Temple University Monica D’Antonio reviewed 400 syllabi and doesn’t think much of most of them:

I was startled to find that the laziness, the inattention to direction and detail, and, most significant, the inability to proofread and use spellcheck are qualities possessed not only by students. I even found eight syllabi that didn’t bother to include the professor’s name [and other basic information professors are required to provide].

One of my favorite examples of the minimalist approach to syllabus construction looked like this:

· Week 1: Chapter 1.

· Week 2: Chapter 2.

· Week 3: Chapter 3.

· Week 4: Chapter 4.

See, developing a creative and comprehensive syllabus is not about being a softy, about coddling students, or about trying to be the “cool” teacher who gets the good ratings on Ratemyprofessors.com.

It’s about acknowledging a position of authority and, instead of being apathetic toward that position, using it to further the value and beauty of learning that we in academe claim to believe in so strongly. Pedagogically, and perhaps most important, it’s about modeling the same behaviors that one expects from the students..(“If Your Syllabus Could Talk,” The Chronicle of Higher Education, July 19)