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11 SMART Goals Examples for Improving Your Writing Skills

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Good writing skills are becoming more critical, particularly in finding and maintaining a good job. As a writer, you are faced with several challenges. This has to do with your overall writing skills, not just with the profession in general.

A lack of vocabulary, issues with plagiarism, insufficient reasoning and cognitive skills, a lack of feedback, poor grammar and spelling, and a lack of research skills are problems you may face.

However, setting SMART goals is one thing that can help you significantly improve your writing skills. This article discusses SMART goals for writing skills.

SMART goals can help you set precise goals you can measure in realistic ways to monitor your progress over time.

Table of Contents

What Are SMART Goals?

To set usable SMART goals, knowing what they are is crucial. SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable (or Attainable), Relevant, and Time-Bound (or Timely). These are five parts of a greater goal.

If you focus on the five letters of this acronym, setting and achieving goals becomes easier. So let’s look at the five letters of the SMART acronym and what they mean in setting SMART goals for writing skills.

Specific: These goals need to be precise, concise, and unambiguous. Setting a goal is relatively meaningless if you don’t know what the goal is.
Measurable: The goals you set must be measurable in some way. The more accurately you can measure your progress toward a goal, the better you can judge what still needs to be done to get there.
Achievable: Any goal you set needs to be attainable or achievable. Setting unrealistic goals that are not readily attainable will demoralize and demotivate you.
Relevant: The goals you set need to be relevant to the specific skill you are looking to improve. For instance, while eating healthy is a worthy goal, it won’t help you become a better writer.
Time-Bound: These SMART goals should always be time-bound. These goals should have specific time limits or deadlines that they should be achieved by. This will help motivate you, and it will also help you monitor progress on a linear scale.

If you would like more information on setting and achieving SMART goals, we recommend checking out Ultimate Guide to SMART Goals . In addition, a vision board can help you determine what your biggest goals are.

Why SMART Goals Are Important for Developing Writing Skills

SMART goals help you create structure in a way that makes them easier to achieve.

It’s about setting specific goals where you can measure the progress over a certain period, goals that are relevant to your overall end goal, which, in this case, is improving your writing skills.

There are a significant number of challenges that today’s writers face . One of the most common is dealing with complex and unfamiliar topics and lacking practical research skills. But, of course, to write, you first need to research, which is easier said than done.

Another big challenge , once resources have been found, is to organize them, so they are easily usable for your writing. Also related to research and sources is ensuring that your writing hasn’t been plagiarized, which can land you in serious trouble.

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Moreover, perhaps one of the biggest writing challenges is forming a coherent argument that makes sense and is valid. It concerns using common sense, logical thought, and deductive skills within a solid writing structure to develop an argument that is accurate and easy to understand.

Another challenge writers face a simple lack of grammar and spelling skills , combined with an ineffective vocabulary. The cornerstone of assembling a good piece of writing is knowing the best words to use.

Other challenges you may face include a simple lack of feedback. To improve at something, you need constructive criticism. A lack of practice and experience are also issues.

We want to look at a series of SMART goals for writing skills to help you formulate a strategy that will help you improve.

We will help you set goals to tackle the challenges writers face, as laid out above. SMART goals are your plan of action.

11 Examples of SMART Goals for Writing Skills

Let’s go over a few examples of SMART goals that will help you tackle the challenges mentioned above faced by writers.

1. Read from Academic Sources

“To improve my vocabulary, I will spend at least 15 minutes reading from an academic source each day. All throughout, I will keep track of the number of words I do not know to judge my reading comprehension skills and vocabulary. My end goal is to fully comprehend any piece of writing within one year of the start date.”

S: This goal is specific as you aim to read from an academic source every day for a particular time to increase your vocabulary.

M: This goal is measurable because you can track how many words you are unfamiliar with over 15 minutes of reading.

A: This goal is achievable because spending 15 minutes per day reading is not very time-consuming, nor is making a list to keep track of unfamiliar words.

R: This goal is directly relevant to improving writing skills because having a good vocabulary is essential for writing well. Regularly reading is a great habit to have anyway.

T: This goal is time-bound to a certain degree because the aim is to engage in this practice for at least 15 minutes per day, every day, by the end of each day.

2. Learn New Words

“To help improve my vocabulary, I will spend 10 minutes each day making a list of words that I have heard but do not know the meaning of. I will then use a dictionary and a thesaurus to learn what these words mean and their synonyms. I want to shorten my list of unfamiliar words by at least 5% each week.”

S: This goal is specific as the aim is to make a list of unfamiliar words and then learn their meanings. The objective is to improve your vocabulary.

M: This goal is measurable to a certain degree because you can easily see the length of your list of unfamiliar words.

A: This goal is easy to attain because you can write down unfamiliar words as you read them and then set aside a few minutes each day to look them up.

R: As established above, having a strong vocabulary is essential to becoming a proficient writer.

T: This process is time-bound, as you are setting aside a certain amount of time each day to complete this task. It’s also time-bound as you intend to shorten the list of unfamiliar words within a set timeframe.

3. Ask for Feedback

“Whenever I complete a piece of writing, I will immediately give it to a friend or family member and ask them to provide me with realistic and relevant feedback. I will ask for feedback within three days. Then, I will examine the feedback immediately and make adjustments as needed by the end of the week (or within seven days of giving said person my piece of writing).”

S: This goal is specifically designed to seek feedback on your writing within a specific timeframe to have others tell you what needs improvement.

M: This goal is measurable to a certain degree, as you can use your judgment to determine how positive or negative the feedback is. The more positive feedback you get, the more you progress.

A: This goal is easy to attain because you simply have to find some people willing to engage in this feedback process. Here’s a good guide on how to motivate others to help you.

R: This is highly relevant because things sound different from somebody else’s perspective. You need to know how other people read and interpret your work.

T: This goal is time-based, as the aim is to get feedback and make adjustments within a specific time.

4. Join a Debate Club

“To improve my logical thought, deduction, and argument-formation skills, I will join a debate club within the next 14 days. I will aim to have at least one debate per week, with the overall goal of winning at least two consecutive debates within six months of joining the debate team.”

S: This goal is specific in using a debate team to improve argument-formation skills over a particular time to win consecutive debates.

M: This goal is measurable because you can judge your progress by your performance and overall results in your weekly debates.

A: It’s a relatively easy goal because argument formation skills also improve by practicing debating skills.

R: It’s a relevant goal because good writing requires clear and coherent arguments to be formed.

T: It is a time-bound goal because it aims to win two consecutive debates within six months of joining the team.

5. Learn to Read Faster

“I will read at least one chapter of a book per day and write a summary of the main points within the said chapter. The overall goal is to first increase the speed at which I read, and second, to detail the main points more clearly and concisely within each chapter. My aim is to read at least one word more per minute each day and be able to read at least 100 words per minute within 60 days of beginning this exercise. I will then go back through each chapter to examine my analysis' accuracy.”

S: This goal is specific because you intend to read a certain amount, be able to read faster, at least one word per minute more each day, and to better comprehend what you’ve read over a period.

M: This goal is measurable because you can keep track of how many words per minute you read and count the main points you could remember and comprehend.

A: This is an easy-to-attain goal because by practicing, your reading speed and comprehension skills will improve over time.

R: A crucial reading and writing skill is to disseminate essential facts quickly and efficiently from large writing pieces.

T: This is a timely goal as the objective is to read a certain number of words more each day, intending to read at least 100 words per minute within 60 days of starting. This could be a part of a daily morning routine .

6. Hone Writing Skills

“I will join a professional writing class by the end of the month and complete it by the end of the year. The overall goal is to hone my writing skills, precisely the style, and type of writing required for my profession. My aim is to get at least a 90% score on all exams in this writing course.”

S: The specific goal is to first complete a particular writing class and, second, get a score of at least 90% on all exams.

M: This goal is easy to measure, as all of your work will be graded by the instructor.

A: This goal is attainable through hard work, practice, and studying.

R: It is a relevant goal because taking a course designed specifically for that end will improve my writing skills.

T: It is a time-bound goal, as writing classes only last for so long.

7. Identify Writers You Admire

“I will identify writers I admire whom I can learn from. By choosing one writer per month, I will have time to research that writer, identifying their trademark style, unique approach to topics, and literary style. I will identify one to three aspects of each writer’s style that I can adapt to my own writing style, practicing these over the last two weeks of each month per writer. I will then track to see which style adaptation works for me and which feels out of place.”

S: This goal is specific in that you need to identify people who write in such a way that you admire. The task is specific and targeted at a predetermined outcome—finding writers you like.

M: You can measure your success here by how many great writers you’ve researched and considered as writers you admire.

A: Achieve this goal by reading up on one writer per month, which is achievable.

R: Build the relevance of this goal by focusing on a skill (other writers’ writing ability) that you can apply to your own writing career.

T: This goal has a time limit of one writer per month, which ensures you won’t get bored and will have enough time to research these writers, while still having time to write too.

8. Developing Writing Tricks

“Having achieved my goal of identifying writers I admire; I will now learn their tricks or the shortcuts that help them create great content and captivating manuscripts. I will use the next month per writer, reading their best work and also their worst work, identifying what worked in the first while being missing in the latter. From my notes, I will then apply the x-factor that helps these writers be so great to help me be a better writer. Having found each writer’s success formula, I will apply this to my writing too.”

S: Identify the specific traits or skills that a writer used to succeed that was missing from their poor work. This is a specific step.

M: Success can be measured by seeing whether you can identify what made a writer great in their work, while also spotting what made them not succeed, and then seeing if you have similar challenges. You can measure success by how many writers you can analyze in the given time.

A: Anybody can read what someone else wrote, but because you are a writer, you will be able to achieve a real analysis of their work and style through comparison.

R: This is a relevant goal as it will improve your writing ability if you can see what tricks work and what doesn’t. You write relevant content by learning from someone else’s mistakes.

T: There is a time limit to this goal because you have a month per writer, which is when you move on to a different writer.

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9. Develop Brilliant Self-Editing Skills

“I know I am not perfect, so I will sharpen my self-editing skills. I will make it a requirement to read my content at least three times before letting it rest for a week and then reading it again, but this time reading it from the bottom up (not in reverse) so I can check each sentence independently, and also then read it from start to finish to catch any errors and inconsistencies that need to be edited. I will also invest in a good grammatical tool such as Grammarly Premium for the next six months to suggest changes where necessary. By asking family members to check my writing, I can get an indication of my improvements and learning.”

S: This goal is about improving the quality of your writing, which is a specific goal.

M: You can measure this goal by looking at the grammar checking tool’s score, while also asking family members to report back on their perception of your writing improvement.

A: You can achieve this goal as it has smaller micro-goals, such as editing from the bottom up and investing in a grammar tool for six months.

R: As a writer, having quality content and captivating writing is vital to industry success, which means this goal is relevant to your career as a writer.

T: With a time limit of reading content three times, resting seven days, then reading it again, you create a healthy time habit that will help you review your work with fresh eyes.

10. Broaden My Knowledge Base

“To be a successful writer, I also need to be a great “reader” with a wide knowledge base, so I will read a new niche or topic each week. Instead of reading about things I am already familiar with, I need to read new and unusual topics that I know nothing about and possibly never even knew existed. For each new topic, I will create a list of 10 terms or ideas that are unique to that area of expertise, which I will practice referring to in the last week of each month.”

S: The specifics of this goal are to broaden knowledge, which you can specifically do by reading a new topic each week and keeping notes on that topic.

M: You can measure your knowledge expansion by using industry-specific knowledge in daily discussions. Check off each term or idea each time you use them.

A: Reading a book or blog each week is achievable, and it’s interesting too, so you will likely keep up the knowledge habit.

R: Writing is about knowledge, so being informed about many different areas of interest means you will have a wide knowledge base, and this will keep you (and your written content) relevant.

T: The time limit on this task is specific, helping to keep you on track in your goal to read a new book (topic) each week.

11. Identify New Writing Markets

“To ensure I can earn a living from writing, I will explore different writing markets until I find one (or more) where I naturally thrive. A market can only be explored if you work in it, so I will choose a new writing market every three months, seeking out writing opportunities and clients in that market. When I am satisfied that I know more about that particular writing market, I will move on to the next (while still maintaining activity in the previous markets). Finally, I will choose the markets where I can enjoy the most success and hone my skills there.”

S: The specific goal is to find new writing markets that may help you write successfully and earn a living.

M: Your success can be measured by the number of markets you explore and how you slot into each.

A: You can achieve this goal by applying for new writing jobs or projects online in markets where you haven’t previously written, such as content writing, SEO writing, copywriting, fiction, non-fiction, and more.

R: The goal is relevant as you want to build a successful writing career, but you may not yet know what market you and your writing abilities are best suited to.

T: With a time limit of three months per market, you have enough time to investigate a market without forcing yourself to drown in any particular one. You can easily dip your toes into a market in three months, so the goal is reachable and timebound.

Final Thoughts on SMART Goals for Writing Skills

The best way to hone your writing skills is to set specific goals. The best way to do this is by making them SMART goals, which enable you to set concise goals, achieve those goals, and when they should be completed.

This kind of structure and organization always makes achieving any goal easier. So make five or six SMART goals and start improving your writing today!

And if you want more SMART goal ideas and examples, be sure to check out these blog posts:

7 SMART Goals Examples for Administrative Assistants
6 SMART Goals Examples for Social Media Marketing
7 SMART Goals Examples for Creatives & Artistic People

Finally, if you want to take your goal-setting efforts to the next level, check out this FREE printable worksheet and a step-by-step process that will help you set effective SMART goals .

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How To Write A Powerful Essay On Achieving Goals (+ Example)

Writing an essay on achieving your goals can be a great opportunity to share your accomplishments.

Goal setting is a useful strategy to get the most out of life and set yourself up for success. However, there are many things to remember regarding proper goal setting and achievement. When writing a blm argumentative essay , it’s important to provide context on the history of the Black Lives Matter movement and the issues it seeks to address. This can help the reader understand the significance of the essay’s thesis and arguments. Let’s get to grips with the process of goal setting and come up with a powerful essay on achieving goals.

Structuring Your Essay on Achieving Goals:

How to write an introduction.

Any academic essay must have a strong beginning. It will establish your point of view and inform the reader of what to expect. An introduction should:

Attract the reader’s attention with a ‘hook’. You can achieve this by quoting a shocking statistic, quote, fact, or controversial statement.
Give some background or historical information about the topic. For instance, psychological theories and models on effective goal setting and achievement.
Present your thesis (main point of your essay) e.g., “Rewarding achievement is the most effective means by which employers can increase workplace productivity”.

How to Write The Main Body of Your Essay

There should be a minimum of three paragraphs in your essay. Each one is a ‘mini-essay with an introduction, body, and conclusion. Each should include:

Topic sentence: inform the reader about the subject of the paragraph, e.g., “how to measure goal attainment”, or “effective workplace goal setting”.
Evidence sentences: inform the reader about the evidence you’ve uncovered, e.g., a business model and study on effective workplace goal setting.
Analysis sentences : inform the reader of your thoughts on the evidence and its significance. For example, “Model A clearly shows how employers are to set realistic goals with employees and this model has proven to be successful in study x”.
Concluding sentence: summarize what you’ve learned about the topic and how it relates to the essay question. For instance, “Setting realistic goals for employees is straightforward and likely to increase successful goal achievement in the workplace”.

How to Write a Conclusion

To signal the essay is ending, use a suitable word or phrase , such as ‘In summary’ or ‘With all of this in mind’.
Reread your introduction to remind yourself of your thesis. After that, either paraphrase or respond to the thesis.
Summarize the key points stated in each of the assignment’s paragraphs. So, if you wrote three key body paragraphs, the conclusion should include three main themes.
Give your readers a concluding line on the main issue and possibly attempt to urge them to further ponder the topic in its wider context.

