| Course | NS420 Nutritional Counseling |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 6 |
| Paper type | Goal-setting worksheet |
| Length | About 630 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Nutrition Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NS420 Unit 6
From Vending-Machine Crackers to a Checkable Week: A Unit 6 Goal-Setting Worksheet for a Band Director in Marching Season
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NS420: Nutritional Counseling
Unit 6 Goal-Setting Worksheet
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The client, his words and his schedule are composite; the goal-setting review, the implementation intentions review and the self-efficacy article cited are real.
The Client's Words
"I want to stop living on vending-machine crackers during marching season."
Client: Gary, 41, high school band director. Marching season runs August through early November. Practice is 3:15 to 6:00 on weekdays, with Friday football games until 10:30. He eats lunch between classes, if at all, and buys peanut butter crackers and a soda from the faculty lounge machine around 2:30 and again on Friday nights.
What Matters to Him
Gary said he feels shaky and short-tempered by the end of practice and does not like snapping at students. He said, "I'm teaching them discipline and I can't get myself a real lunch." His importance rating was 8 of 10.
Long-Term Goal
By the end of marching season, Gary eats a planned meal or snack before every practice instead of vending-machine crackers.
Note: The long-term goal keeps his own image, the crackers, so he can recognize it as his.
Short-Term Goals for the Next Two Weeks
Goal 1. On Monday through Thursday, Gary will eat a packed snack from home between 2:30 and 3:00, before practice. He will pack it the night before.
If-then plan: If it is 2:30 and I am in my office, then I eat the snack from my bag before I go near the lounge.
Confidence: 7 of 10.
Goal 2. On Sundays, Gary will buy or prepare four snacks for the week, such as a turkey wrap, yogurt and granola, cheese and an apple, or hummus with pretzels.
Confidence: 6 of 10.
Goal 3. On Friday game nights, Gary will bring one sandwich in the instrument truck so he does not rely on the lounge machine.
Confidence: 5 of 10.
Each goal names a day, a time and a specific action, so at the end of a week Gary can say yes or no to whether he did it rather than wondering whether he ate better.
Decades of goal research find that a precise, demanding target beats a loose intention to try harder (Locke & Latham, 2002). The if-then plan in Goal 1 uses an implementation intention, linking a situation to an action so that the action happens with less deliberate effort (Gollwitzer, 1999).
Barriers and Plans
Barrier: forgetting to pack the snack. Plan: set out the bag next to his car keys each night.
Barrier: students coming to his office at 2:30. Plan: eat the snack during his planning period at 1:45 if needed.
Barrier: the Friday sandwich getting crushed in the truck. Plan: use a hard container kept in the truck all season.
Weekly Check
Gary will mark each day on a small card in his music folder. Each goal gets a yes or no every day.
1. Week 1, Goal 1: four days possible.
2. Week 1, Goal 2: one Sunday possible.
3. Week 1, Goal 3: one Friday possible.
4. Week 2: the same three goals.
At the next session, he and the counselor will look at the card together. If a goal was met on fewer than half its days, they will change the goal, not judge Gary.
Why Confidence Was Rated
Goal 3 has the lowest confidence, 5 of 10. The counselor asked what would raise it to 6, and Gary said having the container already in the truck would help. Confidence predicts whether people try and keep trying (Bandura, 1977), so low-confidence goals are adjusted before the week begins rather than after a failure.
References
Bandura, A. (1977). Self-efficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavioral change. Psychological Review, 84(2), 191-215. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-295X.84.2.191
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493-503. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.54.7.493
Locke, E. A., & Latham, G. P. (2002). Building a practically useful theory of goal setting and task motivation: A 35-year odyssey. American Psychologist, 57(9), 705-717. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.57.9.705
Reading the NS 420 Unit 6 instructions
In Unit 6, NS420 asks students to complete a goal-setting worksheet with a client, turning a broad wish into specific short-term goals. The prompt may name the SMART format or the course text's own criteria. Start with the client's words exactly as spoken, then narrow them step by step. Write a long-term goal the client recognizes as his own. Set a small number of short-term goals, each with a day, time and observable action. Add an if-then plan for at least one goal. List likely barriers with a plan for each. Ask the client to rate confidence for every goal and adjust any rated low before the week begins. Include a simple way to track progress. Keep the client's language throughout. Most worksheets run two to three pages, with lists welcome.
