Brandon Taylor

It’s August. The campus is filling back up, the bookstore has a line out the door, and you’re about to get handed a stack of syllabi. If you’re like most students, you’ll glance at the first page, note the professor’s email, and then toss it in your bag until you need to check the late policy.

When I create a syllabus, I look at it as a larger argument, almost like an essay. There is a beginning, middle, and end that is meant to map an arc of understanding that students will come to perceive as the semester unfolds. That means each week of the semester, for me, is a paragraph in the essay of the schedule. There's an introduction, a conclusion, citations, evidence, and so forth. It is an important document and it is too often overlooked.

So, the syllabus is more than a list of rules and regulations. It is also the semester’s game plan. It tells you what’s coming, how to prepare, when to prepare, and where you can save yourself a headache later. A little attention now can save a lot of scrambling in November.

1. Check the big dates. Flip to the schedule and mark down exam days, assignment deadlines, important dates, holidays, and any “no class” dates. Put them in your calendar now. This is the first step to making sure you’re not pulling three all-nighters in the same week.

2. Read the grading breakdown. Every course is different. In some, participation is 10 percent, in others it can be as high as 30. I value participation significantly and I see it as an important part of the course. Other instructors may think differently. Knowing where the weight of the grading scale falls will help you decide where to put your energy.

3. Find the professor’s communication style. Some instructors check email every hour. Others post everything on the course site and expect you to keep up. The syllabus will tell you how they want to hear from you, and typically they will tell you how quickly they’ll reply.

4. Spot the “hidden” work. Weekly discussion posts, reading quizzes, and short reflections all add up. If the schedule lists them, don’t ignore them. Plan for that time just like you would for a paper or exam.

5. Keep it handy. Whether it’s a print copy in your binder or a bookmarked PDF, make sure you can get to your syllabus quickly. You’ll use it more than you think, and it will save you time in the long run.

The syllabus is less of a contract and more of a map. You can still get lost if you ignore it, but if you know how to read it, you’ll get where you need to go with fewer wrong turns. That will maybe ensure that you some energy left for the rest of your life outside class.

Importantly, too, remember that university is always trying to speed you up. More tasks, more events, more necessities, and so on. When that's true, the most helpful thing you can do is slow... down...

Good luck, and have a great semester!

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