Lab Report Grading Rubric Format 3 points Followed lab report format Use of clear and concise writing Use of spell and grammar check Introduction 5 points Brief review of relevant observations and or background to set up the question Identification of the question and its importance Novel writing i e no copying lab handout verbatim Hypotheses are clear relevant and viable Predictions are logical follow from the hypothesis and are able to distinguish between alternative hypotheses Methods and Results 4 points Experimental design addresses the hypotheses and predictions Methods provide enough data to replicate experiment Results are clear and correct statistical tests are provided when necessary Figures and tables are provided when visual representation of the data is helpful Discussion 4 points Results and conclusions are related back to the original hypothesis Implications and the bigger picture of the results are discussed Discussion of any shortcomings of the experiment and how to address them Discussion of possible future directions for the overall question Literature Cited 4 points At least two references from the primary literature References are in Animal Behavior journal format References are relevant and appropriate to the lab References are cited in a manner that adds to the lab report and illustrates the paper was read and understood without providing extraneous irrelevant details TOTAL 20 points LAB REPORT FORMAT parallels the rubric The lab reports follow the format of a scientific manuscript For examples see papers published in journals such as Animal Behaviour Behavioral Ecology and Behavioral Ecology Sociobiology Below is an outline of the main sections of a report Title model a scientific paper title Student name Date Lab I Introduction 1 2 paragraphs Observations from the literature that lead to a problem or question What is the question and why does it matter II Hypotheses and Predictions What is the proposed answer or mechanism to address the scientific question What are some alternative answers What is the null hypothesis the hypothesis you are trying to disprove What are the predictions you are testing that would offer support or would disprove your hypothesis III Materials and Methods 1 2 paragraphs What was the experimental design used to address the hypothesis and predictions Mention possible biases or problems with the design How were observations made Mention details necessary to replicate the experiment IV Results 1 paragraph summarize results include graph or table if appropriate include relevant statistics if comparisons were made we will cover appropriate statistical tests as they come up V Discussion and Conclusions 1 paragraph VI Literature Cited at least 2 citations from Web of Science Use the Animal Behaviour journal citation format