Some Brief Syllabus Advice for the Young Economist

We touch on three major pieces of syllabus language that we think can help young economists manage their economics classes in a liberal arts environment. Like the writing of a constitution, it is not enough to just copy the words on the page in order for them to be effective. Instead they must fit the "facts on the ground" and the day-to-day experiences of students. If the syllabus talks about valuing everyone's time and yet the classroom experience does not reflect that, the syllabus language is useless. Like constitutions, however, syllabi are useful as a starting point for nurturing a mental model of the rigorous economics inquiry and discourse.