Open Educational Resources and English

• Brehe’s Grammar Anatomy (Brehe, 2019 (CC BY-SA)
• Conventions 101: A Functional Approach to Teaching (And Assessing!) Grammar and Punctuation (Ramsey, OpenOregon 2016) (CC BY-NC)
• Grammar Essentials (Excelsior Online Writing Lab, 2022); Grammar Essentials (Excelsior Online Writing Lab, 2022) – LibreTexts (CC BY)
• Grammar Refresher (Excelsior Online Writing Lab, 2022) (CC BY)
• Guide to Writing (Lumen Learning) ; Guide to Writing (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts. This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words ‘Licenses and Attributions’ at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Pocket Style Guide (Frost and Samra) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Style for Students Online (Schall, 2016)  (Schall, 2016) (CC BY-NC-SA, “except where otherwise noted”)
• Writing Commons – Style (2020) (2020) (CC BY-NC-ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made)
• Style in Writing, Reading, and College Success (Kashyap and Dyquisto, 2020) – LibreTexts and Grammar Writing, Reading, and College Success (Kashyap and Dyquisto, 2020) CC BY-NC.

• 88 Open Essays (Wangler and Ulrich, 2020)  ; (Wangler and Ulrich, 2020) – LibreTexts (licenses vary)
• Digital Public Library of America. Includes public domain and copyrighted materials.
• Internet Archive. Includes public domain and copyrighted materials.
• My Slipper Floated Away: New American Memoirs (Blau, 2020)  (CC BY-NC-ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made)
• Off the Shelf: A Digital Anthology of Classic and Contemporary Short Stories (Stephen Logan and Heather Thompson-Gillis) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Project Gutenberg offers over 53,000 free ebooks that reside in the public domain and copyrighted titles, for which the copyright holder has given permission for unlimited non-commercial worldwide use. Early Modern Literature through Early 20th Century offerings.
• The Composition Reading Bank (Brooks-Pannell et al., 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA except where otherwise noted)
• Reading Anthology: Three Levels (Lumen) This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Sci-fi and Fantasy Anthology (Hoppe, 2019);  Sci-fi and Fantasy Anthology – LibreTexts (Hoppe, 2019) (CC BY)
• The Conversation.com (CC BY- ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made) A collection of essays and articles on current issues, written by academics. The slogan is “Academic rigor, journalistic flair.”
• Thematic Reading Anthology (Lumen Learning); Thematic Reading Anthology (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Towards an Open Anthology of Poetry (Mount, 2017)  (Mount, 2017) (CC BY-NC)
• Women’s Autobiography (Dixon-Kolar, 2022) (CC BY except where otherwise noted)
• Writing LCC: An Anthology of Student Writing Collected at Lansing Community College Lansing, Michigan (Warnke, 2021) (CC BY)
• Writing Unleashed Reader (Priebe) (CC BY-NC-SA)

• “Creating and Using Open Educational Resources (OER) in Reading and Writing Classes,” by Christine Hutchins of Hostos Community College, writing in NCTE journal Teaching English in the Two-Year College, Vol. 47, No. 3, March  2020. All rights reserved.
• Case Study: Expanding the Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature (Robbins) (CC BY)

Recommended or commonly used textbooks

• Critical Worlds Subtitle: A Targeted Introduction to Literary Analysis (Liza Long, 2023) – Pressbooks (CC BY)

  

• EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology and Handbook for College Writers (Abrams, 2018)

  EmpoWord: A Student-Centered Anthology and Handbook for College Writers (Abrams, 2018) – LibreTexts  (CC BY-NC, except where otherwise noted).

  

• How Arguments Work: A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College (Mills et al.,  ASCCC OERI, 2022) – LibreTexts

  How Arguments Work Ancillaries – Canvas Commons (CC BY-NC)

  How Arguments Work takes students through the techniques they will need to respond to readings and make sophisticated arguments in any college class.  This is a practical guide to argumentation with strategies and templates for the kinds of assignments students will commonly encounter. It covers rhetorical concepts in everyday language and explores how arguments can build trust and move readers.

  

• Let’s Get Writing (Browning et al., 2018) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Let’s Get Writing (Browning et al., 2018) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA) Available in Canvas Commons.

  

• Successful College Composition (Crowther, et al., 2016)

  Successful College Composition (Crowther, et al., 2016 – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
  This text is a transformation of Writing for Success.

