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Re: [Phys-l] Writing a review or lab report



I'll let others comment on a review, but personally I the consider lab report a totally artificial animal. Has anyone ever had to write a 'lab report' outside of an undergraduate course? Maybe one could argue for lab reports as training for writing papers--but in my mind, they are too different for the lab report exercise to be useful. Here is a hint for anyone overloaded with work due to lab reports--don't assign them. Rather, give short, open lab book quizzes where you ask them to write down the kinds of information you want them to have in the lab book. You can test units, calculations, sig-figs (if you are so inclined), organization, results, conclusions--just about anything that 'should' appear in lab work in a compact, easy to grade format. Sure beats slogging through dozens of lab books and student handwriting. ;-)

rwt

Richard W. Tarara
Professor of Physics
Saint Mary's College
Notre Dame, Indiana

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----- Original Message ----- From: "alex brown" <aesbrown77@yahoo.co.uk>
To: "Forum for Physics Educators" <phys-l@carnot.physics.buffalo.edu>
Sent: Monday, May 02, 2011 11:26 AM
Subject: [Phys-l] Writing a review or lab report


What rules and guidlines do you give your students? Should they write the present or past tense?.. Ie the results were found to be in good agreement or the reults agree well with theoretical calculations...

Thanks for any advice.
ALex
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