Overview
For this assignment, write a progress report for your lab project so far (Labs 1-4). Be sure to include the major components listed above, and format them as “Background,” “Activities & Progress,” and “Remaining Work” sections. Your project plan/timeline and any data should be formatted as scientific publication-style figures. This means images should appropriately frame the relevant components (e.g. large areas of black around your gel in the gel image should be cropped out; the text on the timeline or any labels on the gel should be appropriately sized and easy to read). Figures should all have figure captions below the figure that provide enough description and definition to help the reader easily read the data/information shown in the figure.
Background – The overall aim and/or rationale of the project
Activities & Progress – This section presents:
The action plan of the project (often depicted as a timeline) and indicates what specific activities have been completed since the last reporting.
- Any major results are summarized (including any relevant data figures).
- Problems that have been identified along the way are discussed. In some projects, a problem may arise that sets back the timeline, or even necessitates rethinking the action plan you had originally proposed by which to achieve the project goals. Such developments are included in a progress report, and may be the starting point for discussing changes to the action plan with collaborators/clients.
Remaining Work – This section presents the next steps you will take based on the results you already have. (This should be in keeping with the action plan in the above section, but should include more specifics.)
- Guidelines: Your progress report should not be a full retelling of every lab. It should provide concise, relevant information about the purpose of each lab in the broader context of the overall project’s goal. (Read the sample progress reports mentioned above, imagine what the protocols/lab notebook information would have looked like for all that work, and compare the level of detail/description provided in the progress report. Notice how the progress report is brief and focused on how the pieces of work fit into the big picture goal of the project.)Format your figures as you would for a journal publication. This means images should appropriately frame the relevant components (images cropped to show only necessary portions, all text labels easy to read, figures and labels appropriately sized and formatted together). Figures should all have figure captions below the figure that provide enough description and definition to help the reader easily read the data/information shown in the figure.I am looking for clear, well-organized, concise writing and accurate presentation of information.