This laboratory notebook is a way for you to demonstrate what knowledge you have gained as a result of doing the laboratory assignments in General Biology I this term. Your notebook should be organized and neat.  The following is a brief guide on how to organize it and what to include. The manner of presenting is up to you (i.e. 3 ring binder, spiral notebook or composition book). Remember that neatness and presentation are important and will figure into your grade. The laboratory notebook is worth 100 points total. The format I am asking you to use is fairly similar to that required when scientists undertake research. Additional instructions are available in the appendix of your lab manual.

Write as if you are writing to someone who knows nothing about Biology. It is through the process of writing and explaining that you will learn and understand Biology.   

Table of contents. This will be the first page of the notebook.  It must contain the date the experiments were done, the title, and the page number where I can find that lab write up.  

Each write up will contain ---  
Title.  A brief descriptive title (One that describes the experiment).  
Purpose.  A paragraph or less that explains WHY the laboratory experiment was assigned.  (i.e. What principles were demonstrated.)  
Material and Methods.  This section should be a listing and complete explanation of what was done.
Results.   This section explains what happened during the lab. Often data are displayed in graphs and tables. 
Discussion. This is perhaps the most important part. This section explains your results. Be sure to look at the purpose and see if your discussion includes all the items you wrote in the purpose. Your explanations should demonstrate a clear understanding of the lab assignment, results and  purpose for the assignment (what concepts were demonstrated?). It should also include what went "wrong", why and how things might be improved the next time.  
Conclusions.  This should be a brief summary that states what occurred during the lab and what you learned from it.  

Recall that you are providing me with a piece of material that demonstrates your knowledge and understanding of the lab, why it was done, and how it helped clarify principles in this course.