SelfGuide

SECTION SIX : Abstract

Summarizing the lab report

Summarize each major section of the lab report--Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion--in 1 sentence each (two if a section is complex). Then string the summaries together in a block paragraph in the order the sections come in the final report.

More Help:

You can think of the Abstract as a miniature version of the whole lab report. Read each section of the report and boil it down to a sentence. This means that you need to determine the most important information in each section.

• Here are some suggestions for what to include in each sentence of the Abstract:
  • Introduction: main objective(s) of the lab; hypothesis
  • Methods: a quick description of the procedure
  • Results: statement of the overall findings
  • Discussion: judgment about hypothesis; explanation for judgment
  • Conclusion: what you learned about the scientific concept
• Put all these sentences together into one paragraph with the heading "Abstract."