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Severn School

US Science

Formal Narrative Report

Reference Guide

Eric Witzel, Kristin Buckley, and Brian Norledge

Rationale

So as to develop a common language among students, and to enhance their understanding of how scientists communicate, a common narrative report format has been developed by the US Science Department.

Background

As a department we feel that learning how to report findings in a narrative format is appropriate skill for both honors and regular levels of science. 

A minimum of 2 formal narrative reports a year in each core science course are needed to give students an adequate foundation in this common mode of scientific communication. (Thus, a student completing 3 years of core sciences would have written at least 6 formal narrative reports.)

While not every laboratory investigation requires a formal narrative report, the basic principles should be incorporate into all laboratory reporting.

Using a common language (Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion) is important for enhancing student’s processing in master this skill.

Formal Narrative Report

A formal narrative report allows you tell the story of your investigation. Basically you’ll need to address the following 4 questions when writing.

• Introduction - What are you trying to find?

Here you should include three sub-sections: a research statement, background information and a rationale.

The research statement defines the focus of the investigation. It may either be formulated as predicting statement or as a research question.

Background information helps the reader of your report understand concepts that are unfamiliar. Often this information is provided by defining terms that come up later in the report. It is important to provide references in this section.

When discussing rationale, you are considering why the experiment is a fair test.

• Methods - How are you going to find an answer to question?

In this section you should describe the procedure that you followed to seek an answer to the question under investigation. It is important to provide enough information so that the reader has a clear understanding of what you did; but so not include so many details as to be dull or confusing. Avoid writing a list of steps and assume that the reader has an understanding of science.

A diagram of the experimental set up is included in this section.

• Results - What did you find out?

In this section you should present findings. It is helpful to brief discussion of the data tables and graphs. In other words be sure to include a title and a caption for tables and graphs. This will provide context for your data.

• Discussion - What does it all mean?

In this section you should relate your findings to the research statement. Using specific data to support your conclusions will strengthen them.

A specific discussion of error and uncertainty is included in this section as well as thoughts on how you might improve the experiment.

Finally, this section offers a chance to consider how the experiment relates to “real life”.

Formal Narrative Report –Examples

• Introduction - What are you trying to find?

Below is an example from a student report:

I answered the question “How can you find the mass percent composition of each substance of a mixture?” in this experiment. Mass percent composition is an easy way to express the components of a mixture in terms of the mass of each substance. A mixture is made of two or more pure substances and can be altered by a physical change. There are two types of mixtures; homogeneous and heterogeneous, both of which were involved in the lab. A homogeneous mixture is also known as a solution. A solution is the same throughout the mixture, with no variable composition. On the other hand, a heterogeneous mixture is the exact opposite with variable composition. The mixture used in this lab consisted of salt, sand, water, and iron filings. Since salt is soluble, it dissolved in the water, thus creating a saltwater solution. The solution was combined with the iron and sand, neither of which, dissolved. To find the mass percent composition, I needed to separate the mixture, by means of a physical change.

• Methods - How are you going to find an answer to question?

Hee the student describes what was done:

Iron was the first substance I separated. I used Iron’s physical property of magnetism to remove it from the rest of the components in the mixture. After creating a funnel and putting the sand-salt mixture into it, I was able to filter the salt from the sand by pouring water through the funnel. Since one of salt’s physical properties is solubility and sand is not soluble, the water dissolved the salt and flowed through the funnel separating it from the sand. Once the sand left in the funnel was dry, I was able to weigh it and determine its mass percent. Again using one of salt’s physical properties, this time crystallization, I was able to obtain its mass percent after the water had evaporated.

• Results - What did you find out?

The student does a good job of providing context (titles and captions): this section you should present findings. A brief discussion of the data tables and graphs etc is often helpful. In other words provide context for your data.

Measurements of Each Substance

|Mass of Original Mixture |5.77 grams |

|Mass of Iron (recovered) |0.94 grams |

|Mass of Salt (recovered) |2.94 grams |

|Mass of sand (recovered) |2.76 grams |

|Total Mass of Recovered Solids |6.64 grams |

[pic]

The Table above shows the measurements of each individual substance in the mixture. The last row in the graph is the total mass of recovered solids, which should’ve come out the same as the mass of the original mixture; however it didn’t, showing us that we had some kind of measurement error. As a note, the paper cone was 0.82 grams, and the plastic container was 2.36 grams.

