Next Steps
Vivibelle
MYWritingSMARTGoals.edited.docxRunning head: SMART GOALS 1
SMART GOALS 2
Writing MY SMART Goals
Student’s Name
Institution
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Writing MY SMART Goals
Throughout this writing course, there are many things that I have learned about my writing skills. There are many mistakes that I have never recognized before the course that I can now point out and correct easily. However, this is still a learning experience for me, and I hope to get even better at writing in the future. The following are the goals I plan to achieve, the barriers that might hinder me from achieving the goals, and my plan for overcoming these barriers.
The following are the goals that I hope to achieve;
· I will improve my general writing skills through the use of feedback from my instructors and colleagues to correct any mistakes that I might have made to achieve less than 1% error rate in my work by the end of the year.
· I will improve the use of formal tone by reading more academic and formal writing to ensure that there is zero use of biased language contractions, personal pronouns, rhetorical questions, and slang within the next three months.
· I will overcome my writers’ block problem through constant practice so that I can be able to write at least two good formal papers in a week within the next six months.
The goals presented above will help me to improve my scholarly writing significantly within the next one year. The first goal will enable me to improve on my grammatical mistakes and any other issues that prevent me from attaining a 100% lack of error in my work. The second goal will help me to develop scholarly work that is suitable for the formal setting. Lastly, overcoming writers' block will enable me to be more consistent in writing quality work. Writing is a process and not an automatic event; hence, it can take time to get used to the skill (Zamarripa, 2015; Walden Writing Center, 2015). However, I am willing to work hard to make it easier.
Possible Barriers to Achieving the Goals
One barrier that would stop me from achieving the goals set above is the lack of time to practice my writing. I currently have a busy schedule having to balance between work and education. I also have to set aside some time for recreation to stay active. Therefore, it can be hard to set aside enough time to get to practice the actions that will help me to achieve my goals. Additionally, I think that I lack the right environment to practice and study more about writing so that I can improve my scholarly writing skills. While at home I am easily distracted by my family, and at work, I am distracted by my colleagues. I only have a little time in my day that I can visit a library or a quiet place to get to focus solely on my writing. However, these are barriers that I can find solutions to.
Plans to Deal with the Barriers
To solve the barriers mentioned above, I will have to get the help of the people around me including my family, friends, and colleagues. I will explain my goals to them and why it is important for me to achieve them. If they understand my goals, then they will be able to understand when I have to change the plans we may have to focus on practicing my writing. I will also work hard to change my schedule to allocate at least three hours every week to my writing practice. Once these barriers have been dealt with, then I can easily work on the weaknesses that still hold me back from being the best writer that I can be.
References
Walden University Writing Center. (2015b). Common writing terms: Overview. Retrieved from http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/terms/home
Zamarripa, E. (2015). What Are You Writing For? How Your Academic Writing Skills Transfer into the Workplace. Walden writing center. Retrieved 28 November 2017, from http://waldenwritingcenter.blogspot.com/2015/07/what-are- you-writing- for-how-your.html
