Structure your objectives around the six main traits of writing: ideas and content, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency and mechanics. "Ideas and content" refers to the message and support of the writing. "Organization" considers the manner in which the entire essay is ordered as well as the individual paragraphs within the essay. "Voice" measures the extent to which the writer appropriately engages his audience. "Word choice" examines the vocabulary utilized and whether it is level and topic appropriate. "Sentence fluency" looks at the structures of individual sentences as well as how sentences flow together. "Mechanics" look at the details such as punctuation, spelling and grammar.
Determine the goal you want to set for your students in each of the six categories. What would be considered advanced, proficient, partially proficient and unsatisfactory writing for the assignment and grade level you are instructing? It may be helpful to write your own essay to the assigned prompt to help you determine these characteristics.
Create a rubric that lays out your expectations for each category. You may find it useful to start with a basic six-trait rubric using the traits described in Step 1, and tailor it to meet your expectations and to fit the specific assignment.
Instruct your students to create a specific goal for their writing in one of the six traits. Encourage them to create goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented and time-bound (otherwise known as SMART goals). For example, the goal: "I will write better" cannot be specifically measured. Changing the goal to: "I will raise my average writing grade by 10 percent" is a more specific and measurable goal.
Measure the students' progress toward meeting their goals as the semester progresses. When a student attains his goal, encourage him to write another goal and work toward meeting that goal as well.