PB1A: Syllabi

There is a plethora of textual genres to be found within the sphere of a university, but none quite as omnipresent or essential as the course syllabus.  Every quarter, in every class, students are provided with this handy sheet of paper as a guide to survival in the course.  It’s discarded, retrieved, reexamined, and discarded again multiple times throughout the quarter.  Despite the informality with which students handle the syllabus, it is without a doubt an absolutely crucial resource for passing a course.  It contains information that cannot be found anywhere else except perhaps by asking one’s instructor, a risky move that is more often than not met with the response, “It’s on the syllabus.”  Syllabi are easily recognizable and identifiable, not just on UCSB’s campus but at colleges and universities nationwide.  This indicates that the syllabus is a widely used and fundamental genre.  But what is a syllabus, really?  What makes this genre so important and useful? 

In regards to context, a syllabus is written out by an instructor for a course and is then distributed to or provided for students entering into that course.  The students, in this context, are the audience for the syllabus.  Syllabi are typically composed of a number of dates, titles of readings, the instructor’s contact information and office hours, and other information vital to the course.  They usually also include the information of any teaching assistants for the course, as well as the time and location of the class meetings themselves.  The syllabus is designed as an introduction to the workload and guidelines of the course, usually containing a calendar or list of dates and assignments.  They also include the dates of the major exams, typically the midterm and the final.  Syllabi usually include their respective professor’s own rules and guidelines in regards to late work, make-up exams, attendance, etc.  The conventions of a syllabus discussed here are relatively constant and basic, but the content of these conventions varies widely from syllabus to syllabus.  Funnily enough, this notion of the variability of course content is itself the purpose of a syllabus.  Courses at UCSB are diverse and ever-changing—to assume that any two classes are the same is simply irrational.  The syllabus acts as a guide to assist the struggling college student by breaking the course down and laying out its basic structure on paper.  This course template provides all the tools and information one needs in order to successfully navigate a foreign course.  

Without the syllabus, instructors and professors would be bombarded the entirety of the term with basic questions about their course.  This is no doubt how it once was, before the introduction of the syllabus.  The conventions of the syllabus were probably developed over time, as whoever created the very first syllabus surely forgot to include certain details and guidelines.  But today, we have a constant, effective template for introducing a new course to students.   Its prevalence and endurance in the realm of academics is indicative of its effectiveness in fulfilling its purpose as an abridged summary of the course material.