Laboratory Report Writing Guidelines

(Adapted from The Philippine Journal of Natural Sciences’ manuscript writing guidelines with some revisions)

1. Lab reports must have the following headings: Title, Objectives, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods,
Results, Discussion and Conclusion, Literature Cited.
2. The report must be printed in A4-sized white bond paper, single-spaced, using a 12-point normal-size type (Times
New Roman, size 12 font).
3. The Abstract should not exceed 250 words.
4. Acronyms or unfamiliar abbreviations should be spelled out when these are mentioned for the first time in the text.
5. The scientific name of the species should be given when it is first mentioned in the text and the common name
should be used in succeeding references. Underline or italicize scientific names.
6. Numbers should not be spelled out unless they are used to start a sentence.
7. The metric system only or the International System of Units should be used. Abbreviations of units only beside
numerals (e.g. 6 m) should be used; otherwise, the units (e.g. kilometers from here) should be spelled out. Plural
forms or periods for abbreviations of units should not be used. The bar for compound units (e.g. 1kg/ha/yr) should
be used. A zero should be used before the decimal in numbers less than 1 (e.g. 0.25).
8. References should be cited in the text as author (year). Citations for three or more authors should be cited as (first
author et al. year), references in press as (author, in press), and unpublished references as (author, unpubl. data or
author, pers. comm.). If two or more references are cited, these should be arranged by year (e.g. Formacion 1987;
Geduspan 1990; Torres 1992).
9. In the Literature Cited, list down references as follows:

Journal Articles Formacion MJ, Hori R, Lam TJ. 1993. Overripening of ovulated eggs in goldfish. I. Morphological
changes. Aquaculture 114(1): 155-168. (Note: Abbreviate Journal Titles following the List of
Scientific Periodicals).

Conference Paper Alino PM, Banzon VV, Yap HT, Gomez ED, Morales JT. 1995. Recovery and colonization on
damaged backreef areas at Canguluyan Island (Northern Philippines). In: Fifth International Coral
Reef Congress; 1995 May 27-June 1; Tahiti. International Society for Reef Studies (ISRS).

Book Chapter Geduspan JS, Padanilam BJ, Solursh M. 1993. Mesonephros derived IGF-I in early limb development.
In: Failon J, Goetinck P.and Stocum D, editors. Limb development and regeneration. New York:
Wiley-Liss, Inc. pp. 673-681.

Edited Book Reaka-Kudla ML, Wilson DE, Wilson EO, editors. 1997. Biodiversity II: Understanding and
protecting our biological resources. Washington (DC): Joseph Henry Press. 551 p.

Book Bardach JE, Ryther JH, McLarney WO. 1972. Aquaculture: the farming and husbandry of freshwater
and marine organisms. New York: Wiley Interscience. 1000 p.

Technical Report Ford PL, Fagerlund RA, Duszynski DW, Polechla PJ. 2004. Fleas and lice of mammals in New
Mexico. Fort Collins (CO): USDA Forest Service Rocky Mountain Research Station. General
Technical Report No. RMRS-GTR-123.

Electronic Book Rollin, BE. The unheeded cry: animal consciousness, animal pain, and science [Internet]. Ames (IA):
The Iowa State University Press; 1998 [cited 2007 August 27]. Available from:
http://www.netlibrary.com

Electronic article (From Leng F, Amado L, McMacken R. 2004. Coupling DNA supercoiling to transcription in defined protein
Journal Publisher’s systems. Journal of Biological Chemistry [Internet]. [cited 2007 Jul 24];279(46):47564-47571.
Website) Available from: http://www.jbc.org/cgi/reprint/279/46/47564

Electronic Article (From Hong P, Wong W. 2005. GeneNotes: a novel information management software for biologists. BMC
Online-Only Journal) Bioinformatics [Internet]. [cited 2007 July 24]; 6:20. Available from:
http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/6/20