How this NS420 Unit 6 example is built
The sample places Gary's quotation first, followed by his schedule from August to November and the times he visits the vending machine. A short section records what matters to him, including not wanting to snap at students. The long-term goal keeps his image of the crackers. Three short-term goals follow, each with a time window and a confidence rating, and the first carries an if-then plan tied to 2:30 in his office. The highlighted sentence states the test each goal passes: yes or no at week's end. Two sources support specificity and if-then planning. A barriers section pairs each obstacle with a fix. A weekly check uses a card in his music folder. The final section shows how a confidence rating of five led to a change in the plan.
NS420 Unit 6 rubric: what earns full points
Goal-setting worksheets are usually assessed on how specific and measurable the goals are, how clearly they come from the client and how well barriers and tracking are planned. Most of the points tend to sit with the goals themselves, judged on whether each names an action, a time and a way to check it. Credit goes to keeping the client's words at the top and the client's choices throughout. If-then plans and confidence ratings show applied understanding of behavior change research. Barrier plans should be practical and specific to the client's life. A tracking method the client will actually use earns points. Instructors notice whether low-confidence goals were adjusted. APA 7 citations to goal-setting sources complete the rubric.
NS420 Unit 6 help: mistakes that cost points
Many worksheets set goals the counselor chose, such as eating five servings of vegetables, rather than goals from the client's words. Others stay vague, with goals like eat healthier snacks that cannot be checked. Writers often set too many goals at once. If-then plans are missing or so general they give no cue. Barriers are listed without plans. Confidence is rated but never used to change anything. Tracking is left to memory. Some worksheets forget the long-term goal, so short-term steps have nothing to lead toward. If you have a client statement but your goals keep coming out broad, a writer can help you narrow them into dated, checkable steps that stay in the client's language.
Get an NS420 Unit 6 example written to your instructions
Bring the intention your Unit 6 client expressed, in their words if the case gives them, plus the worksheet template if your section supplies one and the rubric. The finished worksheet narrows it to a checkable behavior, plans for the likeliest obstacles, and tracks only what the client would actually record. Expect it in 24-48h; the first request is free. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.
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NS420 Unit 6 questions, answered
Does the goal have to follow the SMART format?
Only if the rubric names it. SMART criteria are a common checklist, and a goal that is specific, measurable and time-bound will satisfy most graders whatever the label. The more important test in a counseling course is ownership: a perfectly SMART goal that the client did not choose tends to lose more credit than a slightly loose one in the client's own words.
How many goals should one worksheet contain?
Usually one, with a few action steps beneath it. Several goals at once divide attention and make failure more likely, which can lower confidence for the next attempt. If the prompt asks for more, rank them and say which comes first. A worksheet with a single well-supported goal typically reads as better counseling than one with five.
Should the worksheet include nutrition targets like servings or calories?
Only when the client raised them and the setting fits. Broad advice on balanced eating sits inside a counselor's role when the client is well, but numeric targets tied to a medical condition belong to a dietitian or physician. Many strong worksheets avoid numbers entirely and track behaviors instead, such as lunches brought from home, which the client can observe directly.
Where can I find a free NS420 Unit 6 sample paper?
This page offers a complete Unit 6 goal-setting worksheet that turns a band director's sentence about vending-machine crackers into three dated goals with an if-then plan, barriers, a tracking card and confidence ratings.
What is an if-then plan in the NS420 Unit 6 worksheet?
It links a specific situation to an action, such as eating the packed snack when it is 2:30 and Gary is in his office. Tying the action to a cue makes it easier to carry out without relying on willpower in the moment.