Microbiology Lab Report

Remarks to fix the first draft on the microbiology paper.

1. The report should have 5 separate components.

a. Introduction

b. Materials and Methods

c. Results

d. Discussion and Conclusion

e. Reference

Label each section with these titles in bold font.

2. The introduction provides a background information and the objectives of the experiment.

Include a statement of the hypothesis (educated guess) of the possible results.

2.1 Every time you make a statement that has been collected from another source, such as the textbook

or the internet, you must present this information in the form of a citation. This means, do not copy and

paste the statement. And if you do, please use “ “ so we know that you are using the words of the

author you are citing. At the end of the citation, place the identifier of the reference with the author last

name or institution and the year of the publication.

2.2 Include the objective of the experiment. The objective of this experiment was to determine…

2.3 Present a hypothesis of the possible result based on your literature search or an educated guess. The

hypothesis is…

2.4 Provide a little history of studies related to the experiment. The technique used, the chemicals, etc.

2.5 Briefly provide the importance of the study.

2.6 Restrict yourself from writing the word “laboratory” as “lab”.

2.7 Do not put in the introduction methodology, materials, bacteria names (unless necessary for the

context).

3.0 Materials and Methods

3.1 Do not present a list of items. Incorporate the items in the narrative of the procedure.

3.2 Use the laboratory book for a guide but do not copy literally, since we changed procedures to adapt

to our conditions.

3.3 All the verbs must be in past tense and in third person. There is no “I, my, me, our, etc.” Use for

example: Broth cultures of Escherichia coli was provide for the experiment…

3.4 The names of the bacteria should be complete, genus and specific epithet, spelled correctly and in

italic or underlined. Once you mention it with the complete name the first time you can abbreviate the

name from now on. Such is the case of E. coli, but in italic or underline.

3.5 Read and write the procedure to make the lawn of bacteria according to the laboratory book.

3.6 Present a list of the antibiotics names, their ID, and their concentrations. The same for the

antiseptics used in that experiment.

3.7 Mention the hours of incubation (usually 1 week for our experiment) and the temperature (room

temperature, 25°C (° is done by pressing ALT+248).

3.8 Explain how do you measured the zone of inhibition.

For antibiotics is the diameter and for the antiseptics is the distance between the edge of the

disk to the edge of the inhibitory zone. You may mention that a dotted marking was draw before the

measurement was done. All measurements were reported in millimeters (mm).

3.9 Mention that the lawn were in triplicates. Meaning that 3 plates per bacteria were prepared for the

experiment and an average will be determined and reported in a table.

3.10 Don’t forget to mention in the antiseptic experiment that the paper disk were dipped in the

testing solution and they were touched by paper towels to eliminate excess of solution and equalize the

amounts to all chemical tested.

4.0 Results

4.1 The results are not just the table with data. You must describe in a narrative form the results

presented in the table or graphs. It is in a very dry and boring writing style. For example: The largest

zone of inhibition was presented by ____ (bacteria name) under the effect of _____ (chemical) with an

average of ____ mm, followed by … The smallest zone of inhibition was…

And this is for all the different species tested.

4.2 No comments such as the reason for these results or the discussion of the cause. Leave this to the

Discussion and Conclusion section.

4.3 You may present errors, accidents, or findings that may play a role in the conclusions. Such as the

condition of the plates, the bacteria or the chemicals used.

4.4 When constructing the table. Make a title for the table with a number (Table No. 1). Write the title

to explain the information presented. (Effect of Antibiotics on three different bacteria. Zone of inhibition

in mm.)

4.5 Include all the data values and separate them with (,) comas.

4.6 Calculate and include a column in the table with the averages.

4.7 Photos can be presented with a footnote that describe the photo and the Figure No.

5.0 Discussion and Conclusion

5.1 Here is where you finally are going to comment about the results. You may compare results among

the different bacteria, chemicals, etc. However, you need to link this comments with references.

5.2 You may start a paragraph with: According to ______ (author last name), the effect of ____

(chemical) has been found in …

Always place the year (Year) after the name of the reference. And place the reference in the section.

5.3 Find scholar papers (journals, textbooks, papers, etc.) that support or reject your findings. Read their

abstracts or the whole paper and find similarities or contradictions. And reference them. Normally,

papers that are more than 10 years old are not acceptable, unless they are fundamental or have merit.

5.4 Present a statement where you talk about your hypothesis whether it was supported or rejected.

5.5 You may reflect upon the importance of the experiment and the findings in our daily life.

5.6 Discuss how Gram positive bacteria have been affected (or not) by antibiotics or antiseptics.

5.7 Research cases of bacteria resistance and compare to your findings.

5.8 There is a table in the laboratory book that present the values of susceptibility and resistance.

Compare our data and reference the table in the book.

6.0 Reference

6.1 Go online and search for a guide to APA citations and reference.

6.2 There is a proper way to cite and reference when using the internet or material online. Try to avoid

places that do not have a responsible name, researcher or institution responsible for the information.

6.3 The reference on the internet must present not only the link but also the date when the data was

retrieved (month and year).

6.4 Must the in alphabetic order.