How to Write a Good Conclusion for a Lab Report

The conclusion section of a report should include a concise and comprehensible synopsis of the experiment or research that was discussed in the earlier lab writings. It shouldn't present something new or delve into concepts that haven't been discussed previously. The conclusion of a lab report should be succinct and direct, in contrast to many other forms of academic writing. When writing a lab report conclusion, always remember to remind readers of the experiment's primary goal and indicate whether or not the goals were met and to what degree.

If you’re unsure how to write a good closure for a lab report, focus on restating the experiment’s purpose, summarizing key findings, and explaining whether the expected outcomes were achieved. This helps ensure the conclusion remains focused, clear, and informative without introducing new information.

Regarding the length of the lab report conclusion, most assignments will require a single, 200 to 300-word paragraph that includes all of the important summary elements and a succinct commentary. Some lab reports may call for an outcome of up to 500 words, but it's important to keep it brief and clear of additional details. Also keep the tone analytical or explanatory.

Conclusion Section Structure: What to Include in a Lab Report Conclusion?

A reminder of the goals your experiment has set should be the first of the four main components that make up the conclusion section. Your conclusion must contain two phrases that clearly express the goal of your study. A good lab report conclusion should remind the readers of your goals and present this information in an understandable manner.

It is necessary to discuss the methodologies employed and the findings of the research in the next section of the conclusion. Don't introduce any new concepts, and keep this section brief.

Your main conclusions and results should be outlined in the third section. The last section of the conclusion paragraph should either discuss the limits that have been faced or offer a brief analytical comment. Most of the time, you will need to give a succinct explanation and suggest some reading without providing any answers.

How to Write the Lab Conclusion Guide

The following components of a typical lab report conclusion will assist your target audience in understanding what goals have been reached and what results have been achieved in practice. Here are some points to keep in mind: 

• Discuss the purpose of your practical experiment and the goals you have established.
• Explain the methods and/or resources that were employed, as well as how the data was interpreted.
• Briefly describe the samples that were used and the outcomes that were attained.
• Analyze the lab report and briefly outline your points of contention and presumptions.
• Talk about the connections between your findings and results.

These four components should be included in your lab report: an introduction, your technique section, findings with a discussion, your conclusion section, references, and a title based on your grading rubric (formatting). An abstract may not be essential. Make use of the appendices because you must keep your writing brief.

Examples of a Conclusion of a Lab Report

Here are a few examples of lab report conclusions, tailored to different types of experiments. Each one follows the recommended structure: restating the purpose, summarizing methods and results, and ending with a reflection or implication.

Example 1: Chemistry Lab – Titration of Acids and Bases

Conclusion:
In this experiment, the purpose was to ascertain the concentration of the unknown hydrochloric acid solution through titration with a sodium hydroxide solution of known molarity. During this process, the base is gradually added to the acid solution while referring to the phenolphthalein endpoint indicator. The experiment succeeded in achieving a clear endpoint manifesting as a lasting color change. Conclusion Lab Tips suggest emphasizing accuracy, consistency, and acknowledging possible errors, which were considered during our calculation and analysis. Calculations based on results obtained from three consistent trials determined the concentration of the HCl solution to be 0.105 M. The results were strongly consistent with the expected value, indicating very high accuracy. Such minor deviations could possibly result from delayed endpoint detection or minor errors in volume reading. Overall, this titration indicates a successful experiment in both acid-base neutralization and volumetric analysis.

Example 2: Biology Lab – Photosynthesis and Light Intensity

Conclusion:
This experiment aimed to study how light intensity affects the rate of photosynthesis in aquatic plants. When measuring oxygen bubble production under different light sources, we took this as an indicator of the plant's photosynthetic activity. The data proved that with an increase in intensity, oxygen production was also increased, thus confirming our hypothesis. However, at higher intensities, this rate began to plateau, most likely indicating light saturation, which provides evidence for the notion that light was a limiting factor for photosynthesis most of the time. Making a Lab Report Accessible to a broader audience means clearly presenting such findings and highlighting the relevance of variables like light intensity in simple terms. Some small errors could have crept in as a result of slight inconsistencies in our bubble counting. These results show the importance of environmental light in plant productivity in a larger context.

Example 3: Physics Lab – Measuring Acceleration Due to Gravity

Conclusion:
Through this experiment, gravity (g) had to be computed using a simple pendulum. A total of five trials were done with pendulum lengths varying from 30 to 70 cm, and the data were analyzed using the period-length relationship formulae. The computed average value of g was found to be 9.79 m/s², quite close to the standard value of 9.81 m/s². This indicates that the experiment was carried out with a reasonable degree of precision. Important elements to include in a lab report conclusion are a summary of the purpose, key findings, and any sources of error, all of which are addressed here. Minor errors could have been introduced because of air resistance or perhaps due to the reaction time in starting or stopping the timer. On the whole, this experiment depicted fairly well the principles of pendular motion while providing a good estimate of gravitational acceleration.

Example 4: Psychology Lab – Memory and Word Association

Conclusion:
The aim of the experiment was to test whether word pairs that are related would enhance recall in the short term when compared to word pairs that are unrelated. Subjects were exposed to two separate lists of word pairs and tested on their recall after a brief delay. In the results, the subjects recalled significantly more related pairs than they did unrelated pairs, confirming the hypothesis that memory retention is improved with the help of semantic associations. To effectively summarize findings like this, refer to resources such as Write The Lab Conclusion Guide, which emphasize the importance of linking results back to the hypothesis and clearly stating observed outcomes. These results converge with existing cognitive psychology theory, namely the levels of the processing model. The small sample size notwithstanding, the findings have implications for developing strategies in educational arenas for improving memory.

Conclusion Lab Tips 

Always start by analyzing the grading rubric when looking for tips on how to write a strong conclusion for your scientific lab report, as there might be particular components you should focus on first. The following tips can help you while you review the guidelines for lab report structure or concentrate on the specifications unique to your field:

• The tone of your lab report on scientific research. As you have to either maintain an instructional tone or give your readers descriptive or process writing, here is where things can get complicated. It can be a significant consideration based on the requirements of your degree.
• Don't forget your notes. As you write your lab report, keep your voice recorder, paper notes, or logbooks close at hand because these are always useful. Key observations or summary points you gather from these resources can be useful to include in a lab report conclusion to support your final analysis. Remember to review the discipline conventions to make sure any quotes and additional information are properly cited.
• Don't just restate your goals from the lab materials. Instead of copying something "as it is", if the objectives are already stated, paraphrase and describe the goals in your own words.
• The passive voice is important! Most lab reports are written in the third person, using the past tense, which means that you discuss what has already been done, rather than in the first person.

Making Lab Report Accessible

The message (your scientific findings) must be conveyed in your lab report, and you must discuss the data clearly. You don't need to argue your position; you only need to present the facts. So, don't make things too complicated or employ an explanatory tone. It is preferable to leave out anything that is unclear or does not raise an important issue.

A Conclusion of a Lab Report should resemble a succinct synopsis in which you go over the findings and describe the precise procedures used to get there. Keep in mind that you shouldn't discuss topics that are beyond the scope of your writing in a lab report! As you discuss the procedure, only bring up the drawbacks and advantages of your approach to improve and/or clarify your lab report. Helping your ending paragraph create the metaphorical final chord in a lab study symphony is crucial to making your data comprehensible!