This document outlines the rubric and guidelines for a lab report for a General Biology II course. It provides details on the formatting, structure, and content required for each section of the lab report, including the cover page, abstract, introduction, methods, results, discussion, and references sections. Students are expected to write a formal lab report following APA style guidelines and citing at least 10 sources, with proper in-text citations and a references list. Sections will be graded based on inclusion of key information and adherence to guidelines.

1. BSC 2011L – General Biology II
Lab Report Rubric
Section Points:
Cover Page
Does the cover page have an informative title?
Is all information (name, section, etc.) included?
2
Abstract
Does the abstract reflect the entirety of the paper,
including
methods, results and limitations?
Is the abstract on its own page?
Is the abstract length adequate (1 paragraph,
200-250
words)?
7
Introduction
Is the topicclearly introduced and well researched?
Is the purpose of the experiment explained?
Is therea hypothesis?
Is the introduction at least 2 pages long?

2. 20
Methods
Are the procedures correct?
Are all stepsincluded?
Is this section a past-tense narrative (NOT in
bullet points)?
6
Results
Are the observations clearly explained?
Are thererelevant pictures/graphs/tables included, and if
so, is therea description under each?
Are results analyzed in this section? (theyshould
NOT be).
10
Discussion
Are the purpose and hypothesis restated?
Are the results well discussed?
Are real-world applications and significance of
findings
included?
Are limitations and sources of error evaluated,and
are
solutions provided for these?
25
Organization/
Format

3. Is paper in APA format?
Is the information clear and concise?
Does the paper flow and transition well, with no
jumping
between topics?
10
Language/
Grammar
Is thereproper grammar, spelling and paraphrasing?
Are sentences structured properly? 8
In-Text Citations
Are in-text citations consistently and properly
formatted in
APA?
Was each source cited at least once in the paper?
6
Bibliography Are sources properly formatted in APA?
Are there10 sources, 5 of which are primary
sources? 6
BSC 2011L Lab Report Guidelines
General Guidelines

4. The lab report must be in APA format:
- typed
- double spaced
- 12 pt font, Times New Roman
- 1 inch margins
- pages numbered on the top right, running header
on the top left
- titled sections
- untitled hypothesis
- Quotes are NOT allowed. Everything must be
properly paraphrased.
- No website referencesas sources. No exceptions.
- Everything must be properly cited. It is
considered plagiarism if it is not.
- Paper must be in third person, past tense
o Note: Never writestatements like the following:
“My lab report is
about...”, “My hypothesis is...”, or any version of
this type of statement.
For more information on how to cite in APA,
you may visit
https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa
_style_introduction.html
The lab report will be composed of seven
sections. Each section will have a heading
immediately followed by the text, figures or graphs.
The order of the sections is: cover/title
page, abstract, introduction, methods, results,
discussion and literature cited.
Cover Page

5. You must include a cover page with your name,
panther ID, BSC2011L, your section,
TA name, date, and title of your paper.
Create a title that briefly conveys to the reader
the purpose of the paper. The title of
your report must be informative. Many readers
scan journal article titlesand the
decision whether or not to pursue an article is
based on the information in the title.
Generally, this information includes primary
factor(s) manipulated or studied,
outcome of manipulation (the response or effects)
and organism studied, if relevant.
Abstract
The abstract should be a quick but
comprehensive summary of the entire report. It
serves to help readers determine how relevant the
report is to their own interests.
This section should only be one paragraph and should
include what was done, the
reasoning behind it, the results and the conclusions.
It must highlight only the most
important elements of each major sections of the
report (Introduction, Methods,
Results, and Discussion). Only the most important aspects
of the report should make
it to the abstract.

6. This section should be between 200 and 250 words
in length and should contain a
clear summary of what was demonstrated, how each part of
the lab was carried out
and how conclusions were reached. It should also be
on its own page.
Introduction
This section contains the basicbackground information
for the lab report. Be sure to
comment on what is the significance of this study
and its relation to the larger field.
Give an example of why the study is significant.
After reading the introduction, the
reader should have a good idea of the general
purpose of the experiment and the
importance of the problem being addressed.
Here, you will also introduce the
purpose of your experiment. You should also be
including your hypothesis and
predictions in this section – which should be
based in the introduction (without
saying "My predictions are..." or "My hypothesis
is...").
This section should be about 2 pages long
and smoothly flow from one topicto the
next. All of your background information should be
presented here, so the majority
of your citations should be found here. You must
include 10 sources, 5 of which are
primary sources. Remember: do NOT quote
anything and make sure you are
properly paraphrasing – otherwise, you are
PLAGIARIZING.

