Syllabus

A syllabus (/ˈsɪləbəs/; plural syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is an academic document that communicates information about a specific course and defines expectations andresponsibilities. It is descriptive (unlike the prescriptive or specific curriculum). A syllabus may be set out by an exam board or prepared by the professor who supervises or controls course qualities. A syllabus (/ˈsɪləbəs/; plural syllabuses or syllabi) or specification is an academic document that communicates information about a specific course and defines expectations andresponsibilities. It is descriptive (unlike the prescriptive or specific curriculum). A syllabus may be set out by an exam board or prepared by the professor who supervises or controls course qualities. There are seven essential components to an academic syllabus:Instructor information,General course information,Course objectives,Course policies,Grading and evaluation,Learning resources, and theCourse Calendar. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word syllabus derives from modern Latin syllabus 'list', in turn from a misreading of the Greek σίττυβας sittybas 'parchment label, table of contents', which first occurred in a 15th-century print of Cicero's letters to Atticus. Earlier Latin dictionaries such as Lewis and Short contain the word syllabus, relating it to the non-existent Greek word σύλλαβος, which appears to be a mistaken reading of syllaba 'syllable'; the newer Oxford Latin Dictionary does not contain this word. The apparent change from sitty- to sylla- is explained as a hypercorrection by analogy to συλλαμβάνω (syllambano 'bring together, gather'). The syllabus ensures a fair and impartial understanding between the instructor and students such that there is minimal confusion on policies relating to the course, setting clear expectations of material to be learned, behavior in the classroom, and effort on student's behalf to be put into the course, providing a roadmap of course organization/direction relaying the instructor's teaching philosophy to the students, and providing a marketing angle of the course such that students may choose early in the course whether the subject material is attractive. Many generalized items of a syllabus can be amplified in a specific curriculum to maximize efficient learning by clarifying student understanding of specified material such as grading policy, grading rubric, late work policy, locations and times, other contact information for instructor and teaching assistant such as phone or email, materials required and/or recommended such as textbooks, assigned reading books, calculators (or other equipment), lab vouchers, etc., outside resources for subject material assistance (extracurricular books, tutor locations, resource centers, etc.), important dates in course such as exams and paper due-dates, tips for succeeding in mastering course content such as study habits and expected time allotment, suggested problems if applicable, necessary pre-requisites or co-requisites to current course, safety rules if appropriate, and objectives of the course. A syllabus will often contain a reading list of relevant books and articles that are compulsory or optional for students to read. As an indirect effect of this, scholars can count how many online syllabi include their works as a way of estimating their educational impact.