Lab report writing (and teaching!) made easy

This paper reports on a project to improve students' ability to write better lab reports and assist teaching assistants (TAs) in grading reports in a consistent manner. A lab report teaching system was developed that includes lab report templates, teaching assistant instructions, grading rubrics, examples, peer review materials and instructions, and recommendations for quickly providing student feedback (grading). These materials were developed for project-based labs across the electrical engineering curriculum and utilize methods to write weekly lab updates that are combined into a final lab report, mimicking methods commonly used in industry. The technical writing information was adapted to all levels of complexity to help students from freshman through senior years. The system begins with instruction on writing very basic reports, and builds each year on previous knowledge and practices, to prepare students to later write complex reports. This system is designed to improve students' understanding of labs (by ‘writing to learn') in addition to preparing them for the communication intensive workplace. The amount of time spent grading such reports is often a primary concern, as this is commonly given as a reason for not requiring advanced writing assignments in engineering classes. Detailed guidelines and grading rubrics are included in this manual to instruct TAs on better and more consistent grading techniques. Guidelines for checking both lab books and formal lab reports help improve TA training and grading consistency, reducing student complaints. Although this system was designed for an electrical engineering program, it can also be adapted to other technical fields and used for various scientific lab reports.