Information for:
Syllabus Basics
New composition faculty are asked to submit a copy of their 101 and/or 302 syllabus to Jessie by August 15 for a quick review: mostly we just want to help catch the rough spots or help you navigate GMU expectations or policies. All final syllabi will be collected for our records during the first week of classes. If you'd like feedback or have questions or would just like a second pair of eyes before mid-August, we'd be happy to help.
You should consult our learning goals statements as you design your syllabi:
We have syllabus templates for 101 and 302 (H) available (in Word). These documents give policy language that meets the Mason guidelines and the Composition Program guidelines, and give suggested language for optional policies. They also suggest some possible assignment sequences.
There's also a sample daily-schedule online for MWF and for TTH (in Word).
For the purposes of handing out a document during the first week, you do not need to have a daily schedule for the whole semester; many people prefer to hand out a schedule for the first three or four weeks to start. You do need to have at the start of the semester
- all the required policy statements
- a breakdown of your grade-weights for the course
- and the due-dates for the major essay assignments
You must hand out a paper syllabus with this basic information even if you make the same or additional information available to your students online.
Finally, some of our faculty's recent 101 and 302 syllabi are available online for your review, with more coming online over the summer. (Most of our English 101 courses occur in the fall semester.)
Please be professional about "borrowing" ideas from other faculty members: most will be quite happy (and flattered) to grant you permission to steal a great idea from them -- email addresses are readily available -- but it's a good idea to ask in advance just to be sure (and it's a great way to meet people).
Two other resources may be of use to you: