These are modified from the "Instructions to Authors" for the Canadian Journal of Zoology and from "THE DO’S AND DON’TS OF WRITING A LABORATORY REPORT" by Dave Nykamp and represent the requirements that working scientists have to follow to publish their results.

All parts of the report, including the title page, foot-notes, references, tables, and captions for illustrations, should be typewritten, double-spaced, 12 point, CG Times font on one side only of white paper 21.6 × 27.9  cm (8½ × 11 in.), with margins of 2.5 cm (1 in.). Double-sided copies are not acceptable. Every page of the report should be numbered in the top right-hand corner. The Abstract and Introduction must each start on a separate page. After the body of the report (Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, and Discussion), sequential numbering is continued on pages containing References, Tables and Figure captions in that order. Figure captions must be typed double-spaced on one or more sheets, and captions for a group of figures should follow on the same line. 

Spelling should follow that of Webster’s Third New International Dictionary or the Oxford English Dictionary. Authors are responsible for consistency in spelling. 

Abbreviations, nomenclature, and symbols for units of measurement should conform to international recommendations. SI units (Système international d’unités) should be used or SI equivalents should be given. This system is explained and other useful information is given in the Canadian Metric Practice Guide (1989) published by the Canadian Standards Association (178 Rexdale Blvd., Etobicoke, ON M6N 3T3, Canada). For practical reasons, some exceptions to SI units are allowed. As a general guide for biological terms The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers: Scientific Style and Format (6th ed., 1994) published by the Council of Biology Editors, Inc., Chicago, IL 60603, U.S.A., is recommended. For enzyme nomenclature, Enzyme Nomenclature (1992): Recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Academic Press, San Diego, Calif.) should be followed. Abbreviations and contractions of the names of substances, procedures, etc., must be defined individually the first time they occur or together in a footnote on the title page. Abbreviations with more than one meaning should be avoided. Symbols and unusual or Greek characters should be clearly identified; superscripts and subscripts should be legible and carefully placed, and they should be explained by marginal notes when necessary. A font should be chosen that allows a clear distinction to be made between a lower case l and the numeral one, and between capital O and the numeral zero. 

Title page (half page) + General report appearance
5% of final report mark

This should have only the title and the name of the author, followed by the author’s student number and e-mail address. The title should be as short and simple as possible. Common names and correct taxonomic names should both be included in the title: “The cuticle of tephritid fruit flies (Urophora spp.).” 

Abstract (half page) 
5% of final report mark

This is required for all contributions. Where possible, the use of abbreviations should be avoided in the Abstract. References do not normally appear in the Abstract; however, when it is essential to include a reference, the full literature citation must be used but the title of the article omitted. 

Introduction (two pages) 
20% of final report mark

An introduction should let the reader know what you are doing in the experiment and why you are doing it.  You will therefore need to review what is known in the subject area and how your experiment will contribute to what is known.  A well written introduction, while reviewing the literature, should draw the reader's attention to the purpose of the experiment, resulting in a specific statement of the hypothesis. 

DO
- use references (reference properly - see Reference Section below) 
- introduce concepts and terms being studied in the experiment and review the literature 
- clearly state the objectives/purpose of the experiment 
- include hypotheses and support with literature 

DON’T
- introduce unrelated topics 
- explain materials and methods 
- state any results or conclusions 
- use the lab manual as a reference 

Materials and Methods (half page) 
5% of final report mark

This section does not requires a full description of the procedures used but all changes and deletions from the lab manual must be indicated.  Simply referencing the lab manual is not acceptable. If you used data other than your own, you must state whose data it is and the names of the person/people you obtained it from. 

Results (two pages)
30% of final report mark (text = 15%, figures = 15%)

This section should contain only enough explanation and interpretation to allow the reader to understand why experiments or observations were carried out and what they mean. Authors should ensure that the number of significant digits used to describe their data does not exceed the accuracy with which the measurement can be made. For numbers from –1 to 0 and from 0 to +1, the decimal must be preceded by a zero in text, tables, and figures. The Discussion section should contain no new findings that have not already been mentioned under Results. Conclusions should be put under Discussion, not as a separate section. 

