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Bulletin Do's and Don't's

DO DON'T
DO start with a compelling topic sentence or question. DON'T lardup the first sentence with wordy constructions. You have 3 seconds to grab your reader.
DO include lists of topics; you do not need a verb in such a list. DON'T include non-informative verbiage such as "This course will consider topics such as ..." ... Just say "Topics include ..." Keep it simple.
DO create short lists of representative authors such as: Authors include Bob, Mary, and Joan. DON'T use "etc." or "..." or "and so on". Information is better than implying something.
DO include quantifiable prerequisites such a courses or specific activities or background in an area. DON'T include enthusiasm or other non-quantifiable a personal attributes as a prerequisite.
DO use flat descriptive phrasing. We're looking for topics. DON'T use flowery words. You will lose your readers quickly.
DO use simple, clear punctuation.

DON'T use double hyphens and dashes and dots and arrows. Especially, do not use smart quotations or end-of-line return carriages as these are garbled in the system
DO describe the nature of the course such as "Seminar." or "Workshop." DON'T tell us how incredible or how difficult it will be as in "Intensive, difficult course only for students with bubbling enthusiasm and a willingness to work 24/7."

Most important: PROOFREAD! Stanford University deserves a course catalog without sloppy errors and misspellings!