Example Of An Essay About Achieving Your Goals

So, let’s put all this information together and check an example essay on achieving goals: Effective Methods to Increase the Likelihood of Goal Achievement Achieving goals can be extremely rewarding and result in a more satisfying and successful life. Many people set goals yet cannot achieve them. However, there are ways to avoid or reduce the likelihood of missing the mark. By ensuring that goals are SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound), using visualization techniques, and rewarding goal attainment, the chances of success increase. First, ensure your goals are SMART. This means that goals should be specific and measurable in terms of outcomes, e.g., test scores . Goals should be achievable and realistic to the person’s capabilities and resources available. Also, a goal should apply to the person’s work, education, hobbies, or interests and include a deadline. If there is no specificity of outcome, there’s no real way to see how someone has improved—or how they might be falling short. And if goals are not SMART, they are more difficult to achieve. Second, by imagining and visualizing the feelings and outcomes of achievement of the goal , the likelihood of high achievement increases. The imagination can be a powerful tool. Imagining the feelings of accomplishment helps to increase self-efficacy and motivation. A Canadian study found that imagery skills moderate the effect of mental practice on self-efficacy. The effects of visualization techniques are valuable in goal achievement. Third, once the goal has been accomplished, a reward is required. Getting a reward for hard work will increasingly motivate an individual to set and achieve the next goal. The offer of a reward gives employees and students an extra boost of motivation. Rewards help the cycle of goal setting and goal achieving to continue. In summary, by ensuring the goals set are SMART, visualizing and rewarding success, goal achievement becomes more likely. Achieving goals is a cyclic process that’s possible to master if the right method is in place.

The Basics of Setting and Achieving Goals

Getting things done is often more difficult than you may think. You may have a strong desire to see positive changes, including better grades, weight loss, or passing an educational course. But success requires more than just motivation. The right goal-achievement skill set can help you see the exact steps you need to perform to take your life to the next level. Of course, it all starts with setting a goal and there’s a useful (SMART) acronym to remember:

Goals should be specific and free of generalizations, or they are unlikely to get done. Instead of stating that your goal is to improve your English skills, make it more specific by stating that your goal is to learn and use one new word every weekday to boost your English vocabulary.

A goal should be measurable because you need to keep your finger on the pulse and know where you’re at. For instance, a test or assessment score can provide evidence that you have reached your goal.

A goal needs to be possible to achieved. If it’s beyond your capabilities or requires resources you cannot access, then you will set yourself up for failure.

Goals must have some relevance. It is pointless to set a goal if it’s not relevant to your life, work, education, interests, hobbies, etc.

You must set a completion date for your goal. If you do not set a deadline, you may lack the motivation to reach it. Once you have your SMART goal, record it clearly on paper or a mobile device and then visualize the outcome of achieving that goal. Imagine how happy you will feel when you achieve it. This vivid mental imagery will provide you with the extra motivation to go for it. Finally, when you reach your goal, it’s time to celebrate! Reward yourself with a trip, an item you desire, relaxation time with friends, or whatever else that will make you feel happy.

Ready to write an essay about achieving goals?

Hopefully, the information in the article has given you the basics to help you write a powerful essay on achieving goals. I also hope that this article has helped you think about how you can work toward achieving your own goals. There are many great books about the science of goal achievement. I especially recommend ones written by Brian Tracy , as they have helped me a great deal in my pursuit of happiness . You can also create an engaging presentation about achieving goals and objectives using this goal presentation template . Next up, you may want to explore an ultimate guide to writing expository essays .

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Goal Setting for your Writing

Aim for goals that are specific, measurable, and achievable!

To make your writing project manageable and keep yourself on track, break a bigger project (writing a paper, chapter, thesis, dissertation, etc.) into smaller goals. Make each goal specific, measurable, and achievable. This way you can easily determine that you’ve completed a given goal, check it off your list and move on to the next. Allow for some flexibility! You can always update and adjust your goals if you need to, as you go. Setting habitual goals might also help you to complete your short-term goals. Think of giving yourself some kind of reward for completing each goal, to keep the positive thoughts flowing.

Examples of long-term project goals :

Write a paper/chapter
Rework a paper/chapter
Submit a paper/chapter
Finish a thesis/dissertation

Examples of short-term project goals :

Choose the topic of your piece of writing
Read 5 sources on your topic
Outline your piece
Write a draft of the piece’s thesis
Write the introduction to your piece
Write a section of your chapter/paper
Write the conclusion of your paper
Edit your Bibliography

Examples of habitual goals :

Write for a set number of Pomodoro sessions today (e.g. 20 minutes of writing at a time, with 5-minute breaks between writing sessions)
Write for a set number of hours per day (e.g. 3 hrs)
Write a set number of words/pages per day (300 words, 750 words, 2 pages, etc.)
Leave yourself a memo about where you left off and what you’re planning to do next

Habitual Goals

Find the right measurable approach: A habitual goal based on page numbers, word counts, or time is easier to achieve than one based on something nebulous such as a paper section.

Consider working on the project first thing: Accomplishing something on your work before you to anything else, even if it is only 25 words or reading an abstract can help you make steady progress.

Write through a block: Keep your habitual goal by writing out what is holding you back.

Leave yourself a note: Leave a note for yourself about where you are going next when you finish your writing session so you can easily pick back up next time.

Project Goals/Short Term Goals

Take a nebulous goal and make it manageable – Finishing a paper or chapter is a long term project goal, but one that it not always clearly defined. Break it down to defined goals.

Think in Parts: Break down every project (or project component) into thirds, and schedule those thirds throughout the week. Don’t let your list become overwhelming, give yourself no more than three specific short term goals for a day/writing session

Give yourself time: Budget three times as much as you think you will take to complete a project.

Create a goal setting template: Break down your project goals consistently using a template. We’ve included one below.

Setting up Accountability for your goals

Be smart about the accountability that you need- Can it come internally from you or do you need an advisor, colleague, or writing group to keep you on track?

Set up a writing group – Writing in company (in person or digital) or checking in with someone else by phone, text, or email before a writing session can help you to keep both a habitual goal and a project goal.

Reward yourself – A tried and true method! Consider what rewards you get and how they might motivate you. Don’t just reward yourself at the end of a project, choose a mini-reward for keeping your habitual goals for a certain number of days, or completing a particularly difficult section.

Adjust your goals – If you keep missing a goal, don’t be hard on yourself, adjust accordingly. How might you break it down further into something achievable?

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Virtuous procrastination : avoid accomplishing tasks that give you a sense of achievement without advancing your writing goals. In other words, your writing time should be spent on writing, not on cleaning your apartment, preparing for class, or writing your bibliography.

Negative self-talk : avoid criticizing your work, your productivity, etc., while you are working. Think nice things to yourself! Be kind and gentle!

Setting unrealistic goals : avoid setting goals that require energy, time, or other resources that you do not currently have.

Digital Tools for Goal Setting

There are many digital tools out there that aim to help with your productivity. These can be extremely helpful for setting goals and breaking them down into manageable steps. Most of these tools will allow you to set up a digital template that you can use for future projects as well.

Some of our recommendations include:

To Do Lists/Project Managers:

Trello – Allows for multiple boards and customizable lists. Can also be used to outline writing. See our video.

Asana – project management app that includes time tracking. Useful for teams and individuals.

ToDoist – one of the most popular to-do apps out there for a reason

Gamification for Goal Setting:

Gamification can be a form of accountability and reward. Many of these apps encourage you to work with a group to help one another stay on track.

Habit Hunter – most RPG like, allows you to easily break down big goals into smaller ones

Habitica – Join a party, go on quests together, get reward with digital pets. Allows for setting habitual/daily goals and project goals.

Flora – Grow trees by completing to-do lists and by using a focus timer.

Do you thrive on negative consequences? Try:

Beeminder – charges you money for tasks left undone.

Remember, aim for goals that are specific, measurable, and achievable!

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How Do I Write An Essay About Achieving My Goals?

Introduction.

Writing an essay about achieving your goals can be a powerful exercise in self-reflection and motivation. Whether you are writing for a class assignment, a college application, or simply for personal development, this article will guide you through the process of creating a well-structured and compelling essay on this topic. By breaking down the steps involved and providing helpful tips, you’ll be equipped to express your aspirations, outline an action plan, and highlight the significance of achieving your goals.

Step 1: Set Clear Goals

Achieving your goals starts with clearly defining what you want to accomplish. Take some time to reflect on your aspirations and think about what truly matters to you. Your goals may include academic achievements, career aspirations, personal growth, or any other area of your life that you wish to improve. Ensure that your goals are specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART goals). By setting clear goals, you will be able to better articulate your vision in your essay.

Step 2: Plan Your Essay Structure

Before diving into the writing process, it’s essential to plan the structure of your essay. This will ensure that your ideas flow smoothly and logically, engaging the reader from start to finish. Generally, an essay consists of three main parts: an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

The Introduction: Begin your essay with a captivating introduction. Grab the reader’s attention with an anecdote, a relevant quote, or a thought-provoking question. Clearly state your goals and the significance they hold for you. Conclude the introduction with a concise thesis statement that presents the main focus of your essay.

Body Paragraphs: The body of your essay offers an opportunity to elaborate on your goals and the steps you are taking or planning to take to achieve them. Divide your body paragraphs based on the subtopics or themes you want to discuss. For each paragraph, present a specific goal, provide relevant details, and explain why it is important to you. Consider incorporating examples, personal experiences, or research to support your statements and make your essay more persuasive.

The Conclusion: Wrap up your essay with a strong conclusion that reinforces the main points you have discussed. Avoid introducing new information here. Instead, highlight the potential impact of achieving your goals and leave the reader with a final thought or call to action.

Step 3: Conduct Research

If your essay requires factual information or expert opinions, conducting research will provide you with valuable insights to enhance your writing. Utilize reputable sources such as scholarly articles, books, or credible websites to gather information that supports your aspirations. When referencing sources, make sure to cite them properly using the appropriate citation style (e.g., MLA, APA).

Step 4: Draft and Revise

Now that you have a plan and have conducted research, begin writing the initial draft of your essay. Start with the body paragraphs, as they contain the core content of your essay. Ensure each paragraph follows a logical flow and connects back to the main focus of your essay.

Once you have completed your draft, take time to review and revise. Pay attention to grammar, spelling, and sentence structure. Ensure that your ideas are presented clearly and cohesively. Consider seeking feedback from others, such as teachers, family members, or friends, to gain different perspectives and improve your essay even further.

Step 5: Add Personal Reflection

In addition to presenting your goals and action plans, be sure to include personal reflections throughout your essay. Explain why achieving these goals is meaningful to you and how they align with your values and aspirations. By sharing your personal insights and emotions, you will create a more engaging and authentic essay.

Step 6: Edit and Proofread

Before submitting your essay, it is crucial to edit and proofread your work. Review your essay for any errors, both grammatical and typographical. Ensure that your ideas are coherent and logical, and that your writing flows smoothly. Consider using online grammar checkers or seeking assistance from a professional editor if needed.

Writing an essay about achieving your goals allows you to reflect on your aspirations, establish a concrete plan, and demonstrate your determination to succeed. By following the steps outlined in this guide, you can create a compelling essay that effectively communicates your goals and motivates both yourself and your readers.

What “SMART” Stands For

SMART is all about the properties of a good (“smart”) goal.

It stands for:

Specific. Make your goal or objective as specific as possible. Say exactly what you want to achieve in clear, concise words.
Measurable. Include a unit of measure in your goal. Be objective rather than subjective. When will your goal be achieved? How will you know it has been achieved?
Achievable. Be realistic. Ensure that your goal is feasible in terms of the resources available to you.
Relevant. Your goals should align with your values and long-term objectives.
Time-bound. Give yourself a deadline within a year. Include a timeframe such as a week, month or year, and include a specific date if possible.

( See here and here for more on these descriptions.)

A Few Examples of Non-SMART Writing Goals

Here are some draft goals (or resolutions) that might not fit within the SMART framework:

“I really want to finish my novel.” (Not specific.)
“I’ll write lots more this year.” (Not measurable.)
“I’ll write 20,000 words every week this year.” (Not achievable???)
“I feel like I should start writing again.” (Why?)
“I hereby commit that I’m going to work on my memoir until it’s finished.” (When? Not time-bound.)

A Few Examples of SMART Writing Goals

And here are some examples of draft goals or resolutions that would fit within the SMART framework:

“I will finish my novel manuscript by the end of the year.”
“I’ll set aside 15 minutes in the morning to write, at least 5 days a week.”
“I’ll have an outline of my memoir completed by July 1.”

A Few Thoughts on “Relevant” (the R in SMART Goals)

Each of these feel like good goal-setting elements in general, but what really stands out to me is R, Relevant. This is a chance to ask: What does this writing goal, resolution, project, or process mean to me ? How is it part of the life I wish to live?

This is certainly worth reflecting on. In my experience, knowing why I write can help a huge amount with the how and when.

Our reasons for writing will—of course—be different for each of us. With that in mind, I’ll offer that, in my view, having the chance to share our humanity with one another through written language is one of the great gifts of life. So whatever your reason is, I know it’s a good one.

Here’s to a wonderful and writerful 2024!

Frederick Meyer

Writing truly an amazing way to give life in the form of tangible memories or basic ideas…therapeutic for sure…to the ones conveying and the ones receiving it…my blood my brows sweat the ink to my pen!!! The countless pages in the form of sheets of many types..from paper bags to napkins to the parts of my skin for my canvas that waits to be outlined into the intensity of a kaleidoscope of emotions dying to come out…to be viewed to be felt in ensuring all types of waking UP’s inside and out every side..especially the parts that are crippled locked jammed in sick stillnesses out of fear of scaring all away leaving us in an awkward mess for doubts set out to stop anything from becoming something!!I would love to leave y’all with something I came across a year in my 3 years and 3 month prison term…when nothing could console me..the losses from being free to be a mother to my beautiful three daughter’s aja and naynay and jady..from being able to have the freedom to know I could be free even while incarcerated ..a blessing in disguise because I was dying!!! I’d lost my physical freedom my rights my luxuries.. To just be in my life’s moment’s.. In a Bible a year after not knowing how to deal with all I wanted to get back to… My life!! My girls!! This was in a separate piece of paper within the pages of the only book of life worth referring towards.(THE BIBLE)..this is what the small piece of paper said and I quote!!!” Sometimes you have to let go of all you think you cannot live without in otderTO BE ABLE TO HOLD ONTO WHAT YOU STILL GOT”end quote…it was then..right at that moment that I realized how wise words are imperative&vital and, crucial…how FREEING and helpful they can be .why its important to learn to want to understand… So its wisdom and valuable lesson’s won’t pass you by…words!!! Turned into knowledge for the very power that fuels Gods hope in order to find your way out of the bondage for pessimistic thoughts that have been like a plague…a form of cancer ..poison to your mind’s abilities& capabilities,and capacity to break out and awayyyyyy..!! and see all through!!! Yea…its not how much you write its what you write about and owning your own style of how to go about!!! Write on!!!! Right on!!! Sincerely Gypsy skigh blue!! Aka Noemi cazares MY NEW YEARS RESOLUTION… TO BE ABLE TO GIVE LIFE THROUGH WORDS TO ALL IVE EXPERIENCE… SURVIVED WHILE HAVING TO BECOME MANY COOL AND INSANE SAVAGE CHARACTERS IN order TO FINALLY FIND MY WAY TO MY THROWN IN WAITING… A CHAIR IN FRONT OF A DESK OR TABLE WHERE I MAY FINALLY SIT DOWN AND SHARE MY unbelievable MISSIONS IN LIFE!! BECAUSE ITS NO LONGER A JOURNEY.. ITS MY LIFE!! I FINALLY VALUE IT AND UNDERSTAND THE UNSPEAKABLE THE UNREFINED THE rawness OF IT ALL THATS BEEN EVER SO DEEPLY SENSITIVE… LEADING ME MANY TIMES ON THE DEFENSES MAKING IT EASY TO BELIEVE I MUST BE CRAZY… IM NOT BUT WHAT WAS DONE to me and mine AND LATER SAID AGAINST ME TO DECLARE ME FOR SURE insane !!! GOD FORBID THEY LISTEN TO ME…YEA…THAT WAS TRULY CRAZY THEY WERE UNHINGED… BUT SOME HOW THROUGH THE graceful GRACE OF GOD… I SURVIVED IT…SO PEN TO PAPERS…and this is how it soon will go…..God help me always… I’m your mess…I’m not any less….I’m More, more than I allowed myself to become… Thank God!! I’m never alone especially when I was…AMEN!! Amen!!/Amen!!

Everyday I come up with the day’s to-do list and i’ll make sure the followings feature on the list: (a)writing at least two flash fictions (b) editing an old story (c) reading online magazine ,at least two magazines (d) listening to an audio story , at least two short stories

As one who also like programming, i’d including coding as well. is this a clear SMART violation?

