Here’s a short post about some tricks and tips for the first week of the semester: when you start receiving your syllabuses.
- First, what is a syllabus?
- Well, it’s Merriam Webster dictionary definition is “a summary outline of a discourse, treatise, or course of study or of examination requirements” This means that a professor will likely give you a summary about what the class is about, their expectations for you, the student, what goes into your final grade, and perhaps a schedule detailing the subject of each class. Of course, not all syllabuses are the same, but this is just a general idea of what you might find.
- Now, why are they important?
- They’re jam packed full of information. This can be super helpful when you’re planning out your semester, knowing what’s going to be due in all of your classes. If, for instance, you have two papers due at the same time, and an exam, you can know that at the beginning of the the semester and plan accordingly.
- What to do when you first get them?
- It really depends on the person, but I’ve found that going through all the dates in the syllabus for each class and marking them in a planner, or even an online calendar can be beneficial. This way you can clearly see if two things are due around this same time.
- What else is there?
- Generally your syllabus will have required readings, or homework that you’re supposed to do, which is something that can be heavily reliant on timing, so knowing when you’re supposed to read a chapter or write a short reflection is hugely important. This info can generally be found in your syllabus.
- Required books, and materials can also be found in your syllabus. You can also find textbook info online, through Barnes and Noble, but it doesn’t hurt to double check what you’ve purchased. Check out our post about textbooks for more info ?