{"id":7505,"date":"2022-08-17T21:00:19","date_gmt":"2022-08-18T01:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/?page_id=7505"},"modified":"2026-01-14T14:57:01","modified_gmt":"2026-01-14T19:57:01","slug":"write-your-syllabus-right","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/faculty-excellence\/ofe-teaching-principles\/clear-course-design\/write-your-syllabus-right\/","title":{"rendered":"Write Your Syllabus Right"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most effective syllabi communicate essential information about the course and instructor, learning objectives, required materials, and assessments, and a link to a course calendar.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Along with essential information, syllabi communicate teacher presence, attitude, and orientation toward students and student learning. Interestingly, whereas many faculty prefer the brief \u201cone-page\u201d syllabus of days gone by, Saville et al. (2010)<\/a> found that detailed syllabi inspired higher perceptions of instructor effectiveness than did brief syllabi. The Montclair Syllabus template below provides instructors with an outline of the various elements to be included in the document along with tips for crafting the messaging.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consider the tone of your syllabus as well. Using positive, transparent, and friendly language to convey information and expectations for student behavior also helps students feel welcome and sets the stage for better classroom relationships and engagement.<\/span> Avoid including long lists of warnings and admonitions that may inadvertently communicate an anti-student, hostile attitude. <\/span> See Warming up Your Syllabus<\/a>\u00a0for strategies.<\/p>\n

Montclair Syllabus<\/h2>\n

The Montclair Syllabus<\/a> is a template, updated each term, that ensures instructors provide all the essential elements for their students in a consistent way so that students understand the expectations for each course they are taking and can find the information they need more easily. The Montclair Syllabus also contains links to campus resources that are updated regularly so that you can direct students to them without needing to research them yourself–or copy and paste bad links from past terms.<\/p>\n

To work on your syllabus in a google doc in advance, use one of these writable google doc templates:<\/p>\n