I have never really thought about writing stories or anything else related, I just happened to by pass this website but I’m actually considering taking it in for my goals in this coming year.

So thank you for the inspiration and happy new year!

We hope you start writing, Nshuti! Happy New Year!

SMART goals were a part of my life throughout my career as a school administrator. I had forgotten about them until I read this article. More than four years ago, I made the goal of writing every day. Not entirely smart but it is one that I have achieved. As January 1, 2024 approaches, I will got back to my roots and create my SMART goal for the year. Thanks for refreshing my memory.

The Smart Goal-Setting Process: Motivation and Empowerment Essay

Introduction, smart objectives, smart career goals.

SMART goal-setting was first introduced by Dr. Edwin Locke in the 1960s (Griffin, 2017). According to Locke, setting goals that fit into the SMART criteria provided motivation and empowerment to people, which was crucial to ensure that the goals are achieved (Griffin, 2017). Today, SMART criteria are applied to the goal-setting process in many organizations, regardless of their size and area of business. The rules are universal and can also be applied to personal goals, which makes them an excellent tool for developing a career plan.

The first criterion emphasizes that goals need to be specific and relevant to the desired outcome (Joseph, 2017). Setting general goals may reduce motivation, as the path to achieving them becomes unclear (Joseph, 2017).

In order to achieve success in pursuing a goal, there has to be a way to measure success, which is why the second point of SMART goals theory is that the goals need to be measurable (Joseph, 2017). By measuring success, it is possible to monitor the progress towards the goal, which ultimately improves motivation.

The third criterion to be applied to goals is attainability. A goal that is impossible to achieve becomes a burden rather than an opportunity, as all the efforts put in by the person will not help him or her to attain the goal. If the goal is achievable, on the other hand, it is possible to devise a clear strategy to ensure that it is reached.

The next criterion emphasizes the need for the goal to be realistic, which means that a goal has to be set with consideration of the current circumstances. If the goal is set too high comparing to the current career level, reaching it will be hardly possible.

The final stage of goal-setting is ensuring that the goals are time-bound. Setting a definite time limit by which the goal has to be achieved creates a sense of urgency, which may become a substantial motivating factor.

My ultimate aim is to become a Registered Nurse. However, there are three main stages that have to be completed before I can reach the desired position.

Stage One: Graduate from Regis Health Care Administration

The first step in my career plan is to graduate from Regis College with a degree in Health Care Administration. In order to do that, I need to complete all of the program requirements and courses, which is a specific objective. The goal can be easily measured, and the result of completing the goal will be receiving a Diploma that marks the successful ending of the course. I believe that this aim is also attainable, as I am working towards completing the course and so far my grades have been acceptable. Completing this stage of the plan is realistic, as the goal is set based on my current level of education and abilities. Finally, the expected time of completion is Summer 2018, which makes the goal time-bound.

Stage Two: Enroll in an Accelerated Nursing Program

After I receive my certificate in Health Care Administration, I will need to enroll in a nursing program to continue my nursing education. I plan on applying for an accelerated nursing program at Regis, Metro, or Denver School, which is a specific objective. Acceptance into the program will be the ultimate measure of success, which means that the goal is measurable. It is also attainable and realistic, as it is the next step after I graduate from my HCA program; I am aware of the requirements of these schools and believe that I can attain the results needed for acceptance. Finally, the anticipated start of the program is in Fall 2018, which sets a specific time limit for the goal.

Stage Three: Work as an RN in Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center

The ultimate goal of my career plan is to achieve an RN position at Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center, where I currently work as a CNA. This aim is specific, as it mentions the position and place of work. The goal is also measurable, as I will know when I receive this position. The goal is attainable, as I have been successful in my work here so far and I believe that upon completion of the nursing course, I will be accepted to work as an RN. The aim is also realistic as I understand the requirements of the position and the path to achieving certification. Finally, the time limit of the goal will be estimated as soon as I complete the second stage of the plan, as it depends on the length of the nursing program that I will complete. As soon as I receive the certification, I believe it will take me up to six months to gain an RN position.

Overall, I believe that separating my career plan into three SMART goals is a useful practice to gain more understanding of how to achieve the ultimate career aim. SMART goal-setting ensures that the goals are not unrealistic, which provides more motivation to work towards the goals. I feel that my current abilities and the chosen path of development will help me to reach my final goal and to receive an RN position at Sandalwood Rehabilitation Center.

Griffin, D. (2017). The SMART goal-setting process .

Joseph, C. (2017). Elements of S.M.A.R.T. goal setting .

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Essay on Goal Setting | Value & Importance of Goal Setting

Essay on Goal Setting | Value & Importance of having a Great Goal in Life

Goal setting is the process of outlining priorities in life by a student. Goal setting is important because it allows students to focus on what is important and helps them stay organized. Goal setting can be defined as the process of setting priorities and determining the steps needed to achieve a desired outcome. This is an important skill for students to develop, as it allows them to focus on what is important and helps them stay organized. By setting goals, students can better manage their time and resources, and achieve success in their academic pursuits.

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Importance of Goal Setting

Goal setting is important because it allows students to focus on what is important and helps them stay organized. By setting goals, students can better manage their time and resources, and achieve success in their academic pursuits.

There are several reasons why goal setting is important for students. First, by setting goals, students can prioritize what is important to them and better manage their time. Second, goal setting helps students stay focused and motivated to achieve their goals. Finally, by setting goals, students can measure their progress and see how far they have come.

Goal setting is a important tool for success because it allows individuals to focus on what is important, better manages time, and provides motivation. When used correctly, goal setting can be the difference between success and failure.

There are many different ways that students can set goals. One way is to make a list of things that the student wants to achieve during the school year. This could include getting good grades, participating in extracurricular activities, or spending time with family and friends. Another way to set goals is by making a list of things that the student wants to improve on. This could include studying more, being more organized, or being more active in class.

Causes why Students Fail in Goal Setting

Failure is the part of life. It happens sometimes we are unable to achieve the goals that we have planned in life. It happens because of a host of factors. Primarily, It can be because the goal was unrealistic to start with, or because of a lack of planning and execution on our part. It can also be due to outside factors such as difficult circumstances or limited resources. Finally, it could be that we simply gave up too soon. Whatever the cause may be, it is important to learn from our failures and move on.

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No matter how students set their goals, it’s important for them to stay focused on what they want to achieve. Goal setting is a important tool for success because it allows individuals to focus on what is important, better manages time, and provides motivation. When used correctly, goal setting can be the difference between success and failure.

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The impact of self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection before and after revision on student self-efficacy and writing performance

Open access
Published: 04 July 2021
Volume 34 , pages 1885–1913, ( 2021 )

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Huy Q. Chung ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-3048-3678 1 ,
Vicky Chen 1 &
Carol Booth Olson 1

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Writing on-demand, text-based analytical essays is a challenging skill to master. Novice writers, such as the sixth grade US students in this study, may lack background knowledge of how to compose an effective essay, the self-efficacy skills, and the goal setting skills that will help with completing this task in accomplished ways. This sequential mixed-method study explored the impact of guiding a predominantly Redesignated English Learner group of students in a large, urban, low-SES school district in a timed, on-demand essay into a multiple draft process paper through a self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection process as they revised this process paper over a three week period. Both treatment and comparison students completed a pre-test on demand writing assessment, a pre and post self-efficacy in writing survey, and a post-test on demand writing assessment. Students in both conditions were participating in a year-long writing intervention called The Pathway to Academic Success, developed and implemented by the UC Irvine site of the National Writing Project (UCI Writing Project), during the 2017–2018 school year and received identical training from their teachers on how to revise a pre-test essay. However, only the treatment group engaged in self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection during this revision process. Students in the treatment condition demonstrated improved self-efficacy in the writing sub-domain of revision ( p < .05) and had statistically significant greater gains on the post-test writing assessment (r = .57; p < .001). These results suggest that engaging students in a planned revision process that includes student reflection, planning, and goal setting before revision, and reflection and self-assessment after revision, positively impacts self-efficacy and writing outcomes.

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Introduction

A person’s self-efficacy, or beliefs about his or her ability to succeed in a specific domain (Bandura, 1997 , 2006 ), plays an important role in both how well a person performs and how long he or she persists at a particular task, especially when the task is complex. Few academic tasks may be as difficult as those required of students in secondary school to demonstrate mastery of the text based analytical writing called for by the Common Core State Standards (Barzilai et al., 2018 ; Biancarosa & Snow, 2004 ; Graham & Perin, 2007 ; National Governors Association, 2010 ; Olson et al., 2012 ). Greater mastery of this skill has been highly correlated with postsecondary success and career readiness (Perin et al., 2017 ). From grade 6 through 12, students are expected to demonstrate increasing complexity as they “write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence” (NGA, 2010 , p. 42). Sub-skills to master this standard include conducting extensive research, discerning fact from opinion, writing a defensible and nuanced claim, organizing essays logically, and revising their papers for clarity.

Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress for Writing (NCES, 2012) highlight the need to help students become proficient writers, especially in the area of analytical writing and revision which students often find especially challenging (Olson et al., 2012 ). Only about 27% of the nation’s students—and only 1% of English Learners (ELs)—scored proficient or advanced in writing (NCES, 2012 ). This is cause for concern, because being able to write well is an important skill for success in both higher education and the workplace across a variety of disciplines and industries (National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges, 2004 ). Additionally, the achievement gap between our English learners and their English only peers is an issue of equity and access.

ELs represent the fastest growing segment of the K-12 population with the largest increases occurring in grade 7–12 (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2017 ). In 2013–14, over 9% of K-12 public school students were ELs. California leads the nation with almost 23% ELs (U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, 2016 ). Although ELs in the United States speak more than 350 languages, 73% speak Spanish as their first language (Batalova & McHugh, 2010 ), 40% have origins in Mexico (Hernandez, Denton, & Macartney, 2008 ), and 60% of ELs in grades 6 through 12 come from low-income families (Batalova et al., 2005 ; Capps et al., 2005 ). The largest numbers of ELs in our schools today are referred to as long-term ELs (LTELs) (Menken & Kleyn, 2009 ). According to Olsen ( 2010 ), these are students who have been educated in the United States since age six, are doing poorly in school, and have major gaps in knowledge because their schooling was disrupted. In Olsen’s study of 175,734 ELs, the majority (59%) were LTELs who were failing to acquire academic language and struggling to do well in high school. They may come from homes where the primary language is not English, but they themselves may speak English only or they may switch between multiple languages and still have features in their writing attesting to their multilingual status (Valdés, 2001 ). Limited in their knowledge of academic registers in any language, these students are often mainstreamed into regular English language arts classrooms, though they may be disadvantaged in not only writing skills, but also in soft skills.

One possible contributor to flat-lined scores between administrations of the NAEP-Writing, is the lack of self-efficacy or motivation to perform well on standardized tests for all secondary writers, but particularly for English learners. Kiuhara et al. ( 2009 ) found that students are constrained by more complex essay writing tasks and timed on-demand tasks due to textual, affective, and genre constraints. Students often are either given very brief instructions/prompts, may be unfamiliar with or under-practiced in the genre being assessed, or are overwhelmed by the information given to them in these settings (Blake et al., 2016 ). The fact that students may not know how to approach the writing task or even understand what is expected of them in these situations is a problem that must be addressed. Because text-based analytical writing is a gatekeeper for college access and persistence and a “threshold skill” for hiring and promotion for salaried workers (National Commission on Writing for America’s Families, Schools, and Colleges, 2004 ), failure to close these achievement gaps in academic writing will have serious social and economic consequences. Again, in these circumstances, a student’s self-efficacy plays a large role in completing these tasks.

Self-efficacy is particularly important in completing complex writing tasks. In a study exploring self-efficacy in writing, Pajares and colleagues ( 2007 ) found that how students interpret the results of their own past writing performance, such as how successful they believe they were at completing a writing task, can make a key contribution to their sense of self-efficacy. In fact, Graham and colleagues ( 2018 ) found that students’ beliefs (i.e., sense of self-efficacy) contributed to 10% of the variance in predicting students’ writing outcomes and the percentage is even higher (16.3%) for students with disabilities. On-demand writing, ubiquitous in educational settings, compounds the impact of self-efficacy in writing as students have the added pressure to perform cognitively demanding tasks in a short amount of time that may not mirror the more thoughtful stage process that they are given during regular instruction to take a paper through the writing process, which includes pre-writing, drafting, revising, and editing phases. When students are often asked to revise papers before they submit them for evaluation they are asked to improve their drafts through careful reading and writing that globally impacts their message or purpose for writing the paper. However, few students give themselves enough time to revise their writing during the more intense situations of timed writing assessments. Moreover, even when they do have time to revise their efforts may actually have the opposite effect. Changes they make are constrained by the time they have to reflect on the impact the revision has on the rest of the paper and make more local changes that may or may not help with the overall assessment of the quality of the paper (Worden, 2009 ).

The current study, a sequential mixed methods design study, on testing the impact of self-efficacy in essay writing is an extension of a large-scale intervention called The Pathway to Academic Success, developed and implemented by the UCI Writing Project, that aims to close the achievement gap for English learners in mainstreamed ELA classrooms and their native English speaking peers, particularly in the area of text-based analytical writing by demystifying the process that expert readers and writers use to approach domain-specific tasks, targeting teacher professional development, and fostering students’ habits of mind. By focusing on students’ self-efficacy in writing (SEW) in classroom settings, this work can positively impact teachers’ practices and influence students’ motivation and ability to write analytically. To this end, we focus on answering the following three research questions:

Do students with higher self-efficacy have better writing outcomes?

What is the impact of students’ self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection on their self-efficacy in writing as they revise a text-based analytical essay?

What do students cite as most helpful in revising their writing and how does this contribute to their self-efficacy?

Literature review

The following section reviews the research literature that informs our study. First, we review the concept of self-efficacy in writing to address the first research question. Then, we review the literature on students’ self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection in relation to revision of writing in order to study the second research question. Finally, we discuss factors that are known to impact students’ successful revision of writing such as teacher instruction, motivation, prior knowledge, and conditions of the writing task to explore the third question.

Self-efficacy in writing

As mentioned previously, a person’s self-efficacy, or beliefs about his or her ability to succeed in a specific domain (Bandura, 1997 , 2006 ), influences how anxious people feel, the goals that they set for themselves, and the strategies that they adopt when working towards those goals. A greater sense of self-efficacy tends to correlate with lower levels of anxiety, the use of more effective learning strategies, greater enjoyment of the task, a greater willingness to seek help when needed, and better overall performance (Bong, 2006 ; Sanders-Reio et al., 2014 ; Williams & Takaku, 2011 ).

Pajares and colleagues ( 2007 ) explored Bandura’s ( 1997 ) four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy beliefs—mastery experiences, social persuasion, vicarious experiences, and anxiety—Pajares and colleagues found that, while all four factors were significantly correlated with students’ self-efficacy in writing, perceived mastery experiences were the greatest predictor of writing self-efficacy regardless of gender or grade level. In other words, how students interpret the results of their own past performance, such as how successful they believe they were at completing a similar task, makes a key contribution to their sense of self-efficacy. Although this has led to some interventions that focus on giving praise and encouraging students to evaluate themselves in positive ways as a method of improving self-efficacy, theorists and researchers have increasingly emphasized the importance of concrete skill development and the opportunities that it provides for genuine success experiences (Pajares et al., 2007 ). Such experiences provide powerful support for increasing students’ self-efficacy and equip students with the tools they can use to succeed in future writing tasks.

Self-assessment

Studies which focus on the relationship of students’ self-efficacy on past performance and its impact on future performance have explored a variety of activities and their potential for increasing student self-efficacy in writing. One of the most notable of these is self-assessment, which occurs when people evaluate their own work, identify disparities between their current and desired performance, and reflect upon ways in which they can improve (McMillan & Hearn, 2008 ). Guiding students through this self-reflective process and supporting their development of self-assessment skills gives students a sense of agency and control over their own learning, which, in turn, can heighten student motivation and self-efficacy (Panadero et al., 2016 ). Self-assessment can be conducted and expressed in both spoken (e.g., self-explanation) and/or written form (e.g., reflection); it is conjectured that students who are able to articulate their declarative knowledge around task concepts are better able to convert this knowledge to more tacit, procedural knowledge and skills. Not only does this process influence what students are able to do given a task, but it also influences their experiences and identity work around such tasks, in this case writing (Chi et al., 1989 ). The process of self-assessment also contributes to students’ sense of self-efficacy and conditional knowledge as they engage in reflecting on their own learning, and improvement of their own work. However, it is important to note that student self-assessment is more effective when combined with teacher feedback, especially in domains where students lack expertise (Logan, 2015 ; Panadero et al., 2016 ).

