Suppose we have:

<syllabus>
  <name>XML and Related Technologies</name>
  <office-hours>103B South Hall at Monday 2-3:30pm and Wednesday 2-3:30pm</office-hours>
  <short-description>...</short-description>
  <schedule>...</schedule>
</syllabus>

This is extra work:

<xsl:template match="syllabus">
<div>
<p>Course Summary:</p>
<xsl:apply-templates select="/syllabus/name"/>
<xsl:apply-templates select="/syllabus/short-description"/>
</div>
</xsl:template>

This is much better and more flexible:

<xsl:template match="syllabus">
<div>
<p>Course Summary:</p>
<xsl:apply-templates select="name|short-description"/>
</div>
</xsl:template>