Being too broad The goals of the lesson or course can be broad, but the objectives should be specific. Examples: ✗ “The students will learn useful survival skills in wilderness.” ✓ “By the end of this course, the students should be able to construct a working shelter out of natural (found) materials, identify edible plants from poisonous plants, produce flame using natural (found) materials, and perform first-aid procedures for varying levels of emergencies.” Omitting a time-frame Give your students fair warning of when they’re expected to complete tasks that demonstrate various levels of understanding. Examples: ✗ “Students will learn to play chord structures.” ✓ “By the end of this lesson, students are to be able to identify and utilize chord structures and their relation to distinct styles of music (classical, jazz, blues, rag, hop, boogie).” Omitting criteria Don’t forget to mention how well a student must perform a task that displays their understanding of the given subject(s). Examples: ✗ “Students should understand the scientific method.” ✓ “By the end of this lesson, students must be able to correctly distinguish between a hypothesis, a theory, and a law verbally and in conducting various experiments.” Using an assignments as objectives Instead of being objectives themselves, assignments are used to measure a student’s success with each objective. Examples: ✗ “Students will be able to write a 20-page paper.” ✓ “Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to construct a working, intriguing thesis statement with a clear and persuasive claim.” Having unreasonable expectations Make sure your expectations are realistic (not too easy and not too challenging depending on the level of the course). Examples: ✗ “By the end of this course, students should have read an intermediate-level book in Japanese.” ✓ “By the end of this semester, students are expected to be able to: 1) Discuss everyday life (hobbies, plans); 2) Order food at restaurants ; 3) Write about your experiences and daily routine; and 4) Give an presentation (in English) on a Japanese-speaking culture of your choice.”