Self-assessment, self-efficacy, and revision

The original Flower-Hayes ( 1981 ) model of the composing process focused on three cognitive processes in writing—planning, translating, and revision–-and discussed them within the context of how an individual writer responds to the task environment, all those factors influencing the writing task, and the writer’s long term memory, including the knowledge of the topic, audience, and stored writing plans. Over fifteen years later, in “A New Framework for Understanding Cognition and Affect in Writing” (Hayes, 1996 ), Hayes reorganized his model to include a social component in the task environment to acknowledge that writing is “a communicative act that requires a social context and a medium” (p. 5). Further, within the individual component of his model, he added motivation/affect under which he lists goals, predispositions, beliefs and attitudes, and cost–benefit analyses because “motivation and affect play central roles in writing processes” (p. 5). He specifically links positive and negative dispositions toward writing to self-assessment and self-efficacy, citing Dweck ( 1986 ) and Palmquist and Young ( 1992 ).

Hayes’ ( 2012 ) new framework also posits an evaluation function responsible for the detection and diagnosis of text problems during revision. He further postulates that to understand revision, it is necessary for writers to draw upon a control structure or task schema that enables them to access a “package of knowledge” that includes: “(i) A goal: to improve the text; (ii) An expected set of activities to perform; (iii) Attentional subgoals; (iv) Templates and criteria for quality; and (v) Strategies for fixing specific text problems” (p. 17). The addition of the control level to Hayes’ composing model indicates that motivation, self-assessment, detection and diagnosis, planning and goal setting, reflection, and writing task schemas all play an important role in students’ self-efficacy as writers. Hayes points out that students who believe writing is a gift rather than a craft one can work at and improve have higher levels of writing anxiety and lower self-assessments of their ability as writers.

In light of Hayes’ new framework, we hypothesize that engaging students in activities that prompt them to detect and diagnose areas for revision, plan and set goals for making both local and, more importantly, global changes (Hayes, 1996 ), and to reflect upon and assess their growth after revising will enhance their self-efficacy as writers and potentially impact their writing outcomes.

Teacher impacts on self-efficacy in writing

Studies have indicated that teachers can play an important role in developing student self-efficacy in writing. Corkett et al. ( 2011 ) found that teachers’ perceptions of students’ self-efficacy in writing are highly correlated with their students’ actual writing performance– indicating that teachers enact different instructional practices based on their perceptions of how prepared their students are for tackling different writing assignments. Their study also found that students’ perceptions of their own abilities are not predictive of their actual abilities, indicating that students still need specific instructional supports to develop their own perceptions of how they can improve their writing.

The nature of how teachers structure a writing task can also impact how certain students develop their self-efficacy in writing. In a study of gifted elementary school children, the treatment group that received formative feedback as they learned and practiced specific writing skills (e.g., topic sentences) and created assigned written products (e.g., a paragraph), better learned these skills and were more proficient at producing certain written products than the comparison group (Schunk & Swartz, 1993 ). However, goal setting and teacher feedback did not improve student self-efficacy with students with learning disabilities (LD) (Sawyer et al., 1992 ). It is conjectured that students with LD tend to overestimate their abilities, as is true for students with general low writing abilities, further necessitating classroom interventions or processes that will help students recognize areas of improvement in their writing and how to improve such skills.

Teachers’ own self-efficacy can also be impacted by teacher professional development (Locke et al., 2013 ) which provides them with more effective and “transformative” ways of teaching writing that can lead to improved student learning and student self-efficacy in writing. However, Locke and colleagues also indicate that teachers’ self-efficacy is moderated by the type of writing their students produce in their classrooms. This feedback loop of student data, teacher interpretation, and reflection on next steps demonstrates the importance of developing both teacher and student self-efficacy in writing.

In sum, studies on teacher self-efficacy and how it interacts with student self-efficacy demonstrate the influence the former has on the latter. Though self-efficacy is often an individual activity, when it comes to writing, input from a teacher influences how well students will approach their own writing tasks. Moreover, teacher self-efficacy beliefs also influence how positive and/or confident teachers themselves feel about teaching writing to students, which again impacts how positive students approach these tasks (Troia & Graham, 2016 ).

Contributing factors to self-efficacy in writing

Beyond teachers, other factors that may impact students’ self-efficacy in writing are their motivation, their prior knowledge around the topic they are writing about, and the conditions under which they are being asked to write. Students who are highly motivated to receive feedback (e.g., help-seeking) on their performance are more likely to do well on writing tasks, indicating that students who are more motivated to improve will produce better writing (Williams & Takaku, 2011 ). Similarly, students are also motivated if they have past success with writing, have been exposed to positive writing habits, have been praised by their peers for their writing, and have associated positive feelings with their writing (Bruning & Kauffman, 2016 ). Students who study for mastery and depth have higher self-efficacy than students who only have surface-level knowledge and have lower self-efficacy because of their motivations and success with past learning experiences (Prat-Sala & Redford, 2010 ). Students also benefit from seeing how other people write and approach writing and self-calibrating to these examples (Schunk & Zimmerman, 2007 ). Moreover, the feedback that they receive around their writing, from both teachers and peers, can impact their self-efficacy. Students tend to internalize the feedback they receive and associate this feedback with whether they are good or bad at writing, along with the emotions that come with these self-assessments (e.g., guilt, confusion, anxiety, or fear) (Smith, 2010 ). Hidi and Boscolo ( 2006 ), for instance, noted that emotions (negative or positive) can serve as a mediating variable between self-efficacy and writing quality. In other words, feeling good while writing is its own reward, and encourages one to see oneself as a good writer and to engage in more writing.

Finally, the context or situation in which students are asked to write can also impact their perceptions of their own self-efficacy. Elementary school students tend to have higher self-efficacy in writing than middle and high school students, and these effects are also stronger for female students across grade levels that report having lower anxiety when it comes to writing tasks (Pajares et al., 2007 ). As expectations increase, the more potential there is for students to feel challenged by these expectations.

Contributions of this study

This study explores the relationship between self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection on self-efficacy in student writing by having students use a revision planner as part of their writing process during a strategy-based reading and writing intervention. The revision planner encourages students to analyze what they did well on a selected piece of writing, with feedback from an experienced reader, quite similar to the mastery experiences Pajares and colleagues ( 2007 ) identified as promoting student self-efficacy in writing. Additionally, beyond identifying the strengths and needs of their writing assignment, students also plan and create achievable goals before revising their essay as well as reflect upon how well they met those goals after revising (McMillan & Hearn, 2008 ). Like a rubric (Andrade et al., 2010 ), a planner can serve as a tool to support students in revising and improving their work. Unlike a rubric, a planner focuses students’ attention on actionable steps that they can take to reach specific goals that they can set for themselves—based upon what they have learned throughout the intervention—to help them manage their revision process and revise their writing successfully. We are particularly interested in the impact that goal setting, supported by the use of a planner, might have on student writing performance, self-assessment, and self-efficacy in writing.

Study context

This sequential mixed methods study took place during the last year of a five-year grant awarded to our institution to validate the effectiveness of a cognitive-strategies approach to writing instruction in partnership with Norwalk La Mirada Unified School District (NLMUSD) and three other school districts in California. The previous four years were spent on designing and conducting a randomized control trial involving the districts’ grade 7 to 12 grade students. During the year we conducted this study (2017–2018), NLMUSD exclusively requested that grade 6 teachers be provided with the same professional development in an effort to institutionalize and scale-up the intervention (Olson et al., 2019). NLMUSD is a large, urban school district that serves 80% Hispanic students, 8% White students, 7% Asian students, 3% African American students, and 2% are Other Ethnicities. Additionally, 61% of their students are English Only students, 17% of their students are English Learners, 16% are Reclassified Fluent English Proficient students, and 6% of their students are Initially English Proficient. About 75% of the district’s students participate in the Federal Reduced Price Lunch program. Participating teachers and students were recruited from NLMUSD specifically as the other three school districts institutionalized the intervention in other ways. Teachers in this grade 6 cohort all received the same intervention as previous cohorts of teachers. However, in addition to testing the efficacy of the teacher intervention with all teachers and students, we were also interested in testing a student intervention, that we hypothesized would have implications on their self-efficacy as writers. The focus of our student intervention, thus, was at a different level and with a different grade level than that of the larger RCT study. We collected quantitative data on students first, then followed by a qualitative component to understand what may have contributed to students’ self-efficacy while revising.

Teacher and student participants

This cohort of participating grade 6 teachers consisted of 13 teachers. Each teacher had one focal class. Approximately 401 students were part of this cohort. All teachers participated in our professional development intervention. The student intervention component differed between randomly assigned groups. Of these students, 131 students were in the treatment group and 83 were in the comparison group, as one teacher declined to participate in the random assignment, representing an 8% attrition rate of teachers (leaving 12 teachers to be randomized). Across both groups, 52% of the students were female, 76% were Hispanic, and 62% of the students are Redesignated English Learners, a percentage that is much higher than the overall district demographics, since focal classes with higher percentages of ELs and RFEPs for all teachers’ classes (treatment and comparison) were selected for the study. The Self-Efficacy in Writing (SEW) means at baseline for both groups were not statistically different (m tx = 3.61; m c = 3.56).

Professional development intervention for teachers

In order to distinguish between the grade 7 to 12 study and this sub study of grade 6 teachers, we are providing a description of the professional development program since all teachers in this study were in the same PD and were trained together. We will subsequently explain what the “treatment” teachers in our self-efficacy intervention did that was above and beyond the PD all teachers attended to account for differences in student outcomes. Participating teachers attended 46 h of professional development throughout the school year, consisting of six full-day meetings and five after-school meetings.

The professional development intervention is informed by cognitive, sociocognitive, and sociocultural theory. In their cognitive process theory of writing, Flower and Hayes ( 1981 ) posit that writing is best understood “as a set of distinct thinking processes which writers orchestrate and organize during the act of composing” (p. 375), including planning, organizing, goal setting, translating, monitoring, reviewing, evaluating, and revising. They liken these processes to a “writer’s tool kit” (p. 385), which is not constrained by any fixed order or series of stages.

In describing the difficulty of composing written texts, Flower and Hayes ( 1980 ) aptly conceptualized writers as simultaneously juggling “a number of demands being made on conscious attention” (p. 32). While all learners face similar cognitive, linguistic, communicative, contextual, and textual constraints when learning to write (Frederiksen & Dominic, 1981), the difficulties younger, inexperienced, and underprepared students face are magnified. For these students, juggling constraints can cause cognitive overload. For example, ELs are often cognitively overloaded, especially in mainstreamed classrooms where they are held to the same performance standards as native English speakers (Short & Fitzsimmons, 2007 ).

Graham ( 2018 ) has pointed out that “available cognitive models mostly ignore cultural, social, political, and historical influences on writing development” (p. 272). He asserts that writing is “inherently a social activity, situated within a specific context” (p. 273). This view echoes Langer ( 1991 ) who, drawing on Vygotsky ( 1986 ), suggests that literacy is the ability to think and reason like a literate person within a particular society. In other words, literacy is culture specific and meaning is socially constructed. From a sociocognitive perspective, teachers should pay more attention to the social purposes to which literacy skills are applied, and should go beyond delivering lessons on content to impart strategies for thinking necessary to complete literacy tasks, first with guidance and, ultimately, independently.

Finally, sociocultural theory views meaning as being “negotiated at the intersection of individuals, culture, and activity” (Englert et al., 2006 , p. 208). Three tenets of sociocultural theory are applicable to the intervention (Adapted from Englert et al., 2006 ): (1) Cognitive apprenticeships: in which novices learn literate behaviors through the repeated modeling of more mature, experienced adults or peers to provide access to strategies and tools demonstrated by successful readers and writers (Vygotsky, 1986 ). (2) Procedural facilitators and tools: where teachers are most effective when they lead cognitive development in advance of what students can accomplish alone by presenting challenging material along with procedural and facilitative tools to help readers and writers address those cognitive challenges. (3) Community of practice: the establishment of communities of practice in which teachers actively encourage students to collaborate and provide ongoing opportunities and thoughtful activities that invite students to engage in shared inquiry.

The central core of the PD is the use of cognitive strategies to support all students in reading and writing about complex text. Cognitive strategies are conceptual tools and processes that can help students become more meta-cognitive about their work. The following are the cognitive strategies introduced in the PD:

Planning and Goal Setting, Tapping Prior Knowledge, Asking Questions and Making Predictions, Constructing the Gist, Monitoring, Revising Meaning, Reflecting and Relating, and Evaluating. Some sub-components are: Visualizing, Making Connections, Summarizing, Adopting an Alignment, Forming Interpretations, Analyzing Author’s Craft, and Clarifying Understanding (Olson, 2011 , p. 23)

The primary intent of the professional development is to provide teachers with lessons and materials to introduce the cognitive strategies to students toward the intended goal of improving students’ analytical essays about either fiction or non-fiction texts.

Teachers also learned specific writing strategies to help students revise their writing. To avoid “teaching to the test,” teachers use a different text, but similar in topic as the text used for the writing assessment as a training tool in order to model how to revise the pre-test into a multiple draft essay. Throughout a series of mini-lessons, students are taught a variety of skills through examining a mentor text/essay based on the training text. Students first read the training text using the aforementioned 15 cognitive strategies. Then, they are given a writing prompt similar to the one they used on the writing assessment. This writing prompt is dissected by having students fill out a Do/What Chart which instructs students to circle all of the verbs (Do) and underline all of the task words (What) in the prompt and transfer the verbs and tasks words onto a T-chart to help them understand what they are being asked to do (for example, “Select one important theme and create a theme statement.”) Then, students are given a mentor text/essay addressing the prompt they just dissected. This mentor text/essay is analyzed for the moves the writer makes, particularly in how he or she constructed the introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion.

When working with the introduction, students are taught the HoT S-C Team (Hook/TAG/Story-Conflict/Thesis) acronym. The students are to identify that a writer often starts with an engaging hook that could be a quote, question or statement to make people think, fact, or even anecdote; then identifies the title-author-genre (TAG) of the text being written about to set the context for writing; adds purposeful summary of the story or conflict, and includes a thesis (claim).

Each component of the mentor text is color-coded using yellow (for summary sentences), green (for textual evidence), and blue (for student commentary) to help the students understand that a balance of purposeful summary, textual evidence, and commentary is important when constructing an analytical essay. Additionally, students are also taught about grammar brushstrokes (Noden, 2011 ) such as adding adjectives out of order, appositives, or using active verbs and are encouraged to revise some of their sentences with these brushstrokes to enhance sentence variety.

One of the essential activities in this intervention is to have teachers help students revise their on-demand writing samples into a more polished analytical essay, after these writing samples have been read and commented on by trained readers. It is during this part of the main study that our team decided to conduct the sub study on student self-efficacy. Given that all teachers experienced and received the same professional development and, in turn, taught the same revision strategies to their students, the only difference that we tested rested solely on asking the treatment students to use the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pre-Test Reflection form. This self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection strategy is aligned to Hayes’ ( 2012 ) control level of writing, which involves student self-efficacy. A more detailed explanation of this new intervention strategy follows.

Student intervention: pre-test revision planner and revised pre-test reflection form

In prior studies of our intervention, we have routinely asked teachers to analyze their students’ pre-tests as a formative assessment and to fill out their own reflection planner regarding their students’ strengths and areas needing growth as a tool to help with instruction. After reading about how much student self-efficacy influences writing outcomes (Bruning et al., 2013 ), we wondered if having students participate in assessing their own strengths and areas for improvement as writers and fill out a reflection similar to the one their teachers created would lead to better writing outcomes. With the consent of teachers participating in the intervention, we randomized the teachers’ classes into two groups. The comparison group received instruction from their teacher on how to revise their pre-test essays and were provided with comments from a trained reader. The treatment group not only received instruction from the teacher and comments from a trained reader, but also conducted a self-assessment of their work and filled out the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pre-Test Reflection form to describe their process and assess the quality of their product after revising. Since all the students, treatment and comparison groups, participated in the same intervention and were taught the same strategies, this study tests the impact of the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pre-Test Reflection form on students’ self-efficacy and writing quality. To promote treatment fidelity, all teachers, treatment and comparison, were required to submit their students’ revised pre-tests to the intervention developers in order to receive their stipend for participating in the year-long study. Treatment teachers were also required to submit the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner planner.

