How to Use the Syllabus
The syllabus is arguably the most important resource a student has to guide them through the semester. It’s honestly the most underrated key of success to a student’s arsenal. It seems pretty easy to use, but it took me until the last two semesters of college to use it properly and pay it any mind. So here are 4 tips and tricks to use your syllabi (syllabuses?) this semester:
1. Use a syllabus to prepare the rest of your schedule
Syllabi are not meant just to tell you what is going to be due later in the semester. They’re given to you (in part) so that you can know in advance how much of your life will be given to a particular class. It’ll help you prepare for exams, papers, and projects so you can carefully schedule in preparations for these things in advanced. I cannot count how many times I would be stunned to learn there was a major exam next week and how unprepared I was. With a syllabus, you can schedule when to begin prep and map out what material will be covered on that exam. If you’re like me and had a part-time job, internships, club events, and a boatload of other demanding classes in the mix of all that, you can properly schedule when to study, what exactly to study, how to study, and to pepper in practice exams.
2. Use a syllabus to finish projects early
When you have a full semester, it’s really helpful if you get some things finished early. You’ve probably noticed that at the end of the semester, every class piles up. You have 5 research papers due in two weeks, three major exams, and another 6 or 7 books you have to finish reading. Even if you’re like me and you have everything down to an exact science, it’s hard to focus on academics with everything going on. I know I should be studying for exams up until the moment the exam’s given, but it’s a lot easier to focus when projects, readings, and papers can be done weeks in advance. I even had a professor layout different paper topics for the semester on the very first day of classes, but with other professors, I always had an idea what they were looking for a semester’s worth of papers after day one.
3. Record due dates on your own calendar — don’t leave them on your syllabus
This was a trick I picked up right away so I wouldn’t be surprised when exams and assignments cropped up especially when my calendar is staring me in the face the moment I wake up.
4. Use a syllabus to define your daily task list months in advance
As soon as you have your due dates recorded, you can define a to-do list for each day. This is going to allow you to know a long way in advance what each day will hold. It helps to plan the rest of your life. It helps spread out the workload especially during finals when you’re at your wit's end!
Helpful Resources:
How to Use Your Course Syllabus
What Is a Syllabus & How Can I Use One?
