Lab+Report+Writing+Tips


 * How to Improve Your Lab Report Writing**

Virtual Screening a diverse compound library for inhibitors of DHFR for the treatment of Anthrax infection
 * TITLE:** incorporate your motivation and your variables

Start with general background info that you have looked up. Don't start out with the objective.This will allow the reader to get the overall picture first before delving into the purpose and details.
 * INTRO:**

End the Intro with a quick summary of what was done in this experiment and why it is relevant. You could include your hypothesis here. For example, "In the present study the enzyme activity of three variants of the DHFR enzyme were tested using spectrophotometry to assess the effect of point mutations. It was hypothesized that the hydrophobic variant would show reduced activity."

Do not use COMMANDS (it is not an instruction book), but rather relay what was done in the experiment in past tense.
 * M&M:**


 * BAD:** Click on the A tab in PyMol and then select the 'Align' command
 * GOOD:** In the PyMol interface, the 'Align' command was selected under the A tab.


 * BAD:** I calculated the concentration of substrate....
 * GOOD:** The concentration for the substrate was a calculated...

Include descriptive captions - they should tell the reader everything they need to know to understand what is in the image. Explain what they are looking at and don't assume the reader knows. Captions for Figures go below the Figure Captions for Tables go above the Tables
 * CAPTIONS:**


 * RESULTS:**


 * DISCUSSION:**

Start out with a 1-2 sentence re-cap of what was done in this study and a key finding from the data. Then go into 1-2 sentences of Future Directions - how can this work be applied in the future. Try to be specific.
 * CONCLUSIONS:**


 * BAD:** I finished the lab quickly and had no real problems. It was important to do every step carefully. In the future we will use these skills in more labs which will make drug discovery go faster.


 * GOOD:** The catalysis rates of the three variants of DHFR were measured with the hydrophilic change yielding the least activity. This is in contrast to our hypothesis and consequently helps to elucidate why this strain of bacteria is less virulent. This finding can be applied toward directing which classes of compounds should be virtually screened to more adequately bind the highly virulent strain. Using this more rational approach may serve to speed up the discovery of a cure for infectious diseases that are dependent upon DHFR.