To elaborate, the process we took treatment students involved two steps. The first part of the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner (see Appendix 1) asked students to self-assess what they did effectively as writers on their essay and what they might have struggled with on the writing task. They were then asked to decide on goals for revisions in bulleted form, weighing suggestions by trained readers who commented on their papers. These were action steps the student proposed to take when revising his or her essay. After they have completed their revision, students reflected on what changes they made, what they were most proud of, and what their teacher did to help them reach their revision goals using the Revised Pre-Test Reflection form. In the comparison condition, students revised their pretests, but without the use of a planner, keeping everything else equal.

Sample student pre-test, revision planner, and revised pre-test

This section illustrates the multi-faceted components of the intervention. We start by examining a student’s pre-test with commentary from an experienced reader, then her revision planner, next her revised pre-test, and finally her self-assessment and reflection and consider how these components affect a student’s self-efficacy in writing.

The prompt the student responded to was an analysis of Virginia Driving Hawk Sneve’s short story “The Medicine Bag” for its theme as exhibited through the evolving relationship between the narrator and his great-grandfather as he visits him unexpectedly and the symbolism behind the gift he leaves the narrator prior to his passing (Fig. 1 ):

Student’s Pre-test with some commentary

The student’s attempt at the on-demand essay consists almost exclusively of summary, indicating that her command of analytical writing is still developing. The student starts the analysis with “In the beginning of the story…” followed by a long summary of the plot and puts forth the claim “this proves that Martin is embaress [sic] of his grandpa…” While this is not a theme statement it does indicate the writer’s understanding of the text. The trained reader also notes the writer’s recognition that the character changes over time and encourages her to focus on the author’s message or lesson when she revises (Fig. 2 ).

Trained reader’s letter to the student

The comments the student received from the trained reader focused revision on connecting commentary to textual evidence, developing a theme statement, and the role symbols play in the story. These types of comments are quite typical of the responses many students in this study received from our trained readers. After teachers received these comments and reviewed them, they passed these papers back to their students and treatment teachers had students fill out the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner (see Fig. 3 ). We conjecture that this opportunity to self-assess may contribute to her persistence through the revision process better than her comparison peers who may only rely on given feedback, but no reflection nor goal setting (Bruning & Kauffman, 2016 ).

Student’s Pre-test essay revision planner

In her Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner, the student first focused on the strengths of her essay—what she did well. Then she addressed what she struggled with or didn’t do as well in her essay. Next, she set a goal to revise the introduction, by including a hook and TAG which indicates Title, Author, and Genre, and especially to “talk more about the message.” Much of what the student plans to do is quite specific to revising the introduction; revising an introduction and knowing what is expected can help students produce more focused papers that are organized with a clear direction in terms of analysis. Below is her revision of the writing assessment (Fig. 4 ):

Student’s revised Pre-test

The student’s revision is a noticeable improvement over her original pre-test. The revision has included a hook (e.g., an anecdote around traditions), attempts a theme statement (e.g., the importance of traditions), addresses the changing the relationship between the narrator and his grand-father, and also focuses on the medicine bag as a symbol. Notice how the student meets her revision goals, but also takes up the suggestion to focus on symbolism. The moves the student makes from pre-test to revision are akin to a student that makes a transition from knowledge-telling (e.g., summary) to knowledge-transformation (e.g., commentary) in their writing (Bereiter & Scardamalia, 1987 ). For example, in the students’ pre-test, she summarized how Martin exaggerates about his grandfather but did not explain how this exaggeration relates to his embarrassment. In the revision of this paper, the student explains, in detail, why Martin was embarrassed by his grandfather and why he felt compelled to make him seem more “glamorous” and larger than life. Moreover, the reflection on the revisions she made (below) demonstrates ownership over her revision process, with her teacher’s help (Fig. 5 ):

Student’s Revised Pre-Test Reflection

The student recognizes the changes she made from her pre-test to the revised version, particularly the inclusion of a message or theme statement and the improvements she made. She also emphasized how helpful her teacher was in helping her revise her body paragraphs, which was a goal that was not particularly emphasized on her revision planner, but proved to be a writing move that was successfully executed. The student exhibited a strong sense of self-efficacy. Note, her expression of pride in working on and completing the assignment).

Data collection and measures

Self-efficacy for writing scale.

To examine student growth in self-efficacy, particularly in writing, we adapted a pre-existing self-efficacy in writing measure called the Self-Efficacy for Writing Scale (SEWS), reliably measured by another research team (Bruning et al., 2013 ), by adding additional questions regarding revision practices. After cleaning the data for complete entries at pre and post-survey, our sample size consisted of 214 students who had completely filled out a pre and post-survey. The SEW survey had 22 Likert-scale questions on a scale from 1 to 5 in terms of how much they agree with each statement. To further analyze the SEW survey, but to also simplify the analytical process, we also conducted a factor analysis to reduce the number of components and created four composites, for specific areas of self-efficacy, as a result. The four composites used in our analysis, the questions that pertained to each one, and the factor loadings after applying orthogonal varimax rotations (Abdi, 2003 ) are in Table 1 below:

Ideation groups questions regarding students’ ideas and content in their essays together; Syntax pertains to students’ focus on grammar, spelling, and paragraph formation; Volition pertains to students’ abilities to follow-through with their assignment and complete it; and Revision questions pertain to students’ abilities to revise their paper for specific skills.

Academic writing assessment

In order to test the impact of an increase in self-efficacy in writing on students’ analytical writing, we used students’ scores on the Academic Writing Assessment, a writing assessment created for our intervention, that is administered to students prior to the intervention and after revision of the pre-test. Two prompts (one on “The Medicine Bag” and one on “Ribbons”) were created regarding two texts where the main character’s relationship with a grandparent changes throughout the story. The students stated a claim or theme statement about relationships and use textual evidence to support this theme. To control for prompt effects half of the students wrote to one of these prompts at pre-test and wrote to the other prompt at post-test, and vice versa.

Approximately twenty papers were randomly selected for scoring per teacher. Assessments were scored in a double blind process over four hours where the scorer neither knew if the paper they were scoring was written by a treatment or comparison student nor whether they were scoring a pre-test or post-test. Each paper was read twice and given a score from a range of 1 to 6, with possible score points from 2 to 12. If the two readers differed by more than two points (e.g., a 2 and 4) then a third, more experienced reader also gave the paper a score. If the third reader’s score matches either the first or the second reader, the third reader’s score was added to the score it matched. If the third reader’s score fell in between the first and second reader’s score, the third reader’s score was kept and the average of the first and second reader’s score was added to the kept score. All papers were scored in such a manner during a scoring event held over four hours. Raters agreed within a score point or better for 95% of the papers; 5% required a third reading, and 49% of the papers had exact agreements between the two scorers.

Pre-test essay revision planner and revised pre-test reflection form

To reiterate, the form asked students to self-assess, plan and goal set during revision, and reflect on the process after finishing their revisions. The reflection side of the planner was inspired by Daniel et al. ( 2015 ) who found that students who wrote a cover letter to their instructors detailing the changes they made to a revised paper, based on instructor feedback, submitted higher-quality revised papers than their control peers. The theory of change behind this planner is that it encourages students to identify problem areas, set goals, and remind them of these goals as they revise their pretest, encouraging them to accomplish these goals (see Daniel et al., 2015 ).

Student interviews

A sub-set of students from both the comparison and treatment classrooms were selected for interview purposes. Without knowing students’ AWA scores, teachers were asked to nominate one developing writer and one more proficient writer for the interviews. Selected students were provided with their pre-test, their revised pre-test, and their post-test; treatment students also were provided with their Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pre-Test Reflection form. Students were interviewed in the same room, but sat far away enough from each other so that ambient noise from the other interview being conducted would not be captured. Students were asked a series of open-ended questions (see Appendix 2) about their identities as writers (e.g., From a scale of 1 to 10, how would you rate yourself as a writer?); about their revision process; and what helped them to revise their papers/to meet their goals.

Research procedures

Randomly selected teachers chose one focal class with which to conduct these research activities:

Students in the selected classes were asked to take two timed on-demand writing assessments–one at the beginning of the school year and one at the end of the school year. These essays were scored during a double-blind session based on the Academic Writing Assessment (AWA) rubric that we created and validated in other studies (see Olson et al., 2017 ).

The students also took two self-efficacy in writing (SEW) surveys, one at the beginning of the school year and one at the end of the school year.

In between the two SEW surveys students’ teachers either were randomly assigned to have students reflect on their writing or not to reflect on their writing using the Pre-Test Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pre-Test Reflection form while revising their pretests.

Afterwards, two students from each class were randomly interviewed on their writing process with questions that focused on their identity as a writer and what helped them as writers.

Data analysis

To analyze growth on our SEW measure, we ran t-tests to measure change from pre to post on each of our aforementioned components from our factor analysis (ideation, syntax, volition, and revision). We then also ran t-tests to measure change from pre to post on the AWA differentiating between the treatment and comparison groups in order to test the impact of self-efficacy in writing on timed on-demand writing tasks.

Students’ revision-planners and post-revision reflections were analyzed for the types of goals students created for themselves by looking at idea units. Student interviews were transcribed by the first and second author, divided into idea units, and coded for students’ revision processes and what strategies/resources might have assisted them in doing so. Codes were independently generated and then verified between the two coders until they were agreed upon (Miles & Huberman, 2008).

Students with higher self-efficacy have better writing outcomes

When analyzing AWA scores, treatment students grew 1.90 points and the control students grew 1.33 points from pre to posttest. Both gains were statistically significant ( p < 0.001), indicating that the intervention had a positive impact on all participating students. However, differences in differences confirm that the treatment students had statistically significant greater gains than their control peers (△ = 0.57; p < 0.001).

Students’ reflections have positive impact on students’ self-efficacy in writing

At post-survey, the treatment SEW mean increased to 3.63 ( p < 0.76) and the control mean decreased to 3.47 ( p < 0.37). Differences in differences analysis revealed a slight statistical difference ( p < 0.10; △ = 0.11). The alpha level reported for the SEW items was 0.90.

Table 2 displays the pre to post means for the four composites from our factor analysis of the SEW questions: Ideation (idea formation); Syntax (grammar); Volition (persistence), and Revision (revision for clarity and content).

Based on these results, treatment students grew more than their comparison peers in the area of Revision strategies by 0.21 points; whereas, they both decreased in their Volition scores. However, the treatment students had less of a decline (e.g., -0.05 rather than -0.28 points). It is possible that both treatment and comparison students, who are in sixth grade, do not yet feel confident in producing high quality-writing samples during on-demand timed conditions; yet both groups managed to do so.

Students cite teacher instruction as most helpful in revising their writing

Qualitative analysis of the student interviews revealed that treatment students perceived the planner as being helpful as it provided them with a road map and check list as to what to focus on in the revision of their pre-test essay. For example, one student explained that her revision planner helped her “to know what I was supposed to do to my new revision.” She was able to reference her planner as she wrote and notice things that she forgot to include, which she then went back to add into the appropriate part of her essay. Additionally, for this student, filling out the planner was a process scaffolded by the written feedback she had received from the aforementioned trained reader as well as from her classroom teacher. It was the feedback and concrete suggestions she received, such as the reader comment that told her “I should add an author name, TAG line, and a title” and her teacher who suggested she “put it [my writing] in paragraphs and organize them,” that she used to set goals for herself in terms of what changes to make in order to improve her pretest. These comments were reflected in the list that the student wrote for herself on her revision planner, which included notes like “add a title,” “add a hook,” “organize paragraphs,” and “add the author’s name.” In her interview, when comparing her drafts, she pointed out these details like the hook and title she added as proof that she had made successful revisions. Other students who found the planner helpful reported similar experiences, such as working on the planner as a class with the guidance of the teacher, focusing on the different elements of essay writing they had learned about through the school year such as the parts of a strong introduction. One student even wrote down “reread the writing prompt” in her planner as part of her list of things to do, highlighting the use of her planner as a list of actionable steps for revising.

Moreover, it was particularly important that teachers taught or modeled specific strategies to address the revisions students needed to make, like showing them examples of how essay writers organize information into multiple paragraphs. One student said, for instance, that one thing that really helped her in her revisions was all the review and practice that her teacher had them do over the course of the year. These included reviewing specific aspects of “what to do in an essay, like how to start it and how to end it and when we should put the body paragraphs.” The fact that her teacher returned to these concepts more than once helped her remember what to consider when it came time to revise her pretest.

Many students felt their teachers modeled helpful strategies to develop a claim and to write a strong introduction. Writing hooks and including important information about the texts they were analyzing like the title, author, and genre, for example, came up frequently. However, students did not provide the same evidence for the development of their body paragraphs, particularly when it came down to providing their own commentary around the evidence they used to back up their claims. Although one student noted that she added details about the story’s characters to her draft to make it better and another stated that she learned that she had to add her own thoughts or opinions into her summary in order to make it a proper essay, there was little mention of specific things to consider or of tying these details or opinions to specific arguments or evidence presented in their papers.

Both treatment and comparison students credited their teachers’ instruction as being most helpful in revising their essay. Some students went so far as to state that before participating in the intervention this year, they had only a vague idea of what an essay was, let alone what parts it was supposed to have. For instance, one student explained that what helped him most in revising was “my teacher” who “was telling us… teaching us basically about theme, the hook, the introduction and the conclusion.” However, treatment students used more self-efficacious words such as the use of the first-person pronoun, “I,” “plans,” “knew what to do,” and were quick to point out exactly which parts of their papers were improved. In contrast, comparison students more often used the more global second-person pronoun, “we” or third-person pronoun “she/he [the teacher,” “told us what to do,” and “lesson” when describing their revision process. Additionally, they were less specific about where and how they improved their papers, explaining that they had improved their papers because they “got an order” or added “more details.” The distinction between the use of pronouns is also a hallmark of self-efficacious individuals who centralize the locus of control around writing to what they can do, rather than external sources such as an authority figure or more knowledgeable other. Though feedback in any form is useful. Individuals who take an active role in their own writing also exhibit better reflective skills (Shantz & Latham, 2011 ), particularly on the items we found on our SEW survey (Parisi, 1994 ).

Our study confirms that the higher a student’s self-efficacy in writing, the higher quality of writing will be produced, even on timed on-demand writing tasks. We also confirmed that teachers’ instructional practices have an impact on students’ self-efficacy in writing (Corkett et al., 2011 ; Schunk & Swartz, 1993 ). Most importantly, our findings suggest that a planned revision process that includes student self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection (McMillan & Hearn, 2008 ) positively impacts self-efficacy. Prompting students to take ownership of their own learning, enabling them to assess their strengths and areas for improvement, providing direction in terms of accomplishing complicated writing tasks, and encouraging them to reflect upon their writing performance are what Hayes’ ( 2012 ) advocated for in his new framework. Students have a goal to improve their pre-test and outline the revision activities that need to be completed, while their teachers provide them with the success criteria and strategies to complete these goals.

Moreover, the process of revising their pre-tests provides students with the opportunities to develop positive affect towards the revision process as they are given opportunities to: (i) reflect on what they did well on their pre-tests and capitalize on their existing knowledge; (ii) observe, learn, and analyze successful writing moves during the revision tutorial by comparing non-examples with examples; (iii) receive constructive written feedback from trained readers on how to revise their pre-test; and (iv) experience and learn explicit writing skills that reduce anxiety as they deconstruct what a prompt is asking for and/or how to provide effective commentary on textual evidence (Bruning & Kauffman, 2016 ; Pajares et al., 2007 ).

The field is looking for interventions that can metaphorically move the needle for students from almost empty to full, particularly in literacy development. In the case of our study, the planner moved the needle for our treatment students because it gave students concrete direction on how to improve their pre-tests and this, in turn, impacted their performance on the post-tests. Our intervention contributes to the knowledge base on the impact reflection and goal setting can have on student writing. All students can benefit from explicit self-regulation and strategy development instruction (Graham & Harris, 1989 ; Harris et al., 2006 ), particularly if they support student reflection, goal setting, and self-monitoring strategies. Similar to Blake et al.’s recommendations ( 2016 ), embedding micro-goals that students can feel are accessible, feasible, and accomplishable can help students feel more in control of the revision process. Having a revision planner makes this process more scaffolded, explicit, and visible to students.

