How to Write a Scientific Lab Report: A Short-Term Intervention for Improving Chemistry Writing Skills

Scientific writing is an important skill that students develop during their undergraduate studies. The goal of this study is to evaluate whether developing a short-term intervention through a co-creation process can be effective for improving lab report writing skills and evaluate whether this approach is effective. The length and extent of interventions can often be dictated by the resources available at a particular institution. Exploring the effectiveness of short-term interventions co-created with students and lab Demonstrators may lead to wider adoption, particularly at institutions where longer-term interventions may not be possible. Initial work here involves consultations with students and lab Demonstrators to identify common problem areas and a review of how students currently develop report writing skills. The development of an in-person tutorial and a reference guide are both presented here, as well as feedback received from the lab Demonstrators and two different cohorts of students.