How To: Use Your Syllabus!

Good afternoon, all! As semesters are beginning, one of the first pieces of papers you will be handed on the first day of every class is the syllabus. The first thing you want to do it throw it away, or toss it in you backpack, let it get crumpled up and never use it. Okay, not really. But that was funny? Well all of us super-organized people cringe at the thought of people who just discard their syllabi. So, what is the best way to use the many syllabi that you are given in that first week of school?

1. Read it. Yes, read it, the whole thing. It contains important information about that specific professors policies on things like attendance, make-up exams, extra credit, and grade scales. It should also include a week-by-week calendar of the semester. This will give you an idea of what you are going to be doing, how often your exams are, and if you have any other assignments like homework or quizzes.

2. Make an assignment spread sheet. You can find a great post HERE, from Organized Charm, about creating one. I organize mine by month and them by week, with everything in order by due date. This can be a great tool! I print mine out and stick it in the front folder of my Lilly Planner. This way I always have access to it, incase I need it.

3. Write the due dates in your planner. Go down the list of your assignment spread sheet and write all of the dates in your planner. If, for some crazy reason, you don't want to put every single assignment in your planner (why? that's what the planner is for), then pick the most important ones and just write those.
I would recommend some extra-precaution by writing the big assignments on multiple pages. Got a big 10-page paper due? Write it down once a week for the month leading up to it, that way you won't forget.
For the actual date that these big assignments are due, I use double arrow stickers so that I don't mix up the due-date with days I have it written to remind me to work on it. I get all of my planner stickers from The Nifty Studio on Esty. She works out of Cleveland, OH and shipping is super fast!

4. Study hard! Enjoy your semester and don't forget to use that assignment sheet!

Enjoy another syllabus meme, because why not? Have a great day!