As editors of Lore, we are reminded of many things as we develop topics and collect submissions. For example, we realize that we often have to slow down, take a step back, and remind ourselves of the aspects of teaching that experience allows us to take for granted. It can be hard to articulate to those who are new to the profession how we design our syllabi, especially if we do so in a state more rushed than we intend-sometimes cutting and pasting from documents we've designed before. In this issue several instructors slow down and take that necessary step back to reflect upon the processes that help create a document of great importance. The syllabus not only spells out course objectives and calendars, as the respondents indicate, but it also testifies to our attempts to negotiate personal predilections with institutional demands.

A Syllabus Is an Essay, Not Simply a Functional Document
Christine Ross, Director of Freshman Writing, Quinnipiac University

Thinking Like a Student
Jennifer Carter, Teaching Associate, California State University-San Marcos

Driving the Silly Bus: A Sensible Set of Directions for the Highways and Byways of Composition Course Planning
Celia Lisset Alvarez, Adjunct Instructor, St. Thomas University

Syllabus: Roadmap for Learning/Teaching
Peggy Jolly, Director of Freshman English, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Developing a Syllabus from a Practical Perspective
Melanie G. Flanders, Adjunct Lecturer, University of Houston-Downtown