<p>The ability to read and understand complicated scientific concepts poses a distinct challenge to students in large-enrollment introductory science courses.  These students often have difficulty understanding that to be successful scientists, they must be able to relate findings to audiences of diverse backgrounds – those who may or may not have any formal training in the field. In order to increase the science literacy and knowledge of our students, we have created a three assignment series in our introductory biology laboratory course at Brandeis University that includes an encyclopedia entry, a news article for a multidiscipline science journal, and a formal peer-reviewed journal-style lab report.  We have found that these assignments improved our students’ writing skills and their confidence in their scientific writing ability.</p>