You will want to increase student enthusiasm and to emphasize the relevance and applicability of the course. You will also want the description to reflect your values and attitudes. Course objectives or goals can sometimes be combined with the course description, depending on their complexity and the nature of the course and discipline. Course objectives, ideally characterized by action verbs, usually appear as a statement or an outline describing what students should be able to do at the end of the semester. Clear objectives can foster a sense of partnership and an awareness that you and your students are working toward the same goals.
Objectives can provide both a focus and a motivation for learning.
Students often turn first to the tentative schedule, which lists topics, assignments, class activities such as field trips, projects, and examinations with their due dates. They want to know what will be happening and when. For an instructor, probably the most difficult planning decisions concern the structuring of course material. For a research paper counting significantly toward the final grade, for instance, you might want to assign due dates for a working bibliography, outline, and a rough draft. Be certain your schedule emphasizes, perhaps through bold type, the dates of exams and specific assignments.