End every feedback cycle with a co-written goal

Goal-setting theory has one of the most replicated findings in applied psychology: specific, challenging goals outperform vague do-your-best ones (Locke & Latham, 2002), and goal-setting interventions raise academic performance specifically (Morisano et al., 2010). Feedback without a next goal decays into commentary; the goal is what carries it into the next piece of work. (Manning's goal-setting-protocol-designer skill structures this conversation.)

In practice

• The last line of acted-on feedback is the student's, not yours: "Next piece, I will..." in their handwriting, derived from your one thing to fix.
• Hold the bar: specific and checkable ("quote before I explain, every paragraph"), not virtuous ("try harder on essays"). Convert it to an if-then where it fits (see "Turn intentions into if-then plans").
• Open the next feedback cycle by checking the old goal first. That single habit tells students the goals are real.