The most appropriate way to present learning objectives is in the form of lists. When writing lists, bear in mind the following points.

• Write a clear heading and/or a short introductory phrase.
• Ensure that every item on the list is grammatically connected to the heading or the introductory phrase.
• Give every item on the list the same grammatical structure (see Parallelism). Different lists may have different grammatical structures.
• Be consistent with punctuation. If the phrase introducing the list is a complete sentence, close it with a colon and then give each item on the list sentence-style punctuation (initial capital letter and final full stop). If the phrase introducing the list is a sentence fragment, do not close it with a colon, lowercase the first letter of each item and finish each item with a comma or semicolon (except the last, which you should finish with a full stop).

Learning objectives are short statements that specify the learning that students should acquire during a particular subject. Because the focus is on the students, the statements should be phrased from their point of view. Generally speaking, you should express learning objectives in one of two ways: the heading “Learning objectives” followed by a bulleted list of bare infinitive phrases; or the heading “Learning objectives” and an introductory phrase (in the future tense) followed by a bulleted list of verb phrases.





Note that both lists are parallel: every item has the same grammatical structure. In the first case, the bare infinitives link back to the heading; in the second case, they link back to the introductory phrase. Note also that the introductory phrase makes the second list more explicitly student-centred.

Finally, when writing lists of learning objectives and learning outcomes (see below), it is important to use the infinitives of dynamic verbs (like explain, define, identify, analyse and recognize), which specify what students can do, rather than stative verbs (like know, be and have), which describe states. Note that the latter cannot be used with can or be able to, and are not readily measurable.

For more useful verbs for expressing learning objectives, see Appendix IV: Verbs expressing objectives and outcomes in course guides.