This work also demonstrates the importance of teacher instruction on student writing. As both treatment and comparison students cited their teachers’ instructions as most influential, these findings provide further support that writing instruction requires a teacher who is confident and well-equipped to provide students with guidance on how they can improve their writing. Engaging students in assessing their own strengths and areas for growth and then reflecting on their progress can enhance students’ motivation and commitment. However, a student may not be able to fully meet the goals they have set without explicit (or scaffolded) instruction by the teacher and classroom practice. Such instruction can contribute not only to a student’s self-confidence but also to their sense of competence. Hence, these findings provide further support that students’ self-efficacy is connected to teacher expertise.

Limitations

Though this study has promising results, it is not without limitations. We acknowledge that the sample was small and any findings need to be validated with a larger sample size; however, the fact that statistical significance was achieved demonstrates the potential of the revision planner in helping students develop stronger self-efficacy in writing skills. Additionally, more qualitative studies to triangulate the usefulness of the revision planner are needed to understand how the planner directly translated to results on the post-test.

Implications

Implications from this study demonstrate how important it is to provide students with the skills, strategies, and opportunity to engage in self-assessment and revision processes. This development of their declarative (what), procedural (how), and conditional (why) knowledge of how to compose text-based analytical essays and the pivotal role self-assessment can play in successful revision that can cultivate independent, self-efficacious learners who have the confidence and competence to succeed as analytical writers in secondary school and beyond.

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Pretest Essay Revision Planner and Revised Pretest Reflection.

Pre-Test essay revision planner

Please review the pre-test essay you received with comments from a UCI graduate student and then fill out this form.

When I revise my pre-test, I will do the following:

Revised pre-test reflection

Before you hand your revised pre-test in to your teacher, please respond to these questions:

What changes or additions did you make to your pre-test essay in order to improve it (i.e. strengthened your claim, added brushstrokes, embedded more quotes, etc.)? Give specific examples of what you did. You can even quote from your own essay to demonstrate the improvements you made.

What are you most proud of in this draft?

Do you feel you met the goals you set for yourself when you filled out the Pre-Test Revision Planner?

What did your teacher do that helped you the most to revise your essay?

Post-Test Semi-Structured Interview Protocol (Students).

In what ways has your view of your ability as a writer changed since the beginning of the year? (Feel free to rank yourself on a scale of 1 to 10)

What do you feel most confident about in writing? What are you most proud of accomplishing this year as a writer?

How did you feel when you read the comments you received on your pre-test essay from the UCI Graduate Student?

Can you explain the revisions you made to your pre-test? What goals did you have in re-writing your paper? What did you do to change your essay and why did you change it the way that you did?

What helped you the most to revise your paper? (Tx only: To what degree id you use this planner when you revised? How helpful was it?)

What do you feel are the strengths of your revised essay? Do you feel like you met your goals? (Tx only: Show list on Revision Planner) Why or Why not?

What do you feel you struggled with in revising your essay?

(Have students physically look at pre-test and post-test)

As you compare your pre-test and post-test, do you notice any improvement? If so, in which areas do you think you improved the most from the pre-test to the post-test?

What strategies did you learn and use in writing your essay (and where/when did you first learn these strategies)?

What did the teacher do over the course of the year that you feel was most helpful to you developing as a writer?

In what areas do you think your writing still has the most room for improvement?

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Chung, H.Q., Chen, V. & Olson, C.B. The impact of self-assessment, planning and goal setting, and reflection before and after revision on student self-efficacy and writing performance. Read Writ 34 , 1885–1913 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11145-021-10186-x

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Before moving on in the writing process, it is a great place to have students create a writing goal. This post will explain writing goals, how to choose a writing goal, provide ideas for creating writing goals, and a free writing goal template! These ideas are ideal for any writing curriculum and are a part of a series of mini lessons for writer’s workshop designed for scaffolding through the writing process.

What are writing goals?

Writing goals are something in students’ writing that they (or you) would like to see improvement.

How do you choose a writing goal?

Tell students to think of something that they frequently have to correct in their writing or something that they find difficult when writing in the past. Explain that writing goals can change from one piece of writing to the next. I find it best for students to focus on ONE goal in each writing piece.

If you (the teacher) are creating the writing goal: 1. Anything that you have taught in a past writing lesson and are expected to use in future essays. 2. One of the past lessons that they need more time to develop. 3. Reward students who meet their writing goal.

What are some ideas to use as writing goals?

It can be anything related to the writing assignment. For example:

Writing in complete sentences
Using proper capitalization
Using proper punctuation (You can even be more specific. (commas, end of sentence, quotation marks)
Fixing run-ons
Being more descriptive
Writing more detail
Writing less and deleting irrelevant details
Adding more million dollar words
Sticking to the topic
Writing topic sentences
Writing a better introduction
Using indents in paragraphs
Writing a better conclusion
Including more meaningful dialogue
Using correct spelling
Using transition words
Neater handwriting

Here are examples of writing goals. GRAB THIS WRITING GOAL TEMPLATE FOR FREE.

Check out my FREE writing masterclass! CLICK HERE

LAST LESSON: WRITING MINI LESSON #12- TASK, PURPOSE, AUDIENCE

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This lesson is also included in the STEP-BY-STEP WRITING ® Program with mini-lessons designed to scaffold through the writing process. Writing units included are sentence structure, paragraph writing, narrative writing, opinion writing, and informative writing. See what is included in the image below and click on it to learn more about them! You will turn your reluctant writers into ROCKSTAR WRITERS ™!

“I found this product toward the end of the school year, so I was only able to complete the first section on narrative writing. It was FANTASTIC! My students were very engaged in all of the activities. I love how this unit breaks down each step into manageable steps and has practice with each stage of the writing process. The finished pieces were great!” -Amy Frechette

Mini Lesson #12- Task, Purpose, Audience for Narrative Writing

Writing mini lesson #14- graphic organizers for narrative writing.

13 SMART Goals Examples to Develop Your Writing Skills

Do you need help in your writing career? Have you hit a wall with your creative ideas and want to develop your writing skills?

Crafting SMART goals is a fantastic way to set a solid foundation to build your success. By pursuing these goals, you can measure progress and stay motivated while growing your writing skills.

From setting a word count goal to exploring new genres, this post will discuss examples of SMART goals to push yourself as a writer.

Table of Contents

What is a SMART Goal?

The SMART ( Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, Time-based ) framework will enable you to establish practical goals for developing your writing skills.

Still trying to understand? Let’s dive deeper into each SMART element:

The more specific you can be about your goals, the better your likelihood of reaching them.

For example, instead of “I hope to become a better writer,” try setting precise goals such as “I will improve my grammar skills by taking an online course.” By establishing specific targets, you’ll have something concrete to work towards.

Writers need more than hard work; they must also ensure their goals are measurable. This criterion may seem insignificant initially, but it will help you succeed in your writing journey.

Measurable goals are those that can be quantified or evaluated objectively. Instead of “writing more,” set the goal of “writing 500 words daily.” This way, you’ll know exactly how much progress you make towards achieving them.

Many people tend to set their sights unrealistically high. They think they can become the world’s next great poet by year’s end. While aiming high is admirable, setting these goals can be counterproductive.

Not only do unrealistic expectations lead to disappointment and burnout, but they also make staying motivated more challenging.

Creating relevant goals aligning with your values is key to unlocking a fulfilling life. When you’re clear about your core beliefs, it becomes easier to identify what matters most to you and prioritize accordingly. Knowing you’re working towards something meaningful inspires you to push forward.

Embarking on a journey to success can be daunting if you don’t have a specific timeline to keep you accountable. Without well-defined deadlines, getting sidetracked or losing motivation along the way would be too easy.

Here are 13 examples of SMART goals to improve your writing:

1. Read More Books

SMART Goal: To expand my writing knowledge, I’ll read one book a month on writing by the end of four months. This activity will help me gain a better understanding of writing fundamentals, as well as give me ideas on different ways to improve my skills.

Specific: This SMART goal is explicit because it outlines the number of books and the duration they are to be read.
Measurable: Make sure you select books that are relevant to writing fundamentals and have activities or other elements that allow for tracking progress.
Attainable: This statement is definitely achievable with careful scheduling and prioritization.
Relevant: Reading books on writing will help the individual to learn and understand more about the subject.
Time-based: The goal should be achieved by the end of four months.

2. Take a Writing Course

SMART Goal: I’ll sign up for a writing course and complete it within 5 months to learn more about the craft. The class should help me hone my writing skills and introduce me to other techniques and structures I might not be familiar with.

Specific: The goal is well-defined, detailing precisely what will be done.
Measurable: Progress can be tracked by completion of the course and any assignments associated with it.
Attainable: A writing class is within reach, depending on the availability and cost of courses in one’s area.
Relevant: The course furthers the goal of developing writing skills.
Time-based: Success will be accomplished in 5 months.

3. Practice Daily Writing

SMART Goal: I will set aside 15 minutes daily to practice my writing skills. By the end of 6 months, I want to be able to write cohesive and compelling pieces with accuracy and clarity.

Specific: This goal outlines the activity (writing) and the duration of practice (15 minutes daily).
Measurable: You can measure the amount and quality of your writing.
Attainable: Setting aside and dedicating 15 minutes daily to practice is feasible.
Relevant: Practicing your writing every day can help you hone your skills and increase proficiency.
Time-based: Goal completion is anticipated for 6 months.

4. Research Writing Techniques

SMART Goal: Within 6 months, I will dedicate time to read industry-relevant books and articles on writing techniques. To apply my knowledge to produce more impactful content, I’ll also attend a webinar on the latest writing trends and take notes.

Specific: This goal is learning writing techniques, not just consuming information.
Measurable: This project can be evaluated by reading books , attending a webinar, and taking notes.
Attainable: Dedicating time to reading and learning can reasonably be accomplished within 6 months.
Relevant: This is appropriate to the task because you can apply the newly acquired knowledge to create better content.
Time-based: There is a deadline of 6 months for this particular goal.

5. Join a Writing Group

SMART Goal: I’ll aim to join a writing group or online forum dedicated to improving my writing skills this month. I will participate actively in the group, take on an assignment each month, and offer support to other group members.

Specific: You know how to accomplish your goal —join a writing group or online forum.
Measurable: You can quantify the number of assignments you complete each month.
Attainable: This is relatively easy if you can find a suitable group or forum.
Relevant: The purpose of joining the group is to improve your writing skills.
Time-based: You have until this month to achieve the SMART goal.

6. Analyze Your Work Critically

SMART Goal: I will objectively analyze my written work every week and identify areas of improvement within two months. I hope to become more aware of my mistakes and areas where I can improve while writing.

Specific: The statement is to analyze written work and identify mistakes.
Measurable: Ensure that the person objectively analyzes and identifies areas for improvement weekly.
Attainable: This goal is feasible as it allows two months to review and make changes.
Relevant: It’s crucial to understand and identify the areas for improvement in one’s writing.
Time-based: The goal has a two-month end date for completion.

7. Network With Other Writers

SMART Goal: To learn from and stay current on the latest writing trends, I’ll expand my network by attending two writing events each month. I’ll also take active steps to engage with writers and other industry professionals on social media, such as liking, commenting, and retweeting their posts.

Specific: The statement is easy to understand: network with other writers.
Measurable: Measure your networking success by the number of events you attend and your engagement with other writers on social media.
Attainable: It’s realistic to believe that attending two events every month is absolutely possible.
Relevant: Networking with other writers and industry professionals can help you stay informed about the latest trends in writing.
Time-based: This goal has a time frame of two months.

8. Participate in Contests

SMART Goal: I want to enter and submit entries for at least 5 writing contests within the next year. I’ll keep track of my entries and carefully review every submission to ensure it meets all requirements for each contest.

Specific: The goal is clear. You will enter at least 5 writing contests this year.
Measurable: The writer will keep track of entries and review each submission to ensure it meets all requirements.
Attainable: This is possible if you have the commitment and dedication to complete the necessary steps.
Relevant: The goal is appropriate for the individual’s desire to develop writing skills.
Time-based: Goal attainment will be met within a year.

9. Improve Grammar and Punctuation

SMART Goal: I will enhance my grammar and punctuation by taking a grammar course or using an online program like Grammarly. I’ll aim to correctly use grammar and punctuation in my writing over the three months ahead.

Specific: The goal states the objective, what will be done to achieve it, and the deadline.
Measurable: You could assess your writing for correct grammar and punctuation.
Attainable: This is realistic because there are online tools to improve your grammar and punctuation.
Relevant: Grammar and punctuation are essential for effective communication .
Time-based: There is a three-month timeline for completing this goal.

10. Learn Different Genres of Writing

SMART Goal: I want to learn the types of writing genres for 6 months. I’ll spend time researching the different genres, such as creative writing, journalistic writing, and technical writing. That will give me an idea of the varying writing styles and guide me when tackling a new project.

Specific: This is specific as it has a timeline, aims to explore different writing genres, and provides guidance on tackling a project.
Measurable: Check your progress by using a checklist or calendar to see what genres you have explored.
Attainable: This goal is possible due to its specific timeline and required research activity.
Relevant: Genre-based writing can be useful for various projects, making this an applicable goal.
Time-based: Six whole months are needed to achieve success.

11. Ask for Feedback From Others

SMART Goal: I’ll contact three or more peers for feedback on my writing within 6 months. I want to use this feedback to improve my writing, so I’ll take constructive criticism and apply it to my writing process.

Specific: The specific action is to reach out to three or more peers for feedback.
Measurable: The number of peers a person should reach out to is stated.
Attainable: Asking for feedback from peers is an achievable goal.
Relevant: The SMART statement applies to enhancing one’s writing.
Time-based: The goal should be completed within 6 months.

12. Create Your Style of Writing

SMART Goal: I will strive to develop a style of writing that reflects my voice within four weeks. I aim to bring out my unique personality in my writing and create a clear, cohesive style that I can be proud of.

Specific: The individual aims to develop a writing style that reflects their voice.
Measurable: You will strive to create a clear, cohesive writing style in four weeks.
Attainable: This is achievable by taking time to practice and refine their writing abilities.
Relevant: The goal is appropriate because it allows the person to create a voice in their writing.
Time-based: There is a four-week window for achieving this certain goal.

13. Follow Style Guides

SMART Goal: I’ll use a specific style guide to help ensure consistency in my writing. I’ll read the guide before using it and reference it when writing for projects. By the end of two months, I plan to have a foundational understanding of the style guide and its key features.

Specific: The goal is to use a style guide and become familiar with its key features.
Measurable: Make sure you read the guide before using it and reference it when writing.
Attainable: This is attainable because the individual has two months to become familiar with the style guide.
Relevant: Following style guides will help ensure consistency in writing.
Time-based: The goal is time-bound since it has a specific end date of two months.

Final Thoughts

Developing SMART goals allows you to improve your overall writing skills. It promotes focus and discipline , encouraging you to break down each step of the process into smaller tasks.

It’s also a great way to track progress and celebrate victories. Put this practice into action today by reflecting on what you want to accomplish with your writing and creating achievable goals.

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How To Set English Goals [& actually reach them!]

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Lesson overview, lesson summary .

With 2020 almost behind us, let me take you step-by-step through my goal-setting process – the one I use every year to set goals (and importantly) create a solid plan to reach them throughout the year ahead!

Watch members of The Ladies’ Project speak here: https://www.theladiesproject.com/meet/

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CLICK HERE to read the full lesson transcript.

Video Transcript Section Well hey there! I’m Emma from mmmEnglish! Now anyone who’s been watching the mmmEnglish channel for a while now knows that I love this time of year, the end of one year, the start of a new one, it’s the chance to think big and dream of new possibilities that a new year can bring for us.

Now I haven’t always been good at setting goals or sticking to them but I think I’ve got a good system in place now that helps me to see my goals through and so today I want to share my four-step process for not only setting amazing goals but to actually get a plan in place to help you reach them.

Now of course for you I’m going to be sharing examples of English learning goals but really this process is awesome for any type of goal, professional goals, personal goals. This is the strategy that I use and I’ve got to tell you there’s a little more to it than just setting a goal. Let’s check it out!

This video is brought to you by The Ladies’ Project, an online community for women learning English.

