How to Write an Honest Habit Experiment Report

Phase 1: Prepare

Step 1 Warm-up recall

List the headings you would use for a one-page report on your experiment.

Your answer

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Step 2 Learning goal

By the end of this lesson you can:

organise a report into six parts (Foundation);
write a result sentence that fits the data (Core);
finish with a decision and a next step (Core).

Phase 2: Teach

Step 3 A familiar example

A good lab notebook lets a stranger see what you did and what happened without needing you in the room. A good report does the same.

Step 4 Clear explanation

The capstone report has six parts, about one page in total:

Part	What to write
1. Question	Your question and habit, in one sentence.
2. Protocol	Dose, timing, measures, baseline length, decision rule, safeguards, as written in advance.
3. Data	Baseline mean, weeks 3 and 4 mean, change, adherence, with any days missed and why.
4. Result	Whether your decision rule was met, in one sentence.
5. Limits	At least three limits from M8.L3 that apply to you.
6. Decision and next step	What you will do next: keep, change, stop or retest, and one improvement to the design.

Wording. Prefer “was higher than” to “raised”, “was associated with” to “caused”, and give numbers with units. State your adherence beside your result. Say what you do not know.

Safety and privacy. You do not have to share your report. If the experiment made you feel worse, say so and consider speaking to a qualified professional or someone you trust.

Step 5 Worked example (4 marks)

Draft a result sentence for Tariq.

State the data: “My ratings averaged 6.1 in weeks 3 and 4, against a baseline of 5.4.” (1 mark)
State adherence: “I did the habit on 22 of 28 days (79%).” (1 mark)
State the rule outcome: “My rule asked for at least 1.0, so it was not met.” (1 mark)
State the limit: “With no comparison, I cannot say the habit caused the change.” (1 mark)

Phase 3: Practise

Step 6 Learner practice (instant-marked)

1. Which part of the report comes before the data?

2. Which wording fits a result with no comparison?

3. What should be reported beside your result?

4. What belongs in the last part of the report?

Phase 4: Close

Step 7 Recap

Six parts: question, protocol, data, result, limits, decision and next step.
Use cautious wording and give numbers with units.
You do not have to share the report.

Step 8 Exit ticket (ungraded)

Draft your result sentence in one line.

Your answer

Private: nothing you type here is sent or stored.

Step 9 Go further (Extension)

Ask a friend to read your draft and tell you what they think you did and found, without your help.

Common mistakes

Mistake	Why it fails
Starting with the conclusion	The structure moves from question to decision.
Rounding up good numbers	Report values as measured.
Omitting missed days	Adherence is part of the result.

Limits. This course does not collect or mark your report. You self-mark it against the rubric.