There is no set format/paragraph number for the lab report, no "extra credit" for "chemistry inspired illustrations". The length should be appropriate to the objective (see next), generally three or four pages. There is no requirement to quote the book, or provide other references (though these would be needed in a professional research publication).

The aim is to represent the "spirit" of what actually goes on in scientific exploration:

• An Introduction should explain why the observations being reported are significant. It should be thoughtful, interest the reader and include an hypothesis if one has one. The latter may be something developed after seeing what one's observations are (think about what the question is to which one's observations provide an answer).
• A brief Methods section should give a reader an understanding of how the observations were made so their adequacy to the purpose can be evaluated.
• Observations should then be clearly and succinctly described insofar as they bear on the issues of the Introduction, or raise new, unexpected questions.
• The report should end with a Discussion indicating how the observations speak to to the questions/hypotheses in the Introduction. This should include an evaluation of any uncertainties in the findings and their interpretation and, perhaps, a description of new questions which have arisen in the course of the research.