It’s a place for women to connect, to practise their skills and build confidence as English speakers but rather than me tell you about it, I want you to hear about what we do from the women who are inside. I’ve included a link in the description to our member testimonials page which you can check out any time.

Enrollments will be opening in January and if you’re interested to find out more about what we do or get on the waitlist, make sure you sign up, the link is down below.

To be honest 2020 didn’t really turn out as we planned it to, did we? What were your goals at the start of 2020? Do you remember? For me, there was a lot of travel. I had big ambitions to host the very first in-person event for The Ladies’ Project in Europe in October and I’ve got family living in England, Thailand, Malaysia. Normally my year would involve travelling to visit all of them at some point which of course didn’t happen.

I’m sure that you can relate. Maybe your work plans or your study plans or your travel plans got disrupted. Let me know about it down in the comments what happened.

Step 1: Reflection

Anyway let’s get started. The first step is reflection. So for me, this is really simple,

it’s just a brainstorm. I write down everything that happened in 2020 that feels significant, the good, the bad, the ugly. Now I’m a big fan of doing this because no matter what, there is always something that you can learn. Even in a year like 2020 there are positive things or lessons learned that will help you to make better decisions in the year ahead.

And this is a good time to just call all of those out so I ask myself:

What are you proud of?
What did you learn?
What do you want to leave behind?

You know some of the negative things.

For me, you know during the year the boundaries of work and home life really got blurry. I worked a lot more and that’s mostly because I didn’t have as many other options as I usually do like social stuff or travel or sports and things like that.

So that blurring between work and home life and those long working hours are definitely something that I want to leave back there but of course I always ask:

Well what do I want to take with me from that year into the new one?

So you know for me, some good habits were developed this year around home cooking and also really staying connected to people who are far away. I think we’ve gotten a lot better and a lot more creative at finding ways to always be in touch with each other which is fun.

So those simple questions are how I reflect on the year that I’ve just finished and I have a friend who does a similar process but at the end when she feels like she’s gotten everything that feels significant written down, it’s all on paper, she burns it. It’s like a cleanse you know. I’ve looked at that year, I’ve appreciated it, I’ve taken everything that I need from it and now I’m just going to leave it back there. I don’t need that anymore.

Step 2: Connect with WHY

In step two, we are focusing on the big picture and to do this I try to reconnect with my why. My reason for setting these goals in the first place.

Why am I doing this? What change am I trying to create for myself, for my family, for my students, for the world. Whatever it is, why? Why are we doing this?

Everyone’s why is going to be a little different, it’s really personal but it’s so powerful. Your why and your reason is so important because it acts as your anchor as you drift off course you know, you get distracted. This is an analogy that relates to sailing or boating where if you put an anchor down even if the wind changes or the current changes and you get drifting around, you don’t lose that position, right?

You’re always going to be able to get back to it and so your why is your anchor through the year as you get distracted by other things or something else comes up that’s more important and that happens. It happens to me all the time but if you have a really strong why you’re able to bring yourself back to that bigger reason, that bigger purpose to see those goals through.

Now you might be wondering: Well, Emma what is my why? I don’t have a why. What are you talking about?

It might be a little easier to go through with some examples and I’m going to use some examples from my students in The Ladies’ Project community.

We have such an incredible diverse mix of women all meeting regularly and speaking in English together often. They’re all at various stages of their lives so some of their whys might be interesting for you but they might also be really relevant to you and where you’re at at the moment.

So one has migrated to Australia with her children, her husband. She wants to be able to go to her kid’s school and chat with their teachers and to hang out with other parents at the kid’s birthday parties and things like that. She wants to feel like she belongs, like she’s connected to the community that she’s a part of.

Another is a professional woman. She wants to further her career and knows that being able to confidently present her research at international conferences and network with other experts in her field will help her to do that.

And another’s retired, her kids have moved to an English-speaking country to study, to work. They’re marrying into English-speaking families and in this case, her big reason for learning English is to be able to genuinely connect with her new daughter-in-law, her new son-in-law with ease, to meet their friends and their family.

Now these are all huge reasons why someone would devote so much time and energy to studying, learning and practising English and when it starts to feel hard or boring or frustrating, being really clear on your reason for learning and for practising will help you to get over that boredom and over that frustration and keep going.

Step 3: Set goals

So now we’ve come to the point where I focus on the goals that I want to set for myself in the year ahead. And notice that this isn’t step number one. I’ve already reflected on the year that’s finished and taken what I needed from there. I’ve reconnected with my why, my reason for setting these goals in the first place and now is when I get on to actually setting those goals.

So I usually try for three to five goals. Some of them are personal, some of them are business or financial goals. Maybe there’s a couple of travel goals and no doubt that you’ll have a goal that relates to your English progress as well.

The most important thing is to make sure that these goals are in your control, that you can actually control the outcome of your goal.

If the idea of a SMART goal is something that you’re into, then great! Use it as a reference here but for me, it’s just about making sure that you are in control of the outcome. You can control what happens there.

So let’s look at this example.

I want to be living in Australia by October.

So right now that outcome is not in your control. There’s a global pandemic. The borders in Australia are closed. It’s uncertain at this point if you will actually be able to do that so that goal is not within your control.

A better goal is something like

I want to move from an IELTS band 7 to a band 8 by November 2021. And I’m doing this because I want to move my family to Australia as soon as possible.

Yes, this is a goal that’s within your control, you have the ability to make it happen.

So once you’ve got your goals, make sure they’re written down. They’re really clear in your mind but that’s not all, that is not all we’re going to focus on here because for each goal that you’ve written down, I’ve got some specific questions to ask.

The first is:

Does this goal feel scary?
What parts of it feel hard?

And really recognise what these things are because they’re the things that are going to get in your way from reaching the goal, your fears, your doubt, uncertainty. That is what’s going to stop you from reaching your goal.

The second question is:

What things do I need to change in my life to make this goal happen?
Do I need to change my attitude?
Do I need to re-prioritise some things in my life? You know do I need to stop doing this thing in order to make more space for that thing? You know how do you create more time.

And the third question is:

What kind of support do I need to make this happen?

Maybe you need to join an online community like The Ladies’ Project where there’s opportunities to speak English regularly. Maybe an online course is your idea of support or a study partner. All of these things are ways that you can be supported to reach your goal. It’s identifying the things that you need to help get there.

So for me, these three questions are the most important part you know, of this process of goal setting. We can’t expect different results in 2021 if we just keep doing the same thing that we did in 2020 right? That’s the definition of insanity.

So I use these questions to help me identify what is likely to stop me reaching my goals and try to find a way around them so that I can keep going.

Step 4: Create your 90-day plan

Now once you’ve got your big goals sorted great! We know that these goals are going to take a little bit of time to reach though right and we need to break them down into bite-sized pieces make them actionable and achievable.

So to do this I create a 90-day plan so that’s three months I focus on the action that I’m gonna take in that first three months. By focusing on just three months it allows me to check in on my goals at the end of that three month period.

Am I still on track?
Have I gotten really distracted or did I try something that’s not really working and do I need to rethink that?

So I love the three-month check-in because it allows me to not only look back and make sure that what I was doing was good but also to just re-plan and readjust what that next three-month window is going to look like.

So I said earlier that these four steps work amazingly for any type of goal, professional, personal or English goals but I want to keep using the IELTS example just so that we can follow through and we can see how the questions that we just asked before will help us to get really clear on what we need to do as we create our 90-day plan.

So thinking back to that goal: I want to move from a band 7 to a band 8 in my IELTS speaking exam by November 2021.

Is there something about that goal that makes you feel scared or nervous or worried? You might be thinking it feels really hard, you know I haven’t spoken English in years, I don’t have anyone to practise with. I don’t really know how much that’s gonna cost.

All of these things are doubts, they’re fears, they’re worries. Recognising these fears is going to help you to work through them you know and they won’t be such a blockage or a hindrance to you actually reaching your goals.

So then we can ask what would I need to change in my life to make this happen? You know to go from a band 7 to a band 8 in your speaking test takes work right?

It takes practice, it takes study. so you might need to adjust your schedule a little to create more time for yourself, for your study. Maybe you’ve got to give up your karate class for a couple of months so that you can create more time for your English practice.

And what support do you need to reach this goal? Do you need to get a tutor or enroll in a language course?

You know maybe you’re thinking I just don’t know how I’m going to pay for that kind of thing. I know I need a tutor but I’m not sure how I’m going to get the money together.

So this is great because your action plan allows you to focus on that problem first. You know if I save thirty dollars a week for the first three months of the year, by the time I get to my next 90-day plan I should have enough saved so that I can focus on enrolling in that course or meeting that tutor.

Maybe you decide you want to get a study partner in the meantime just to tie you over until you can get that tutor. All of this information is going to help you to identify the actions that you need to take to keep working towards your goal and if you did decide you needed a study partner, that doesn’t happen by magic does it? You need to find that person and that forms part of your action plan.

You know, maybe you say I’m going to write a personal advertisement looking for an IELTS speaking partner and I’m going to post it in all the Facebook groups that I’m part of.

Or you might say I’m going to join an online community so that I can be connected with other English learners and get regular speaking practice.

This 90-day plan really is the secret to my goal-setting process because it helps you to take action immediately and as you set up your big goals, this 90-day plan is what’s going to help you set the wheels in motion which is a great expression that means to do something or some things that helps to start a process, to set the wheels in motion.

This plan is going to set you up for success, it’s going to help you to create really good habits not down the track but right now from the get-go.

So I hope that it was useful to see how I’ll be planning out my year ahead and I’ll be doing it over the next few days. So if you follow this process or if you already have your own goal-setting process, I would love to hear what your goals are for 2021. Let me know down in the comments below. I’m super excited to hear them and get behind you.

Thank you for watching my lessons, for sharing your comments, sharing my lessons and being part of the mmmEnglish community throughout 2020. I will definitely see you in 2021. I’m taking a little break just over the new year but I will be back and right here delivering lessons for you very, very soon.

Happy new year!

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How to set goals for learning English and make them achievable

Whatever level you’re currently at, setting goals for learning English is crucial for maintaining motivation, tracking progress, and ensuring success.

But forget about “My goal is to learn English.” – what does that really mean?

Are you learning English for work, for an exam, or so that you can travel more?

We’re going to help you create meaningful English learning goals using methods that are proven to keep you on track.

We also have plenty of examples of goals to learn English to give you some fresh inspiration as you consider what you want to achieve on this journey.

Key Takeaways

Set SMART goals and break them down into attainable micro-goals to stay on track as you learn English.
Set goals suitable for your level, focusing on each of the 4 core English skills.
Harness the power of digital tools to practice English, measure your progress, and reach your English goals faster.
Stay focused and motivated by setting achievable goals, maintaining a positive mindset, and seeking support from peers & teachers.

person writing down their smart goals for learning English

Why is it important to set English learning goals?

It’s important to set English learning goals because it helps you to stay motivated and measure and track your progress as you become more fluent.

Without clear goals and a plan for achieving them, the idea of learning English feels quite daunting. It’s a hard language to learn , after all, with a huge vocabulary and complex grammar rules.

But if you set the right goals and break them down into manageable milestones, everything suddenly becomes much more achievable.

Of course, you will still need to work hard and practice daily to achieve your language goals, especially if you want to reach more advanced levels.

Understanding SMART goals for language learning

In order to set goals for learning English that actually make a difference to your progress, it’s helpful to understand the concept of SMART goals.

This framework helps avoid common goal-setting mistakes including:

Setting goals that can’t be measured
Setting long-term goals with no path to success
Basing your goals on someone else’s success
Focusing on things that don’t help with your overall goal

So, what do SMART goals involve? Each of the five letters stands for a specific aspect of a goal. When combined, they create a comprehensive plan for success.

Here’s what each letter in the SMART acronym stands for, and the questions you can ask yourself to make sure your goal meets this criteria.

Make sure that your goals in learning english align with these five criteria, and you’ll give yourself a much better chance of succeeding long-term.

Examples of bad English language goals

To illustrate this point further, let’s first look at some examples of bad (but common) goals that people have when they learn English.

“I want to be fluent in English”

This is not a bad thing to aim for, but it is too vague. What does it even mean to be fluent in English? How will you know that you have achieved this? How long do you think it will take?

So many questions are left unanswered; this is definitely not a SMART goal for learning English.

“I’m going to learn lots of English words.”

Sure, you need to know thousands of individual words in order to speak English well , but knowing the words alone isn’t enough.

You need to consider which words are going to be most relevant to you, and learn how to create full sentences as well.

“I want to speak with a British accent.”

First of all, there’s no such thing as a British accent. Travel around the British Isles and you will encounter dozens of different regional accents.

Even once you clear up this matter, you need to specify how you will know when you have achieved this goal.

Enough of the bad examples; let’s get on to some good examples of goals to help you learn English.

Examples of SMART goals for english language learners

Everybody has different reasons for learning English, so not all of these examples will be relevant to you. However, we have included them as a way to illustrate what SMART goals should look like, and perhaps inspire you to create some of your own.

1. For a business professional aiming to improve their English for work-related purposes

I will improve my business English vocabulary by learning 5 new industry-specific words each week for the next 3 months, using them in work-related conversations or emails. I will use a flashcard app to help with this.

2. For a student preparing for an English language proficiency test

I want to achieve a score of 7 or above in the IELTS exam within the next 6 months by practicing with at least one past paper per week.

3. For a tourist planning a trip to an English-speaking country

I will learn and practice 10 common phrases or dialogues for travel-related situations (ordering food, asking for directions, etc.) each week for the next two months.

4. For a non-native speaker who wants to enjoy English movies

In 4 months’ time, I want to be able to watch and understand English movies without subtitles. I will watch at least one English movie per week, using subtitles if needed at first, but becoming less reliant on them as my comprehension improves.

5. For a non-native speaker who enjoys reading fiction

I want to read 6 English fiction books this year. I will set aside 30 minutes per day to read and will keep a vocabulary list of new words to increase my vocabulary at the same time.

6. For someone using an app to learn English

Within 4 months, I want to reach level B2 on Gymglish . I will complete a short lesson each day and review my corrections once a week to achieve this.

7. For someone who needs accountability

This month, I will sign up for a language exchange and find an accountability partner. We will check in with each other at least once a week to make sure we are sticking to our language learning goals.

8. For a professional speaking English in social environments

I will Practice small talk phrases with my English tutor this week so I feel confident attending a business lunch next Friday.

By setting SMART goals for language learning like these, you can stay motivated and on track to reach your goals.

Breaking down your goals

Segmenting long-term goals into smaller, attainable micro-goals makes it easier to keep going and track your progress.

We already did this for some of the goals above, for example saying “I will complete a short lesson each day” or “I will spend 30 minutes reading every day”.

Here’s how you can break down your long-term goals for learning english:

Identify your ultimate language goal, such as being able to speak English fluently.
Break your ultimate goal down into specific steps.
Pick one or two of the specific steps to focus on at a time.
Set specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals for each step.

It might help to share these goals with a friend who can keep you accountable by checking in on your progress. If they can practice English together with you, even better!

keeping each other accountable as you learn english

Goals for learning English at different levels

It’s important to set objectives that are consistent with your English level.

If a goal is too hard, you may quickly become discouraged and give up. If it’s too easy, it may not feel like you’re really achieving anything.

So now let’s consider some specific goals for each level (beginner, intermediate, advanced), helping you identify the right goals for your current stage of learning. Or, if you’re helping another English learner to set their own goals, you can use this as a guide for them.

Beginner level english learning goals

Beginners should concentrate on building a solid foundation in vocabulary, grammar, and fundamental communication skills.

Setting small, achievable goals is particularly important at this stage.

Examples of short-term english learning goals for beginners include:

Learn 10 new vocabulary words on a particular topic.
Write 5 grammatically correct sentences to describe daily routines using the simple past tense.
Hold a simple, casual conversation for 1 minute.
Complete a particular class or test successfully.
Study English for 15 minutes every day.

These can be adapted according to the timeline and curriculum the student is working on.

Intermediate level english learning goals

At the intermediate stage, the emphasis should be on honing language skills, broadening vocabulary, and enhancing fluency across different contexts.

Intermediate English learners can look forward to:

Understanding cultural norms
Expressing themselves with descriptive language
Learning common expressions and idioms
Expanding their vocabulary to be more precise
Exploring complex grammar structures

Intermediate goals for learning English might include:

Study English by reading the news .
Listen to some podcasts for learning English .
Discuss or perform your hobbies in English.
Read native-level magazines or online content about topics you are interested in.
Learn some transition words and practice using them in conversation or writing.
Get as much exposure to the language as possible by implementing other strategies for English immersion at home .

