Lab Report Analysis   

Oscar Vasquez  

City College  

     Writing For Engineering: ENGL 21007   

Professor Jacobson   

 March 2023  

Based on my intended major, I have chosen two lab reports revolving around using ecofriendly materials such as cardboard as a substitute for other building materials. These two lab reports caught my eye since I did not imagine that cardboard could be used as an effective material for buildings. Essentially, both reports cover the same topic but use the cardboard mix in different ways. The first simply to test if it works as an alternative, and the second as a thermal insulation panel. Upon finishing the lab reports, I was able to compare the structure of both lab reports since they seemed somewhat different, and the second report seemed easier to read for me. However, comparing the structures of these lab reports to the format described in Chapter 19 of Technical Communication 13^th Ed., both the lab reports do not fully follow how the chapter described it. For example, the chapter states the 8 common elements within a lab report; title, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussions, and references plus some acknowledgments. However, the first lab report has 7 elements within it, while the second lab  

report has 8, but elements renamed and conjoined together.  

Firstly, both lab reports clearly have titles. Which means they complete the first element of the lab report. After this element, the abstract follows which is supposed to summarize the entire report and state the reason why this research is being conducted while being broad and informative. Both reports give a similar abstract as both are stating how the use of recycled materials can be used as an alternative for building materials in the near foreseen future. The reason why the authors are conducting this research is to use eco-friendly material to cut back on pollution, global emissions, and to lower energy use. Both lab reports also do a good job of being informative by clearly stating how cardboard can be used as either a binder or as an aggregate and showing major findings within previous research that have shown their potential. For example, the first lab report begins by stating how recycling paper and cardboard wastes are now becoming important in maintaining a green world, and that with the effect building materials have on global emission, there must be a healthier alternative. Then the author states how current studies are attempting to find new materials to use to help lower this global emission while still being effective as a building material and states how his research is going to examine the optimal cardboard customization that can be used as an alternative. Toward the end of the abstract, he states the potential that previous studies have shown within using these custom cardboard binders as building materials. Similarly, the second lab report also begins with how recycled materials can be used as a solution for achieving energy efficiency while also reducing material consumption. The author continues by stating how in this research he’ll be attempting to find which mixture of recycled cardboard aggregate and binder can be used as an effective thermal insulation to help reduce heating and cooling loads while being eco-friendly. In the end, the author states how these panels are made, and the study proves that recycled cardboard aggregates can be used for thermal insulation and shows potential that it can be used for commercial use in  

the future.  

Next comes the introductions, which in a lab report is supposed to establish why the research is essential. In this element, you include the hypothesis or question your research is attempting to answer while also including its significance while also including the significance it has had in past research. Both reports once again, similarly, complete this element. For example, both reports begin their introduction by stating the issue that their research is attempting to solve or provide an alternative for. For example, the first report begins by stating how the modern construction industry is largely responsible for carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and the construction industry also consumes more raw materials than any other industry by a large percentage. After this, the author includes how the goal of the research is to help find advancements in the construction industry in finding building materials that can ensure sustainability and be effective while making the planet healthier and solving environmental concerns. The author continues by providing images, data, and other advancements previous studies and researchers have found. However, the first lab report then adds an extra element to state the research significance instead of making it apart of the introduction. The second report follows this same format as it also begins with issues within this industry such as the building sector accounting for about 40% of total energy consumption and contributing to global greenhouse gas emissions. The author continues to state how the point of the research is to help improve the energy efficiency in buildings to promote environmental sustainability and reduce global energy consumption by using eco-friendly materials. Much like the first report, this author also continues the introduction by showing a large array of data and research on the  

advancements other researchers and studies have found.   

The purpose of writing the materials and the methods element is to prove to the reader that the research being done is credible and can be repeated for someone that would want to replicate it. In this element, you must go into specific details and steps that took place during the whole experiment phase. The first report accomplishes this simply but showing images and tables to demonstrate what materials and mixtures were used and their appearance. However, lab report 2 structures it’s method and materials in a bit of an easier way by splitting the materials and how they were made into its own element and then continuing the methods it’s own separate element as well. This makes it a bit easier to follow since each material made and each step is numbered making it extremely easy to replicate. Even though both reports methods and materials  

section were slightly different, they both accomplished the same result of letting the reader   

     The next element is the results, which is where the evidence is presented to support the claims in the next element. However, in this element you mainly summarize data was presented in the introduction and you do not present the data found as that belongs in the next element. The discussion element or the analysis is where the results is interpreted and whether or not it answers the question that caused this research to be made Even though the standard format presented in Technical Communication 13^th Edition splits these two elements apart, the first lab report puts both elements into the same section which somewhat can be confusing since it doesn’t flow right and presents a lot of data and tables without flowing. The second report instead, adds an extra element of “characterization” then also puts the results and discussion into the same section but in a better way compared to the first. The second lab report does a hatter job and putting the results and discussion together since it is divided into 6 smaller sections which makes it easier to read and understand what each data is showing. In the end both reports accomplish the job of presenting the data and results found while also answering their original  

hypothesis, however both also united these two separate sections into one.   

The next element within a lab report is the conclusion in which the reports must summarize the main points that were converted into about 1 or 2 paragraphs. This is also where the last attempt to prove why this research conducted was significant. Both lab reports do a very similar job in concluding their lab reports as both executed their summarization, findings, and importance very well. For example, the first lab report begins by stating “Sustainable construction is an approach set in place to promote the environmental quality and the quality of building indoor environment with less impact to the energy consumption and global raw material resources” (First Lab Report P. 17, Conclusion), this shows the importance of using cardboard as an alternative which was the main point of the report and shows its significance. It also breaks down the conclusion into 3 different parts for its major findings. Similarly, the second lab report begins with “Using recycled materials to achieve energy efficiency in buildings is an attractive and sustainable solution. This study demonstrates the feasibility of fabricating thermal insulation panels using recycled cardboard aggregates and biodegradable binders” (Second Lab Report P. 15, Conclusion), which also shows the importance of this research and its main point of using  

reycycled materials as an alternative for thermal insulation.  

           Citations  

First Lab Report: https://iopscience–iop–org.ccnyhttps://iopscience-iop-org.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/article/10.1088/2631-8695/ac5f64proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/article/10.1088/2631–8695/ac5f64  

Second Lab Report: https://www–sciencedirect–com.ccnyhttps://www-sciencedirect-com.ccny-proxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0378778822009185?via=ihubproxy1.libr.ccny.cuny.edu/science/article/pii/S0378778822009185?via%3Dihub  

Book for reference: Technical Communication 13^th Edition by Mike Markel, Stuart A. Selber Reflection   

At first, I struggled to create a thought process for how I would begin this and how I would continue it. I also found struggles within the APA format since it was my first time ever using this style. Finding lab reports to use wasn’t much of an issue for me since I’d already decided I wanted to find something surrounding eco-friendly materials. As a result, I found two reports surrounding the research topic of using cardboard as an alternative material instead. These two lab reports intrigued me since I would not have guessed that cardboard and other recycled materials could truly be used and become very effective materials when put into a mixture for buildings. I also chose this because it is something that interests me as in the future, I want to be involved in a project that involves using eco-friendly materials to prove that we can use alternatives that help the earth while still having the same effect. Also, after the peer review, my mind was so much clearer on what I had to fix which was mainly the formatting. After this, it became so much easier to understand this new format. Also, the peer review also helped me notice how different my writing style is compared to my other peers and how my feedback seemed to truly help them as well.