There's a great article in the Chronicle of Higher Education that examines the statement that your syllabi make about you as a professor. According to Professor Monica D'Antonio (Temple University), looking at a professor's syllabus for a course allows a student "to get to know professors in the college without ever having to meet them or attend their classes...no need to do either to figure out what kind of a faculty member they were. Their syllabi said it all."
She goes on to say, "Students can deduce how a class is going to shape up simply from the elements of the syllabus itself...For example, if a professor's grading policy puts a heavy emphasis on class participation, group work, or written assignments, then that professor probably wants students to be creative, to engage in dialogue, and to interpret texts freely. If the grading system is simply an average of two or three test scores, with no emphasis on participation or interactivity, then one can assume that professor would almost rather the students not show up for class and get the notes from a friend."
One more point to consider when we write our syllabi: it's important that we make sure to proofread and use spellcheck if we expect the same from our students.
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