Reference no: EM132385371

Structure
It is recommended to divide the lab report in 2 main sections. A suggestion of organization is:

Title Page
Abstract
Section 1: Koch's postulates
Section 2: Endophyte Identification

Title Page
• Title
• Date
• Your name and/or student number
• Lab Group Members names and/or student numbers

Abstract
• This is a summary of your report. This can be one of the most difficult parts to write, therefore it may be beneficial to do this section last once you have a clear idea of the whole report. You need to write a single summary for the whole set of labs (Koch's postulates and Endophytes)
• The body of the abstract should contain a brief summary of:
o theory of both sections
o major findings

Each section (Koch's postulates and Endophytes)

Purpose
• What are you trying to learn/test or determine?
• How does this relate to concepts learned in class/lab sessions?

Procedure
• Briefly describe the highlights of the procedure in your own words. Do not plagiarize the protocols, instead reference the lab protocols or any other alternative source of information.
• This should only be a few sentences, refer to the lab protocols if the reader would like more details.

Results
• This section should include:
o A written summary of the results obtained including any observations
o Any supporting data tables, graphs, photographs, drawings etc.
• Figures and tables should be appropriately numbered (Figure 1, Figure 2 etc.) captioned, and all referenced in the text
• If appropriate, graphs include:
o Descriptive title
o Labeled axes with units included
o Appropriately spaced axes with correctly placed and connected data points
o Well defined legend
• Do not fudge your data! Include only the data that your group and the class actually collected. The importance here is not the numbers. Numbers will not prove your level of understanding. Any result will be valid as long as you provide an appropriate explanation, even if it didn't work! I will never deduct points because something you did didn't work...that's science!
• Do not cut out your data from your lab book and paste into your report. It is good practice for you to make graphs and tables in Microsoft Word or Excel.

Discussion
• This is the most important part of your report because here you show that you understand the experiment beyond the simple level of completing it. Analyze. Interpret. This part of the lab focuses on the question of understanding, i.e. "What is the significance or meaning of the results?" To answer this question, both analyze and interpret the results from the previous results section. (6 points)

Analyze

What do the results indicate clearly? What have you found?
Explain what you know with certainty based on your results and draw conclusions.

Example: Since none of the samples showed to be resistant in the fungicide microtiter test, therefore mutations, if present at all, do not have an impact on the phenotype of these samples.

Interpret

What is the significance of the results? What ambiguities exist? What questions might we raise?

Example: Since the fungus was not resistant to the fungicide, spraying the fungicide should control the fungus in the field. However, it is not known whether the fungus is resistant to other modes of action, and thus this should be further tested.

• Include an error analysis
o Identified problems encountered, experimental weaknesses or possible sources of error (Contamination? Not enough DNA? Too long in the bleach solution?)
o The effects of these weaknesses/errors on your results
o How to overcome or avoid these weaknesses/errors in the future
 » Human error or "my lab group" are not valid reasons. If you made mistakes, identify them.
o Example: Although the weed samples were received on 14 August 2000, testing could not be started until 10 September 2000. It is desirable to test as quickly as possible after sampling in order to avoid potential sample contamination. The effect of the delay is unknown.

Conclusion
• Use the results from the lab investigations to answer the original problem (think about what is the main purpose/s of the practicals).
• Discuss what was similar and different between the Koch's Postulates practicals
• Include any areas of further investigation or changes you would make to the existing procedure to improve the lab activity.

Attachment:- Agricultural Microbiology.rar