Mass Percentage Table

|Formula: mass % of component = (mass of component/ total mass |Formula: percent yield = |

|of mixture) x 100% |(actual yield/theoretical |

| |yield) x 100 |

|Iron |Salt |Sand |(6.64g/5.77g)100=1.15 |

|16% |51% |48% |115% |

The chart and table above show the mass percentage of each of the three components in the mixture. The mixture is 16% iron, 51% salt, and 48% sand. These percentages add up to 115%, more than 100%, meaning that we had some sort of measuring error.

• Discussion - What does it all mean?

Overall, in this lab I learned how to separate mixtures by observing the physical properties of salt, sand, and iron. By using that data, I figured out which separation methods were needed; filtration, magnetism, and evaporation. I discovered that elements are substances that cannot be separated into simpler forms by chemical means and that compounds consists of two or more elements. As revealed the lab, magnetism was conveyed as a physical property because it’s visual and salt dissolved in water was conveyed as a physical property because one can still separate the two from each other. When I combined the salt and sand, it was a mixture because the salt is already a compound and sand is a mixture; they are separable by physical means. The salty water that passed through the filter paper is a solution (homogeneous) because the salt and the water combine well. As shown in the second graph, the total mass percentage of the iron recovered was 3.35%, the total mass percentage of the salt recovered was 28.2%, and the total mass recovered of the sand was 61.1%. The percent yield describes the efficiency of the recovered operation and I calculated it by dividing the actual yield (mass obtained) from the theoretical yield (the maximum amount of mass that can be obtained). I then multiplied the quotient by 100% and my mass percent recovered equaled 92.6%. I lost 7.4% and that was most likely due to not transferring all the solids from the mixed beaker into the filter paper. Another possibility is not weighing the substances correctly, or spilling the substances.

Example Rubrics

Lab Report Rubric

|Category |Possible Points |Instructor Score |

|What are we looking for (Introduction) |4 | |

|Purpose / Objective | | |

|Hypothesis and or Prediction | | |

|Background Information | | |

|Pre-lab questions | | |

|Control and Variables identified | | |

|How did we look for it? (Method) |2 | |

|Materials | | |

|Step by step procedure | | |

|Picture of experimental set-up | | |

|Included errors that may have occurred in the procedure | | |

|What did we find? (Results) |3 | |

|Clear & concise data table(s) with appropriate title(s) | | |

|Clear and concise graph(s) if applicable with appropriate title(s) | | |

|What does this mean? (Discussion) |4 | |

|Discussion of results. Statements about data followed by and | | |

|explanation. | | |

|Post-lab questions answered correctly and appropriately. | | |

|Sources of error included | | |

|Explanation of how the lab could have been done better to allow for | | |

|more accurate results | | |

|Organization |2 | |

|Total: |15 | |

Kristin Buckley

AP Biology

Formal Narrative Report Rubric

(revised October 2010)

|Category |Possible Points |Instructor Score |

|What are we looking for (Introduction) | | |

|Define the research question |2 | |

|Provide Background Information |4 | |

|Discuss rationale |4 | |

|How did we look for it? (Method) | | |

|Describe what you did |4 | |

|Picture of experimental set-up |3 | |

|Provide enough detail |1 | |

|Record any mistakes that may have occurred in the procedure |2 | |

|What did we find? (Results) | | |

|Clear & concise data table(s) with appropriate title(s) & captions |4 | |

|ie context | | |

| |4 | |

|Clear and concise graph(s) if applicable with appropriate title(s) )| | |

|& captions ie context | | |

| |2 | |

|Include raw data & describe any observations | | |

|What does this mean? (Discussion) | | |

|Answer your research question |2 | |

|Discuss the results; make statements about data followed by an |4 | |

|explanation. | | |

| |2 | |

|Speculate on sources of uncertainty |2 | |

|Provide an explanation of how the lab could have been done better to| | |

|allow for more accurate results | | |

|General (Presentation) | | |

| | | |

|Write narrative essay in first person acceptable spelling and |2 | |

|grammar | | |

| |2 | |

|Use scientific terms properly & frequently and units used correctly |2 | |

| | | |

|Apply findings and/or conclusions to everyday life |2 | |

| |2 | |

|Supply references | | |

| | | |

|Develop an appealing and quality presentation. | | |

|Total: |50 | |

Section Writing Tips

Tips for Writing the Methods Section

Using the notes you took while performing your experiment(s) and any other appropriate sources, describe the experimental procedures you followed. Be sure to include enough detail about the materials and methods you used so that someone else could repeat your experiment exactly as you performed it.

