Required reading

A syllabus (/ˈsɪləbəs/; plural syllabuses or syllabi) is an academic document that communicates course information and defines expectations and responsibilities. It is descriptive (unlike the prescriptive or specific curriculum). A syllabus may be set out by an exam board or prepared by the professor who supervises or controls course quality.

There are seven essential components to an academic syllabus: Instructor information, General course information, Course objectives, Course policies, Grading and evaluation, Learning resources, and the Course Calendar.

The syllabus is a "contract between faculty members and their students, designed to answer students' questions about a course, as well as inform them about what will happen should they fail to meet course expectations." It is also a "vehicle for expressing accountability and commitment" (2005, p. 63). Over time, the notion of a syllabus as a contract has grown more literal but is not in fact an enforceable contract.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word syllabus derives from modern Latin syllabus "list", in turn from a misreading of the Greek σίττυβας sittybas "parchment label, table of contents", which first occurred in a 15th-century print of Cicero's letters to Atticus. Earlier Latin dictionaries such as Lewis and Short contain the word syllabus, relating it to the non-existent Greek word σύλλαβος, which appears to be a mistaken reading of syllaba "syllable"; the newer Oxford Latin Dictionary does not contain this word. The apparent change from sitty- to sylla- is explained as a hypercorrection by analogy to συλλαμβάνω (syllambano "bring together, gather").

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