Avoid Vague Resolutions: Help Students Commit to Reflection, Revision, and Smart Goals DOWNLOAD PDF

Introduction

While my Spring semester of Lawyering Skills primarily focuses on transitioning from predictive to persuasive analysis, my first unit of the year is entitled “Reflection and Revision.” I take advantage of the fact that we have just “celebrated” the New Year’s holiday,[1] when many students are already reflecting and making resolutions. First, I ask students to reflect on their progress thus far in the course, as well as in law school. Then, I ask students what they will commit to approaching differently, based on what they have learned in their journey. Finally, to head off unattainable resolutions, I introduce students to “SMART goals.”[2]

I believe in formal reflection practices. I use them throughout the academic year, especially as we transition from one unit to another. The reflection questions vary depending on what I want students to consider. Often, I ask students to consider the impact of what they are learning on their ultimate professional goals, as a means of connecting to their professional-identity formation. Invariably, I ask students to see the connection between the unit we are leaving and the new unit we are transitioning to. Likewise, I want students to see the connection between their work in the Fall and Spring semesters.

In this article, I share why the opportunity for reflection and revision at the start of the Spring semester is important and what I do inside and outside of class to guide students through the process.

1.    First class of Spring semester

I begin the class by congratulating students on their accomplishment. Given what it took for them to be admitted to law school, completing one semester of 1L year is an accomplishment, and it is a self-care opportunity to reflect on that achievement. We talk about the few people who get this opportunity to study law. I tell students that our admissions process is rigorous, and we only admit people who have shown us they can be successful, imposter syndrome be damned. And in most years, students just received Fall grades three to four days prior to my first Spring class and may still be reeling from sticker shock, so congratulating students helps to put them at ease. But most have had little time to reflect on how their accomplishment and their grades fit into the bigger picture of *their *goals for law school, so we transition to a time of formal reflection.[3]

2. In class: Reflect and revise

The prep work: To provide context on why reflection can be helpful in transitioning between the Fall and Spring semesters, I assign an article to read before class. In the article, “Lessons From My 1L Year,”[4] the author reflects on some of her disappointments from her Fall 1L semester and talks about her process of thinking about how to change her approach in the Spring semester. While the author does talk about doing more practice tests, she also talks about finding more balance in her life, using office hours, and investing in relationships outside of law school. I tell students that the goal is not for them to adopt the author’s practices, but to spend time reflecting on what worked and what did not work, why, and how to measure success.

To provide context for learning from reflection, I also assign a TED Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth on “grit.”[5] I begin by telling students there has been a lot of chatter over the years about “grit,”[6] and I am the first to recognize the flaws in the idea that you can turn anything around solely by persevering. There are some things in our lives, like “the grading curve,” that will not change or get better by grit. Rather, I emphasize Duckworth’s theme of the power of being passionate about what you are doing and being willing to persevere in the face of initial failure. We then discuss Carol Dweck’s work on growth mindset[7] and my interpretation, the power of “yet.” That is, the things you struggled with in the Fall semester are not things for which you have no talent but instead things you have not become competent in, yet. You are still growing in that area as long as you do not give up.

Effective reflection requires focus and decluttering the mind, so we begin with a suggestion to “Breathe” and “Be Present.” Because I think it helps students to focus, I ask them to take out something they can write with manually, as opposed to just typing on their computers. Then, I post a PowerPoint slide with the following reflection prompts, one at a time. I give students about three minutes to answer each question.

• Why did you come to law school? Has the reason changed?
• How do you measure success? How will you know you have been successful in your legal education?
• What are three things that went well for you in Fall [year]? (Inside or outside law school)
• What are three things that did not go as expected for you in Fall [year]? (Inside or outside law school)
• What are three things you will do differently in Spring [year]? What will you do to hold yourself accountable for these commitments? (e.g., partnering with another, rewarding yourself, telling someone else about your commitment, putting it in your schedule, etc.)

I do not collect students’ written responses because those reflections are for the students. Instead, we talk about how important it is to remember why we came to law school and how personal that decision is. Then we discuss how for most, the goal driving the decision to come to law school is still attainable despite the B+ or A- instead of the A+. We also discuss how a growth mindset acknowledges the challenges and considers how to adjust, not quit. I open the discussion for anyone who wants to share. Often when students share what did not work, someone else says they can relate and are glad to know they are not alone in the struggle.

