We believe that it is essential that students are introduced to key generic attributes, such as writing skills, as part of the curriculum in first year, so that they appreciate their integral nature within the discipline. Despite having very large cohorts of students in first year biology (n=1700), we require all students to write lab reports during the first year biology courses. As part of our Writing in Biology program we have provided time during lab classes for discussions of writing, for peer review of practice reports and for getting staff feedback on draft reports. We also run discussion sessions online during the time that lab reports are being written, but generally students are preparing their reports alone.

We have therefore developed a web site to model the various aspects of report writing in biology. This website allows students to

• understand the overall structure and purpose of a report
• know what kind of information belongs in the different parts of the report
• be able to structure the information within each section of the report in a logical way
• recognize and improve problem areas in the language of the report
• see examples of poor writing and explanations of how to improve

The website covers information about: the overall structure of the report; the title; the introduction; the methods; the results; the discussion; and the references. Each section uses short interactive exercises to encourage the student to gain a better understanding of the structure of a report.