This is what a blank excel workbook looks like.

To start there are three separate sheets on which to store data.

Down the left side are the ROW labels. Rows go across the page from left to right.

Along the top are the COLUMN labels. Columns go down the page from top to bottom.

Step One:

Enter your data into separate columns. It is best if the data you wish to plot on the x-axis is on the left and the data you wish to plot on the y-axis is on the right.

Step Two:

Highlight the data you wish to plot. Just the numbers should be highlighted, not the labels.

Step Three:

Once your data is highlighted, select Insert >> Chart from the top menu.

Step Four:

Choose the type of graph you would like to make. Most often, you will choose XY (Scatter) for your lab reports.

Step Five:

By clicking Next twice after choosing your chart type, you come to the Chart Options screen. Here you can change your axis labels and chart title, choose whether or not to have a legend, and adjust your axes.

Step Six:

By clicking Next again, you are able to choose whether your want your finished graph to be an object in

Step Seven:

Once your graph has been created, you can right click on one of your data points and select Add Trendline. This will help you put a line of best-fit onto your graph.

Step Eight:

From this screen, you can choose the type of trendline you want (you will most often be using linear). Also, from the Options tab, you can choose to have the equation from your trendline put onto your graph.

Once your graph is completed it can be cut and paste into the word processing program in which you are writing your lab report.