Finally, I introduce the concept of SMART goals.[8] There is evidence that many people do not achieve their goals, not because those people are incapable but because the goals, as formed, are unachievable.[9]

SMART goals are first Specific:

• What do you want to accomplish?
• Who needs to be included?
• When do you want to do this?
• Why is this a goal?

Second, they are Measurable:

• How can you measure progress and know that you have achieved your goal?

Third, they are Achievable:

• Do you have the skills required to achieve the goal? If not, can you obtain them?
• What is the motivation for achieving the goal?
• Is the amount of effort required on par with what the goal will achieve?

Fourth, the goals are Relevant:

• Why am I setting the goal now? Is it aligned with my overall objective?

Finally, SMART goals are Time-Bound:

• What’s the deadline, and is it realistic?

For example, instead of saying, “I will spend more time with my family,” a SMART goal might be the following: “I will call my sister every Sunday morning because my sister is my best friend and she is not only encouraging but reminds me about why I decided to become a lawyer without any pressure. To keep me accountable, I will put the call on my calendar and tell my sister my plan.” Or instead of saying, “I will outline earlier in the Spring semester,” a SMART goal might be, “I will outline as I finish each section in torts and go to office hours to discuss the section with my professor.”

After defining and providing examples of SMART goals, I offer students SMART goals I have made for Spring, e.g., my own professional writing, grading assessments, spending time with parents. I tell them why I have made the change, i.e., how it puts me on the road to a long-term goal. I tell them my plan for accountability and invite them to keep me accountable. I also give them an opportunity to revise their previously described changes for the Spring semester to convert them into SMART goals.

3 Outside of class: Reflect and revise assignment

There are few things more frustrating than having students work through the Fall semester in predictive writing and then, in trying to “make a fresh start,” ignore the connection between what they learned in Fall and what they are learning in Spring. To make the connection more tangible, students’ first out-of-class assignment for the Spring semester is to review, reflect, and revise part of their final Fall memo. The assignment works even if I did not have the same students in the Fall semester because the goal is for them to reflect on their memo, regardless of the subject matter or professor. And if they are new students, their reflections give me insight on their skills and their process.

First, I communicate the goals of the assignment:

“Student-Lawyers:

The skills you learned and applied in Lawyering Skills I, particularly your Final Inter-Office Memo, are foundational to all effective legal analysis. Before you move forward and add to your toolbox in Lawyering Skills II, it is helpful to reflect on what you learned, what you are still working on, and how you can continue to be an effective legal communicator. Complete the following steps and upload this document with responses to Canvas by [last week of January].”

Then I explain the assignment itself:

1.      Schedule an appointment to review this Reflection and Revision exercise with your RF[10] during the week of [second week of classes].

2.      Before the appointment, review your final Inter-Office Memo with fresh eyes, ignoring the feedback. You will be surprised at what you see.

3.      Now, review the Memo with the feedback. Consider how well you did in executing the goals of the Memo.

4.      Respond to the following questions in writing. Email your responses to your RF no less than 24 hours before your meeting. Discuss your responses during your meeting.

• What three things were you most proud of that you accomplished in your Memo?
• What are three skills that could use further focus?
• Are there comments or suggestions made by the professor that require clarification for you to apply those suggestions moving forward?

5.      After your meeting with your RF, choose one section of your memo to revise (three to five pages of the Discussion section). Use the grading rubric and the list of assignment goals described below as a guide. Submit the revised section and your responses to the questions on Canvas by [last week of January]. Track changes on the submission so it is clear what changes you made.

Memo assignment goals

a.       Clear and effective organization:

-Large scale: Logical division of issue, Intro paragraphs that gave the reader a helpful overview to your analysis, Transitions between paragraphs that signaled relationship;

-Small scale: Clear organization of each sub-issue, i.e., IREAC and appropriate transitions;

b.      Accurate, complete, precise, synthesized rule statements that helped the reader understand the legal standard that was likely to be applied and how it would be applied;

c.       Application of the authority (precedent) to the facts to predict the likely outcome:

-Clear, concise application of the precedent sufficient for the reader to understand why the court held as it did;

-Presentation of the arguments both parties are likely to make;

-Clear and complete presentation of how the facts and precedent could both be used by both parties to support their arguments;

d.      Credibility of analysis:

-Sufficient citations in proper format;

-Document-formatting requirements followed;

-Edited for clarity, concision, and typos.

