Kelly McDonald

In higher education, syllabi have traditionally served as written contracts between instructors and their students, providing first-hand information about the course and expectations. Reading the syllabus may provide students with first impressions or mental images of the instructor, thereby initiating a student-instructor relationship even before any interaction has occurred. Instructors can use syllabi to directly communicate values and practices of equity and inclusion, but students can perceive indirect messages through tone and language that may support or contradict stated values. Here, we share empirically derived recommendations for improving the tone of syllabi with inviting language and stylistic features that promote relationship-building with students.