An introduction to writing effective learning outcomes

Learning outcomes describe what students should be able to do by the end of a teaching session or course. They are related to, but different from, teaching aims, which instead describe broadly what the session or course is about and its overall purpose.

Writing learning outcomes can help you to plan your teaching, for example, by prioritising key learning points for the session or course and enabling you to plan your teaching across a session or course. You may also want to share learning outcomes with your students to help them to understand what they are meant to be learning.

Core principles of learning outcomes

Learning outcomes should:

  • Avoid jargon.
  • Use action verbs to describe what it is that students should be able to do during and/or at the end of a session or course. One way to ensure this is by completing the sentence: ‘By the end of the session students will be able to …’ (see the ‘Learning outcome verbs’ table later in this guide).
  • Not be too numerous. This helps to avoid writing a list of ‘content to be covered’ and will also help you prioritise what students need to do.
  • Be specific.

Examples of learning outcomes

All learning outcomes should include an action verb to describe what students should be able to do at the end of the session or course to demonstrate their learning. Two examples are provided below:

‘Describe qualitatively the relationships between risk factors and acute respiratory infections using data from published sources.’

‘Analyse the use of language and symbolism in Middle English poetry by close reading extracts of verse.’

Learning outcome verbs

This table lists some examples of action verbs which you may find helpful when writing learning outcomes for your session or course:

To enable students to
demonstrate their…

Examples of associated learning outcome verbs

Knowledge and understanding
outcomes written to enable students
to demonstrate knowledge/
understanding/awareness/
intellectual curiosity

state

record

identify

clarify

describe

recognise

make distinctions

list

recount

discuss

recognise

respond to

disclose

define

name

indicate

explain

account

outline

refer to

illustrate

Application
outcomes written to enable students
to demonstrate they can apply their
knowledge

apply

compute

calculate

demonstrate

discover

manipulate

modify

perform

predict

prepare

produce

relate

show

solve

use

Analysis
outcomes written to enable students
to demonstrate the skill of analysis

analyse

compare

criticise

examine

appraise

debate

contrast

question

distinguish

Synthesis/creativity
outcomes written to enable students
to demonstrate the skill of synthesis/
creativity

arrange

plan

formulate

redefine

initiate

assemble

prepare

construct

propose

start

organise

design

develop

produce

create

Evaluation
outcomes written to enable students
to demonstrate the skill of evaluation

evaluate

estimate

measure

recommend

assess

criticise

compare

advocate

judge

appraise

discriminate

defend

 

When writing learning outcomes, avoid using words that are vague and which are more difficult to assess. This includes words and phrases such as:

  • know
  • understand
  • believe
  • learn the basics of
  • be aware of
  • appreciate
  • have a good grasp of
  • be interested in
  • be familiar with
  • realise the significance
  • become acquainted with
  • obtain a working knowledge of

 


 

Oxford Teaching Ideas © 2024 by Centre for Teaching and Learning, University of Oxford are licensed under Creative Commons Licence Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International .

We encourage you to adapt and build upon the material in any medium or format to suit your individual teaching purposes (for non-commercial purposes only). If distributing your adapted material, we ask that you credit the Centre for Teaching and Learning.

 

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