How to Develop a Course Syllabus for a College Level Writing Class

The course syllabus can make or break any college-level class, especially a writing class. It essentially tells students exactly what to expect from your class and is a guide for you when questions or issues arise. Developing a good syllabus can be tricky, so following the steps below will help you in the process.

Instructions

1. Before developing a syllabus, it is important to check with your college or university’s departmental policies. Many have specific rules and regulations that must be followed in each class to promote cohesion. Make sure that you understand and have access to any departmental requirements that need to be added to your syllabus. Inclement weather, drop process and students with disabilities issues are typical policies that you will need to include. For writing classes, there may be a specific number or type of essays that are required in the class, as well as grading criteria for these essays.

2. After including departmental policies, develop your own where you are allowed to be flexible. The most important thing to remember when developing your own rules for your syllabus is that you want to make everything as easy on yourself as possible. You also want to stay organized and cover everything possible in case a problem occurs.

3. Be very specific in any policy that you include on your syllabus. Stay away from vague statements, like “points will be deducted for poor attendance,” because students may challenge them.

4. Decide on an attendance policy. Your department may have its own rule that has to be followed. If not, make sure that you develop one that is easy to keep track of and easy to quantify. For example, give students three free absences (i.e., you don’t want to know why they are not in class) and then take off 10 points for every absence over three or for every five absences drop a student’s grade by a letter. Remember that you need to take attendance daily if you plan to take off points for it.

5. Be clear about assignments and tests, and how they will be graded. Provide an overview of what will be assigned, how many assignments and tests there will be and how each will be graded. Include specific departmental grading criteria so that students will know exactly how their essays will be graded. If you have a grading rubric, include that as well. Also, let students know of any penalties that may exist if all of the required work is not submitted.

6. Make it clear what you will do about late or make-up assignments and tests. If you plan to allow students to turn in work late or make up missed assignments or tests, have a clear policy that includes time frame and how it should be done. Be very specific. Will you take off points for each day that an assignment is late? A good policy to consider for late work is to allow a 24-hour grace period for assignments where you accept work until 24 hours after the due date without taking off points, and then not accept anything after 24 hours passes. To avoid having to give make-up exams, consider dropping all students’ lowest test scores, so if one is missed it doesn’t affect a student’s grade. If you do not give make-up tests or accept late work, make that very clear in your syllabus.

7. A cheating or plagiarism policy is vital to help cover any instance that may occur. Many departments or colleges and universities have specific policies regarding cheating and plagiarism. If so, you most likely will have to use that information. So, it is important to make clear what will happen to a student if he or she cheats in your class. Include in your syllabus what exactly cheating and/or plagiarism means and the penalties for it.

8. Include a course outline or calendar for your students. List all of the due dates, reading assignments, test dates, etc for the entire semester. This seems like a lot of work to do upfront but it will make things run very smoothly in your class. So, if a student misses class and wants to know what was missed, you can just direct him or her to this calendar.

9. Make your syllabus a contract. Add a separate page at the end of your syllabus with a disclaimer, like, “I agree to abide by the policies outlined in this syllabus. I also agree to accept any penalties that may be imposed for not following the rules of this class.” Add your name and class title. Require that students sign this statement and return it to you. This can be very beneficial to you in case a problem occurs – you will have proof that a student agreed to the class’s policies.

10. Stick to your policies. You have spent time developing these specific rules and guidelines so it is vital that you stand by them. Changing something in your syllabus halfway through the semester will cause confusion for both you and your students.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are a new instructor, it would be a good idea to have a more experienced colleague look over your syllabus to help you identify anything that is too general.