A) TEXT  (2 pages)

A written description of your data explaining the figures and tables.  This should be done objectively without considering what the data means.  The text should include numerical data and describe important trends, comparisons and relationships. 

DO 
- describe exactly what is in your tables and figures 
- you must refer to every table and figure in results text 
- include units whenever you state a value 
- wherever possible use quantitative rather than qualitative descriptions 

DON’T
- make any type of interpretation, speculation or conclusion about your results 
- describe results from another source (or use references) 
- include any materials and methods 
- include example calculations, these are included in an Appendix section 
- describe what you think the results should have been 
- use references to published works

example: 
instead of: "It can be seen that fat levels increased drastically in group 1 as was expected."

use this: "The mean diglyceride level of the haemolymph increased from 0.40±.126 mg/dL (mean± S.D.) in the control to 0.87±.273 mg/dL for locusts subjected to flight for 30 minutes (Figure 1).  This is an increase of 117%."

B) DATA: FIGURES & TABLES (as few as necessary, but as many as needed) 

The tables and figures should summarize the important data and should be clearly separated from the text portion of your results. 

Each figure must be on a separate page included with its caption.

Captions for Figures and Tables Each table and figure should be numbered in the order of their appearance in the text, have a title, and enough of a description to understand it without reference to the text.  This should all go in a caption which describes the table or figure in one concise paragraph.  A sentence or two on how the data was obtained will go a long way in the reader's comprehension of the figure.  Sometimes, trends and comparisons are described in the caption (depends on the data presented) but this is usually reserved for the results text. 

DO 
- title and number every table and figure (separate numbering is used for tables and figures) 
- label axes and include units 
- use different symbols (squares, circles, triangles) for different plots on a graph rather than numbers or colours 
- the symbols should be explained in the caption rather than on the graph itself
- if working with means show standard deviations and note sample size in caption 
- captions usually go above tables and below figures 

DON’T 
- repeat any data in a table and a figure (this redundant and makes the paper confusing and lengthy) 
- use a title such as "blood glucose level vs. time" 
- write the coordinates of a point or the standard deviation on the plot beside the point on a figure 
- omit data that does not fit your expected result

Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals, have a brief title, and be referred to in the text. The title, headings, stub, entries, and footnotes of each table must be typed double-spaced. Each table must begin on a separate page, and when a table runs to more than one page, this must be clearly indicated. Column headings and descriptive matter in tables should be brief. No vertical rules should be used, and horizontal rules should not be used in the body of the table. A copy of the Journal should be consulted for guidance on setting up a table and placing the horizontal rules. Footnotes in tables should be designated by symbols (*, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #) or superscript lower case italic letters. Descriptive material not requiring a specific footnote should be placed under a table as a general Note rather than in the title to the table. 

Line drawings must be made with black ink or computer-generated in black on high-quality white paper or other comparable material. For computer-generated graphics, supply a laser print at the highest resolution available. Photocopies are not acceptable.

Shading in figures should be distinct. All lines must be sufficiently thick (0.5 points minimum) to reproduce well, and all symbols, superscripts, subscripts, and decimal points must be in good proportion to the rest of the drawing and large enough to allow for any necessary reduction without loss of detail. Avoid small open symbols; these tend to fill in upon reproduction. Wherever possible, the more standard symbols, such as a shaded or unshaded circle, square, or triangle, should be used. Complex symbols or keys should be incorporated in a concise legend on the illustration itself, since the printer may not be able to reproduce them in the figure caption. Lettering produced by dot matrix printers or typewriters, or by hand, is not acceptable. The same font style and lettering sizes should be used for all figures of similar size in any one paper.

DISCUSSION (3 pages)
25% of final report mark

The discussion is the portion of the paper where the data is analyzed for scientific meaning and the significance, if any, to the body of knowledge in the area of study.  The discussion should be almost exclusively about your data and how it relates to the question raised in the introduction.  Clearly and directly state what you think the data show and explain why.  To do this you will have to refer extensively to the literature.  Whenever you explain a concept you should refer to a piece of data in the lab.  If you can't you probably should not be discussing this concept. 

