Many higher education institutions in Turkey are putting noteworthy efforts to improve the quality of the education and the services they provide to students. As part of these efforts, some of the universities are making decisions and changes which affect the whole educational and instructional activities. Since it is an accepted reality that the effectiveness of education is one of the major influences on students’ success at university, faculty members are also expected to do their best to increase the quality of their instruction and courses. Using a course syllabus is regarded as one of these ways. Defined briefly as a contract between instructor and students about a course, course syllabus provides the students with written information with regards to certain components of a course -from its objectives to the resources to be used. A course syllabus, given at the very beginning of a semester, not only serves to communicate necessary information about courses to students but also plays an important role in stimulating their learning. Within this respect, this paper aims to inform readers about course syllabus (its purpose, importance and components) and to serve as a practical guide for preparing an effective course syllabus. The study comprises a review and analysis of the existing literature and the sources provided by the teaching and learning centers of higher education institutions. Additionally, a total of 28 course syllabi from different higher education institutions all around the world were also examined.