I have experienced the following positive effects since implementing the assignment. First, students come to me earlier in the Spring semester for individual meetings and office hours. Most of the time we discuss their memo; other times, we discuss how they can get back on track despite being discouraged about their Fall-semester performance. Second, there are fewer students hiding their challenges in embarrassment. My final assignment in Fall is anonymously graded and even when, in the past, I asked students (in comments) to come to talk to me, some students still hid. Making the Fall-memo reflection and revision an assignment for all normalizes the reflection-and-revision process—making it a growth opportunity. Third, students start to see more clearly the connection between what we did in Fall and what we will focus on in Spring because of the formal time for reflection; there is not such a “hard stop” between the two semesters.

Conclusion

Overall, I am hoping that students see the benefit of dedicating time to reflection. They are entering a profession wherein they will experience many challenges as well as opportunities, often at a fast pace. Reflection is effective for growth, if practiced regularly. Ditch the New Year’s resolutions; rather, teach students to commit to reflection, revision, and SMART goals.

[1] As with any other holiday or tradition I discuss in class, I do not assume every student celebrates January 1 with the same traditions, so I give context to my discussion by explaining the custom in the U.S. and many other places. Sometimes, I discuss research that notes the practice goes back to 2000 BC when Babylonians celebrated the new year with a 12-day festival, which included resolutions to their gods to pay their debts and return their neighbors’ agricultural equipment. Rachel Treisman, Why Do We Make New Year’s Resolutions? A Brief History of a Long Tradition, Nat’l Pub. Radio (Dec. 31, 2025), https://www.npr.org/2025/12/31/nx-s1-5649767/new-years-resolutions-history.

[2] SMART goals are a method of making more attainable goals. The acronym SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound goals. *See Creating Effective SMART Goals Examples for Students, *Graduate Programs for Educators Blog, https://www.graduateprogram.org/blog/creating-effective-smart-goals-examples-for-students/ (last visited Mar. 26, 2026).

[3] Jasmine Plott, Looking Forward by Looking Back: Reflection in Legal Education, RIPS L. Libr. Blog (Nov. 25, 2025), https://ripslawlibrarian.wordpress.com/2025/11/25/looking-forward-by-looking-back-reflection-in-legal-education/ (offering suggestions for incorporating student reflections and professor reflection); Camesha Little, Think, Reflect, Refine: Shaping the Modern Lawyer, 28 UDC L. Rev. 1, 18-27 (2025) (advocating for use of reflective practices in law-school doctrinal courses to foster more emotionally intelligent and inclusive lawyers); Timothy Casey, Reflective Practice in Legal Education: The Stages of Reflection, 20 Clinical L. Rev. 317, 331-48 (2014) (presenting six cognitive stages of reflective practice).

[4] Cara Defilippis, Lessons From My 1L Year, Law Sch. Toolbox (June 5, 2012), https://lawschooltoolbox.com/lessons-from-my-1l-year-intro/.

[5]Angela Lee Duckworth, Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance, TED Talks Educ. (Apr. 2013), https://www.ted.com/talks/angela_lee_duckworth_grit_the_power_of_passion_and_perseverance.

[6] Grit, Psych. Today, https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/basics/grit?msockid=227e4c8d5def6cd009955efe5cac6d31 (last visited Mar. 17, 2026).

[7] Carol Dweck: A Summary of Growth and Fixed Mindsets, FarnAm St. Blog, https://fs.blog/carol-dweck-mindset/ (last visited Mar. 17, 2026) (“Growth mindset,” a term coined by Stanford Psychologist Dr. Carol Dweck, is a belief that intelligence and abilities can be learned through perseverance and are not fixed at birth. A particularly important part of the theory is that failures are opportunities to learn and should be embraced.)

[8] *See supra *note 2.

[9] Many studies show that people do not keep New Year’s resolutions but often not for lack of will or good intent. Psychologists opine that the reason 90% of resolutions are not kept varies, but often the failure is the result of making resolutions that are too big or vague, not considering why a particular change is important, and failing to recognize that change becomes a habit by sticking with small steps rather than making drastic changes all at once. Cynthia Vinney, PhD, The Psychology Behind Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail, Verywell Mind (updated Feb. 25, 2026), https://www.verywellmind.com/why-new-years-resolutions-fail-6823972.

[10] At UC Irvine, we recruit 2L and 3L students to assist professors as “Research Fellows” (RFs). The RFs do not grade student work, but they hold office hours to help students as they progress through their assignments. The RFs also act as “partners” for the student law-firm groups created each semester. Students are assigned to law-firm groups of four to five students and do most of their group work in class with those colleagues.