DO 
- use references (reference properly - see below) 
- compare your values to those found in the literature 
- explain why your values may be different from your hypothesis or those published 
- if you are explaining differences in terms of limitations of the experiment, refer to specific data, and suggest how improvements may be made 
- try to think of physiologically relevant explanations for your data (using references) 
- answer all the questions in the lab manual (some questions may be better answered in the introduction) 

DON’T 
- reintroduce concepts you explained in the introduction 
- draw any conclusions not directly supported by your data 
- explain the materials and methods 
- explain data simply by stating 'experimental error' (this implies a lack of thought on your part)

Footnotes to material in the text should not be used unless they are unavoidable, but their use is encouraged in tables. Where used in the text, footnotes should be cited in the manuscript by superscript Arabic numbers (except in the tables, see below) and should be numbered serially beginning with any that appear on the title page. Each footnote should be typed on the manuscript page on which the reference to it is made; footnotes should not be included in the list of references. 

Equations should be clearly typed; triple-spacing should be used if superscripts and (or) subscripts are involved. Superscripts and subscripts should be legible and carefully placed. Distinguish between lower case l and the numeral one, and between capital O and the numeral zero. A letter or symbol should represent only one entity and be used consistently throughout the paper. Each variable must be defined in the text, or in a List of symbols to appear after the reference list. Variables representing vectors, matrices, vector matrices, and tensors must be clearly identified. Numbers identifying equations must be in square brackets and placed flush with the left margin. In numbering, no distinction is made between mathematical and chemical equations. 

References
10% of final report mark (1 mark per reference, 0.5 marks deducted for each error in style)

You must include at least 10 post - 1980 original references in your report.  Books and review articles are allowed but will not count as part of the ten required references

If you make a statement that is not general knowledge (very general), that isn't based on your data, or that isn't a result of your original thinking, you must reference it.  You must also not submit another person's work or ideas as your own (See Academic Offences (plagiarism)).  References in the text should be in the following format. 

Brown (1967) found that ...    - at the beginning or middle of a sentence 
... (Brown, 1967).                  - at the end of a sentence 
... (Brown and Jones, 1967).  - if there are two authors 
... (Brown et al., 1967).         - if there are more than two authors 
... (Brown et al., 1967; Smith, 1995).             - if there are two papers or more or Both Brown et al. (1967) and Smith (1995)... - at the beginning of a sentence 

(et al. means "and others" in Latin - and signifies "and the other authors of the article") 

DO 
- reference every statement in a paragraph if necessary 
- use last name of author and year only when referencing a statement in the text of your lab report 
- write out the full name of the journal title (e.g., Journal of Experimental Biology not J. Exp. Biol.)

DON’T 
- use one reference at the end of a paragraph to reference the whole paragraph 
- indent a paragraph and reference it (as in English essays) 
- use numbers (which is sometimes done) instead of author and year 
- give the first name or initials of the author(s) 
- reference anything that is not published (such as lab manual or lecture notes) 

The full citation of all references used in the text should be stated here.  There are some differences in format among journals, but this is the most basic (and should be used for your labs). 

Author last name, Initials. Second author last name, Initials. ...... and Last author last name, Initials. (year) Title of paper (only first letter is capitalized - the rest should be in lower case except for proper names). Journal - full name. Volume:first page-last page. 

The following examples represent the only format accepted in this course:

a. Journal article 
Brown, A.G.  Jones, K.C. and Smith, D.A. (1967) The effect of adipokinetic hormone on 
            haemolymph triglyceride levels in the African locust.  Journal of Insect Physiology. 
            23:164-172. 

b. Book 
Winsome, B.Z. Losesome, M.Q. and Needsome, K.F.N. (1995) Physiology of Humans.  McGraw Hill. New York. pp 279. 

DO 
- include full citation of all references used in the text 
- put in alphabetical order in terms of last name of the first author of the articles or books 
- include all authors in a citation 

DON’T 
- reference lab manual or lecture notes (these are not published). 
- include any citation not used in the text 
- use et al. in reference section 
- underline journal article titles