Create a title for the syllabus to serve as the header for the first page. Under the course title, provide your contact information so your students know how to contact you if they need to. Include your name, phone number, email address and any other modes of communication you prefer to use.
List the course objectives. These can be very broad in nature and should indicate what the students are expected to know by the end of the course. For instance, basic foreign language courses will expect students gain an elementary vocabulary of a certain number of words and a basic understanding of sentence structure and syntax.
Name the required textbook for the course. Provide students with a full bibliographic entry for the book including its ISBN number so that they can order the book if it is not available in the school bookstore.
Provide a summary of the modes of assessment that will be used in the class. These can include quizzes, exams, participation in classroom conversations, writing and any other ways in which the students will be graded throughout the course. Include how many points each assignment will be worth, grading policies and any other information related specifically to the assignments that students might need as a resource.
Include all information required by your academic institution such as statements regarding plagiarism, statements for students with disabilities and other statements regarding expected classroom behavior.
Provide your students with a schedule of the course assignments. Students need to know when all quizzes and other assignments are due throughout the course of the semester. Having a course calendar handy to check due dates throughout the semester will keep them on track.