Advanced level english learning goals

Advanced learners should concentrate on mastering intricate language structures, idiomatic expressions, and sophisticated communication in professional and social environments.

Advanced goals for studying English could include:

Lead a work meeting or give a presentation in English without feeling anxious.
Communicate ideas and opinions about topics you are unfamiliar with.
Be able to use a full range of tenses to describe experiences and plans.
Read adult fiction books without having to frequently look up single words.
Take an IELTS course and achieve a score of 8 or above.
Use English in an academic setting.

Targeted goals for core English skills

Beyond setting goals for different learning stages, it’s important to set targeted objectives for core English skills, namely:

You may wish to break down your main goals into these areas, or focus on one skill in particular.

Reading goals for English language learners

As you develop your reading skills, you can incorporate some of the following into your objectives:

Read fiction books for children or adults (depending on your level).
Read the news in English.
Avoid forgetting vocabulary by noting down individual words as you discover them.
Make flashcards (paper or electronic) and practice using those words correctly and recognizing them next time you read them.
Increase your reading speed (take this free test to check your current reading speed and comprehension).
Be able to look up words in an English-English dictionary and understand the definitions.

Writing goals for English language learners

Improving your writing skills means developing clarity and precision by selecting the right words, and learning how to adapt your writing style for different situations or formats.

Writing objectives for English learners could include:

Write a thank-you note for your teacher.
Write a poem or a short play.
Use a tool like Grammarly to become more aware of your writing tone.
Write a persuasive argument.
Conduct a negotiation via email.
Write 500 words with fewer than 5 grammar or spelling mistakes.
Edit someone else’s written work to help improve it.

Speaking goals for English language learners

One of the main reasons English learners lack fluency is because they know a lot of words but don’t practice speaking much. When the time comes to speak, they find it hard to articulate themselves because they are not used to talking out loud and recalling words at a fast pace.

Becoming better at speaking in English involves:

Building confidence
Expressing yourself precisely and concisely
Imitating the pronunciation, rhythm, and intonation of native speakers
Understanding how your native language affects your English pronunciation

Some achievable speaking goals for English learners include:

Practice speaking English daily with native English speakers on a language exchange platform.
Meet with non-native speakers regularly at a local meetup.
Improve pronunciation by consistently repeating phrases to increase your score in your language app.
Move on from pronouncing each word separately and develop a more natural flow.
Plan and deliver a short speech in public.
Participate in a debate.

Listening goals for English learners

Improving your listening skills in English involves better comprehension of:

Different accents (native and non-native)
Idiomatic expressions
Contextual cues
Connected speech
Casual vs formal English

Some English study goals for listening could be:

Do a certain number of listening exercises each day.
Focus on understanding the overall message even if you don’t recognize every individual word.
Spend one hour a day listening to English podcasts or lessons.

As you put all these strategies into place in a measurable and attainable way, you’ll find that you can confidently use the language in a broader range of settings.

using technology to achieve english learning goals

Achieve your English learning goals faster with the right technology

Whether you’re a beginner or an advanced learner, the right technology can help you achieve your English learning goals faster .

Consider using one or more of the following to support you:

Language apps
Online games for learning English
Online English courses
Language exchange platforms

Specifically, take a look at the following platforms that make it easy for you to improve Your English by studying a little each day:

Quizlet : Make your own flashcards for free or access other user-generated packs with pre-built phrases on different topics.
Busuu : An online course that gives you access to a huge community where you can make friends and practice together.
Gymglish : An online course with AI-personalized lessons and lesson reminders sent via email or app notification so staying on track is easy.
Italki: Take regular classes with an English teacher and connect with a community of millions of learners where you can chat and practice for free.

All of these apps offer a free trial or limited free version, so why not try a few and see which one suits you best?

Measuring your language learning progress

As your hard work pays off, don’t forget to track how you are improving in each area.

This can be done using tests, apps, or self-assessments. By monitoring your progress, you can stay motivated, celebrate your achievements, and adjust your learning plan as needed.

Some effective ways to track your progress include:

Taking an English course online
Using a language app
Taking tests
Noting your vocabulary growth
Teacher assessments

By taking the time to measure progress in your language learning journey, you can ensure that you are on the right track and making steady progress toward your English learning goals.

Staying motivated and focused as you learn English

Many learners set New Year’s resolutions to learn a new language but they lose interest within a few months because they haven’t set proper goals or given themselves a way to feel that they are progressing well.

Whatever time of year it is, you can maintain motivation and focus beyond the first step by:

Setting SMART goals, as discussed here
Upholding a positive mindset
Asking for support from peers or teachers
Acknowledging achievements along the way

English language learners can find support from peers or teachers through online communities, mainstream classrooms, and online tutoring.

If you need some fresh motivation right now, these quotes about learning English might help.

Setting goals for English learning is essential for defining your reasons for learning, managing your schedule effectively, and ultimately being successful.

We have suggested some common English learning goals to help inspire you, but don’t just copy these; ensure that your own goals are relevant to your own reasons for learning English.

Also remember to break larger goals down into more manageable sections, and utilize digital tools to keep your learning on track.

With dedication and persistence and by consistently applying what you have learned here, you can improve your English one day at a time!

What is the biggest goal of learning English?

The biggest goal of learning English is to become fluent so you can use English for work, travel, meeting people, and more.

What is the goal for English language learners?

The goal for English language learners is to acquire linguistic and cultural knowledge, expand academic vocabulary, build confidence in speaking, listening, reading, and writing, and learn to monitor and self-correct their linguistic output.

Through these achievements, ESL students can succeed in an academic setting.

What are some good New Year’s resolutions for learning English?

The start of a new year is a great time to put new habits in place. Just like the English learning goals discussed above, New Year’s resolutions should follow the SMART format to achieve the best outcomes.

Look back on the previous year to see what you struggled with, and take measures to do things differently to make this a transformational year.

Taking regular lessons and using a language app can help keep you accountable as you study.

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7 Tips on How to Set Goals to Learn English & Achieve Them

All of my ESL students say they want to learn English as soon as possible. But many of them don’t know precisely what they want to achieve. Since learning is a lifelong process, so you must have a specific goal.

To set goals to learn English, you must identify your present and target level first. Then set some short and long goals as well as an ultimate goal to learn English. Your goals should be specific, achievable, and timed so that you can measure your success.

Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible. Tony Robbins

Suppose Razib and Russel are two ESL students, and both of them are asked the same question.

What’s your goal regarding learning English?

Razib says, “I am very much interested to learn English.”

Russel says, “I want to achieve a B2 level in the next six months.”

Do you see the difference? Razib has the desire to learn English without any specific target. On the other hand, Russel has a particular goal that mentions both level and time frame.

A clear goal gives you a purpose and helps you find the best direction. Also, when you have a goal with a deadline, it allows you to make a proper action plan.

I have seen many ESL students feel demotivated just after a few weeks because of having no specific target. As a result, they lose track of their progress and stop moving forward. However, having a goal can help you stay motivated until the deadline.

Here are some tips to help you set short- and long-term goals and achieve them.

Know About CEFR to Identify Your Current and Target Level

CEFR refers to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages . It is a guideline to describe the ability of foreign language learners, especially across Europe and increasingly in other countries.

The CEFR describes language proficiency in six levels—A1, A2, B1, B2, C1, and C2. We can regroup them into three broad classes: Basic User (A1, A2), Independent User (B1, B2), and Proficient User (C1, C2).

Here I present how one can identify their level depending on the language competence determined by CEFR.

Now, from the table, you can easily find out your current level of English. Once you know where you are, find where you want to go. Set your ultimate goal.

Set Yourself Realistic Short and Long-term Goals

Yes! It’s crucial to set goals if you want to learn English. Most ESL students certainly would agree that goals are essential, yet they sometimes fail to set them. Sometimes their goal becomes unrealistic, and as a result, they fail and get frustrated.

Suppose your level of English is A1, and you want to achieve a level of C1 in a few weeks. In that case, it is unrealistic unless you are an extraordinary genius with a photographic memory.

However, while setting goals, you can ask yourself the following questions, and based on the answers, you can select your goals.

What English proficiency level do you want to achieve?
How long can you give the effort to achieve that?
Can you give your best to achieve it?
Is it too much for you to achieve?
Can you keep track of your progress?

No one knows you better than yourself. Depending on the answers, you can now establish realistic long and short-term goals. Remember! Good goals are SMART:

Here are some examples of Long-term and short-term goals. You are advised to set your long-term goals based on your requirements. Then, once you are sure about that, you can split them into short-term goals.

Make a Study Plan Based on Your Goals

Once you have determined your goals, it’s time to make a study plan. Now you know what to achieve and when to achieve it. You can make a daily routine depending on your weekly and monthly targets. Be very specific about your targets and do your best to achieve them.

I have written numerous blogs on this site, where you can find hundreds of activities to improve your English.

However, if you are a beginner, you may also check English for Everyone: Beginner Box Set – Level 1 & 2 (Amazon Link) to practice at home. This illustrated version is really helpful for beginners who believe in self-learning. Also, if you are an intermediate or advanced ESL learner, you can find your version here (Amazon link)

Find your best suitable ways of learning and do your planning in your comfort. Don’t take too much stress.

Here is a sample of the planning. Remember! This is not ideal for everyone, as the strategy may vary depending on the learner’s target and time frame. So, make your own and go forward with that.

As you can see in the sample study plan above, there are some specific monthly, weekly, and daily targets. Look at the digits. When you have numbers in mind, it proves that you are very specific about your targets.

Set your monthly targets based on your ultimate or long-term goals. And set weekly and daily targets based on short-term goals. You should keep your goals written somewhere, in a journal or on a whiteboard that is hung on your room’s wall.

You may also use The Work-Smart Academic Planner: Write It Down, Get It Done (Amazon link) to keep them in a well-organized format.

Suppose you have taken a mission to reach a certain level of English in 6 months. As you already know, your target, split your total time into 6 months. Then, divide every month into 4 weeks and every week into 7 days.

So you have six months/24 weeks/180 days to achieve your goal. Now determine your short-term goals to contribute to the long-term goals.

You must keep track of your monthly targets. Find a suitable way to assess your monthly achievement. If all the monthly targets, or at least 80% of them, are achieved, you are on the right track. Keep going on. Whenever you look at your achievements, you will feel motivated to move on.

Think twice if you cannot achieve 80% of the monthly targets. Are your goals SMART? Are they realistic? Rethink yourself and find the right path and make realistic targets. Don’t stress yourself. Take your time and keep faith in the saying, “Slow and steady wins the race.”

Make a Daily Routine: From Waking Up to Going to Bed

You can either make a routine for 24 hours or only the hours of study. However, I always recommend my students make learning English a lifestyle. Thus I suggest making a 24 hours plan while making a daily routine. Here is a sample of my recommended daily routine for MONDAY.

Of course, depending on your availability and needs, you can make your one. Like the MONDAY routine, you can make the daily routine for other days of the week with variations in your activities.

Breakfast – at 7:30 AM
Study English at home – at 8:00 AM
Listen to English Audiobooks on the car ride to work – at 9:00 AM
Begin work at the office – at 10:00 AM
Leave office – at 6:00 PM
Listen to English songs on the car ride home – at 6:00 PM
Take a rest – at 7:00 PM
Study English at home – at 7:30 PM
Dinner – at 9:00 PM
Watch English Movies – at 9:30 PM
Go to bed – at 11:30 PM

Remember! This is not an ideal routine for everyone. Therefore, your MONDAY routine can be different. Also, your MONDAY may vary from TUESDAY.

So make your own routine. You will find several activities to improve your English if you regularly visit my blog. Incorporate them into your daily, weekly, and monthly plans.

Plan, Execute, Repeat, and Achieve

Once your plan is set, you must go for execution with utmost determination. A plan is nothing at all until it is executed. There are more people to plan, but only a few can execute their plans properly.

We all know that practice makes things perfect. As language learning is a process, you should plan, execute and repeat the same.

For example, if you plan that this week I will learn 50 new words and can successfully do it, should you stop there? Will you not continue the process? You should repeat the same endeavor and memorize 50 words every week. If you can follow these three steps—plan, execute and repeat, only then you can expect achievements.

Reward Yourself for Achieving Short-term Goals

Self-motivation in self-learning is essential as it is the only force that can drive you to do things and achieve your goal. Learning English or any skill can be frustrating if you only look at your mistakes rather than what you have done right.

To keep yourself motivated, you must focus more on your accomplishments rather than your failure. Rewarding yourself for achieving short-term goals can surely motivate you to move forward toward your ultimate goals—the long-term goals.

Suppose you had a short-term goal, like reading an English novel this week. Once you are done with it, don’t you deserve a reward? YES, you do. What can you gift yourself?

Since you have improved your English with your hard work, you can reward yourself with something that can take you closer to your ultimate goal.

Here are some ideas for rewarding yourself for achieving short-term goals. Of course, you can think of your reward except for the following ideas.

Watch an English movie at a cinema hall
Buy some English novels for you
Buy a special notebook on which you would love to write in English
Have a special meal at home or outside etc.

Keep Track of Your Short-term Goals

Keeping track of what short-term goals you have achieved and are yet to achieve next is very important for achieving the ultimate goals. I recommend making yourself accountable, so you don’t lose track.

Whatever goals you have set, you can share them with your close friends or family members so that you have someone to remind you about your plans.

But remember! You should not depend on anyone else rather than yourself. They can only help you but cannot do things on your behalf. You have to fight your own battle.

You can ask for help from your friends and family to help you keep track of your progress. Once you have completed any short-term goals, you can share your achievements with them. Their smiling face and happiness can motivate you more.

Besides, you can track your progress by yourself in different ways. Here are some ways you can follow.

Keep a notebook to keep track of your daily English learning activities, or hang a whiteboard to do the same.
Make a weekly checklist that shows what you have accomplished and what to accomplish.
Use habit tracker apps like “Way of Life” to track your daily activities.

Check all the practice sheets at the end of the week, and track your progress.

In Conclusion

Learning English requires accomplishing many small steps and finally reaching the ultimate goal. Only a specific purpose can help you do the right things in a planned manner. You should fix your aim and act accordingly.

However, I must tell you one thing: there are no absolutely perfect goals. Even there are no “right” or “wrong” goals. The goal that is right for you may appear wrong for others. Not everyone is with the same ability and passion.

The only thing is that you should try your best and believe in your goals. You must see yourself at the end of your success while setting your goals.

I hope if you can set your goals to learn English following the above tips, you will certainly discover a different you within a very short time.

Thanks for reading.

Happy learning! Good luck.

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Niaj A A Khan

Niaj A A Khan is an ESL Instructor with over 8 years of experience in teaching & developing resources at different universities and institutes. Mr. Khan is also a passionate writer working on his first book, "Learn English at Ease."

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Writing a Paper: Revising for Writing Goals

Revising for goals.

Revising to achieve your writing goals starts with planning and reflection. You may have received feedback that, for example, your paragraph lacks a consistent focus and organization or your citations do not meet APA standards. Knowing where or how to start advancing your writing skills can be challenging. To help organize your efforts, we recommend setting a writing goal and using a writing goal journal to keep track of steps taken toward that goal.

Additional Strategies for Revising for Your Writing Goals

Review your previous work and identify any feedback that addresses your goal or a writing skill you want to develop.
Use the information on the Revising Based on Feedback web page or How to Apply Feedback After Your Appointment web page for help interpreting and applying instructor feedback to your writing goals.
Break your writing goal down into manageable steps. Start small and consider steps that build on one another. For example, if your aim to master APA format, start with citations. Then move to references before tackling more nuanced features of APA style, like headings or abbreviations.
Create a specific writing goal for each project you work on. This approach gives you time to focus on a specific skill and apply its application immediately as opposed to trying to achieve all of your writing aspirations in one project.
Set a deadline for each step in your writing goal plan. Remember to keep it reasonable and allow room for adjustments.
Set up a follow up Writing Center paper review appointment or establish a series of appointments to have your revisions toward your writing goal reviewed.
Create a guide of related resources (e.g., webpages, webinars, blog posts, podcasts) on your writing goal for future reference. Consider bookmarking these resources in your web browser for easy access.
Writing Goal Journal
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