Write in paragraph form and keep the sentences short and simple. It is hard to read (and write) detailed information like this without sufficient breaks.

Start by describing the apparatus. This is best achieved with a labeled diagram and a brief description. Include all the apparatus in the diagram, and label everything. Be sure to explain any details of the arrangement of the apparatus: why does this thingummy need to be on top of that whatsit?

It might be easier to leave a blank space in your word document and draw the apparatus by hand. Use a ruler for straight lines and make sure your diagram is large enough (leave about a third of a page, and fill that space with the diagram).

Next, describe the methods you used to collect data. Include as much detail and explanation as you can - the details are important.

Finally, describe the methods you used to analyze the data. Introduce any equations, which you use to perform calculations, defining all the terms in the equation. Explain how the equation relates to the graph (if applicable), specifically mentioning what the slope and intercept of the graph represent.

Do not include any descriptions of how you recorded data (statements like “we recorded the data in a table”, “we plotted a graph”, “we recorded our observations”). It is obvious that you recorded data because you present it in the results.

Avoid putting any results of the lab in the Methods. Just describe what you did, not what you found.

Use the past tense and active voice, which uses first person, "I" or "we" ("We measured the mass of the block”)

Brian Norledge

Tips for Writing the Introduction

The introduction should contain three basic elements: the research statement, a rationale and background information.

A research statement simply provides a one-sentence explanation of what you are trying to find out in your experiment.

Some examples are: “In this investigation we will confirm Boyles Law, by measuring the volume of a gas sample at various pressures.”

OR

“What is the habitat preference of isopods?”

The rationale is simply a statement of why your results will be valid ie what makes the experiment a fair test? In a sense the rationale is always the same; we will obtain meaningful results in this investigation, because we will hold all variables constant changing only the independent variable and recording the dependent variable.

Sometimes it is important to explain why the measurements you are making will answer your research statement. This is true when we can’t measure directly what we wish to measure, for example measuring the change in carbon dioxide concentration will indirectly measure the rate of cellular respiration.

Background information helps the reader understand unfamiliar concepts and terms that are used in the report. One way this can be accomplished by defining new terms.

Tips for Writing the Results Section

In the results section you’ll want to present your data visually. This is accomplished by including tables and graphs. Often it is simplest to present raw data in the form of a table while graphs are typically used to organize the data and to highlight trends. In both cases it is important to provide a describing title and a illuminating caption.

[pic]

Data from synthesis of MgO lab. Our groups data is shown in column 2, other groups data are found in columns 1,3, and 4. Note that each group started with a different amount of Mg in their crucible.

Note that the table above contains a caption; the length usually ranges from a sentence to a couple of paragraphs. It is important that each caption explains what is being shown (think of it as an expanded title) AND discusses the trends in the data. Please note that it is ok to repeat some of the data examination from the Discussion section of your report.

[pic]A plot of mass verses volume from our penny density investigation. Note that the slope of each line is the density (mass/vol) and that pre-1982 pennies have a greater density; this is shown by the steeper slope.

Remember that an infinite amount of data will yield prefect results, and while this is impractical, you should whenever possible seek to pool results from your class.

Data may also be recorded visually. Below is an example from a precipitation lab.

Various Amounts of Precipatate

[pic]

Various amounts of ppt form as a result of changing the ratio of reactants. Note that test tube 5 has the greatest amount of ppt, indicating that in this reaction the ratio is “proper”.

Tips for Writing the Discussion Section

In this section you’ll want discuss your results. In one paragraph you should consider, how your data relate to the research question. In another paragraph, you should think about what might be sources of uncertainly in your data.

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