.

(Click the image below to make it larger and easier to read).