An understanding of the role of metacognition--thinking about thinking--is a fundamental aspect of the theoretical base of most textbooks for college reading and study strategies courses today (e.g.,Veenman, Van Hout-Wolters, & Afflerbach, 2006). The theme we seek to develop in this article is that elements of what make a reading and study strategy "metacognitive" on a theoretical level need to be made explicit to college students enrolled in reading and study strategies courses. In particular, this article examines one aspect of metacognition: goal setting. We first establish its importance as a central theoretical aspect of metacognition. We then argue that goal setting must be included as an explicit element of instructional and procedural descriptions whenever metacognitive reading and study strategies are taught. We end with suggestions for making goal setting explicit in the classroom.