7. Methods
In this section, you must carefully outline the
procedures and techniques used in a
way that a reader can replicate the experiment
based on the information provided
here. This section should also include models or
equipment used (this should not be
written like a laundry list of materials), source
of chemicals (if relevant), numbers
and types of organisms used, including sex and
strain sample sizes, number of times
experimental procedure was performed, and other
pertinent factors. Keepin mind
the you used the methods in the lab manual, so
you should be citing the lab manual.
Please note:This section must be a NARRATIVE –
not bullet points or a numbered
list of steps. No credit will be given for a
methods section written in a bulleted
format. Also, it must be past tenseand in 3rd
person – you should not be saying “first,
I did this…..” and so on.
Results
In this section, you will be presenting all of
the observations and findings from the
experiment. It is crucial that the outcomes of
your experiments are carefully
organized and clearly presented,and you must do so
using tables, graphs and
pictures wherever necessary. Each figure should

8. have a title or number and brief
caption that explains the information being
presented by the figure.
All graphs and tables should be your own work!
Graphs and tables should not be
identical to anyone else's in the lab, including
your lab partner's.
Please note:You should NOT be interpreting the
results in this section!! This section
focuses on what you observed quantitatively and
qualitatively throughout the
collection of data. Any and all analysis belongs in
the discussion section.
Discussion
• In the discussion section, you should begin
this section with restating the purpose
and hypothesis of your experiment. This section is
where results are interpreted,
and conclusions are drawn. The significance and
interpretation of the study should
be explained in this section as well. You should be
referencing figures in the results
sections and explaining what thesefigures mean.
Because you restated the
hypothesis before interpreting the results, you
should be indicating whether or not
the results support your hypothesis – keyword:
SUPPORT. Remember nothing is
EVER proven, so the results either support or

9. refute your original
hypotheses/predictions.
In addition to explaining the results, you have to
indicate the significance of your
results. What does this mean? How is it
relevant or important? How can this
information be applied to the real world? If
therewere any errors made or any
limitations to the experimental design, this should
also be included and in context
with the interpretation of the results. Please note:If
you indicate any errors or
limitations, you must present SOLUTIONS to these
issues, in the event that this
experiment will be replicated.
This section should be approximately 2-3 pages
long and should be the longest part
of your lab report.
Literature Cited
This section includes the alphabetical listing of all
sources cited in your paper. This
will primarily include research articles but may include
review articles and texts as
well. The citations must be written using APA format.
You need include at least 10
references, 5 of which must be primary
sources. You may include your general
biology textbook and lab manual (don’t forget to
cite the methods). No website
referencesor any encyclopedia referencesare allowed.

10. For each source in this section, YOUMUST HAVE
IN-TEXT CITATIONS! Any in-
text citation in the body of the report is put at
the end of a sentence and should be
done in APA format.
General APA citation Guidelines:
1. References should be listed in alphabetical
order
2. If a particular reference takesmore than one line, then all
lines (except the first)
should be indented
3. Include ALL authors, never write“et al.,” when
writing the full literature cited page
4. Remember to write“and” before the name of
the last author, if the article or book
has multiple authors.
5. References should not be numbered nor bulleted.
6. Everything counts including but not limited to
the placement of period, italics,
parentheses, etc.
7. If thereare no in-text citations and no works
cited section the report will be
considered plagiarized.
General Rules For the Lab Report:
• If you are not present in lab you cannot turn-in

11. a lab report for that lab.
• You will turn in your lab report in its
entirety. Turning in one or more components
or sections of the lab report after the due date
and time will make the entire lab
report late.
• This lab report must be your own work (no
plagiarism). Content used from
referencesneeds to be cited. All text and graphs
should be original and not the
same as your partners. You cannot resubmit work
previously done in another
class (per the plagiarism policy)
• You will need to turn in only an electronic copy.
Turnitin will be used to check for
plagiarism. 10 points per day will be deducted
from your lab report until your
instructor has your report through Turnitin.
• It is your responsibility to turn your lab report on
time electronically to your
instructor, per their instructions. A late lab report
will lose 10 points every day it is
late. It is your responsibility to know how to
properly submit your report ANDto
check to make sure it is submitted. Make
sure you receive a confirmation email for
submitting on Turnitin.