Lab reports are the dreaded assignments of the laboratory course. Students dislike them, because they can be tedious and time-consuming. Instructors dislike them, because they significantly increase the grading load. For this reason, lab reports are often omitted or replaced by alternatives such as responses to lab questions, fill-in-the-blank lab manual exercises, or lab quizzes. Despite its negative associations, the lab reports can help students learn how to write scientifically using an authentic scientific writing genre that allows them to formulate hypotheses, make inferences based on findings, and develop scientific arguments—cornerstones of scientific literacy. Students are also more apt to revisit the lab procedure and reflect on the experiment when writing lab reports. Reflecting on the lab in conjunction with putting the lab in their own words provides students a very effective tool for learning the science of the lab.