  

• Supporting English Language Learners in First-Year College Composition (Bayraktar, 2023) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• The Word on College Reading and Writing (Babin et al., 2017)

  The Word on College Reading and Writing (Babin, 2017) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC)

  

• Writing as Inquiry (Clevenger and Rust, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA except where otherwise noted)

  

• Writing For Success 2023 (Martin, 2023) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Writing For Success (McLean, 2015) – LibreTexts
  Writing for Success – Affordable Learning Georgia adaptation (Weaver et al., 2019) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
  Writing for Success – Canvas Commons

  Note: The version by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing Services is unpublished as of 12/31/24. 

  

• Writing Guide with Handbook (OpenStax, Bachelor-Robinson, 2022)

  Writing Guide with Handbook (2022) – LibreTexts (CC BY)

  

Other textbooks that fully cover the C-ID English 100 descriptor (the quality or the popularity of these resources has not been assessed)

• A Dam Good Argument (Delf et al, 2022)

  A Dam Good Argument (Delf et al, 2022) – LibreTexts (CC BY except where otherwise noted)

  

• A Guide to Rhetoric, Genre, and Success in First-Year Writing (Gagich and Zickel, Cleveland State University, 2017) 

  A Guide to Rhetoric, Genre, and Success in First-Year Writing – LibreTexts  (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Basic Reading and Writing (Lumen Learning with Cerritos College) 

  Basic Reading and Writing – LibreTexts. Varied licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed

  

• Claim Your Voice in First Year Composition, Vol. 2 (Kiefer and Rock, 2021) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Composition 1: Introduction to Academic Writing (Seay, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA except where otherwise noted)

  

• Composition in Cultural Contexts: Writing Within and Across Modalities and Subjectivities (Gurevich, 2021) (CC BY except where otherwise noted)

  

• Culturally Responsive Composition: A Writer’s Handbook (Gurevitch, 2023) (CC BY)

  

• ENGL 1302 Composition II Research and Analysis (Mathison et al, 2021) (CC BY-NC)

  

• English 101 Rhetoric and Composition (Kinonen et al, Bay College, 2017) (CC BY)

  Adapted from Writing for Success.

  

• English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods (Lumen Learning);

  English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts
  English Composition I: Rhetorical Methods (Lumen Learning) – Canvas Commons (log in to Canvas first for the link to work). Varied licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed.

  

• English Composition II (Lumen Learning)

  English Composition II (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts Varied licenses – terms of each page must be reviewed.

  

• English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate (Inoshita et al, University of Hawaii Manoa, 2019) (CC BY)

  English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate – LibreTexts version (CC BY)

  

• Frameworks for Academic Writing (Poulter, 2013) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  Frameworks for Academic Writing (Poulter, 2013) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Fresh English: A Guide to First-Year College Composition, Grammar, and Rhetoric (Davis, 2016) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Informed Arguments: A Guide to Writing and Research (Pantuso, et al, Texas A&M, 2019) (CC BY-NC-SA

  All contributing works are copyrighted and CC-licensed by their respective authors. Informed Arguments is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

  

• Intermediate College Writing: Building and Practicing Mindful Writing Skills (Atkinson and Corbitt, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Introduction to College Writing at CNM (Schaller and Wolf, 2022) (CC BY-SA except where otherwise noted)

  

• Oregon Writes Open Writing Text (Kepka, OpenOregon, 2018)

  Oregon Writes Open Writing Text (Kepka) – LibreTexts (CC BY)

  

• Pacific Writing! (Sonstroem, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Reading and Writing Your World: Textbook and Reader for Composition (Cummins and Goorjian, 2022) (CC BY)

  

• Rhetoric – What, Why, and How? (Skyline College English, 2023) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Rhetoric Matters: A Guide to Success in the First Year Writing Class (Falk et al.,) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• The antitextbook of writing (Priebe, 2021)

  The antitextbook of writing (Priebe, 2021) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• The Art of Academic Writing (Peterson, 2021) (CC BY-NC)

  

• The Commons: Tools for Reading, Writing, and Rhetoric (Eastern Kentucky University, 2022) (CC BY-NC)

  

• The RoughWriter’s Guide: A Handbook for Writing Well (Palmer and Van Lieu, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• The Worry Free Writer (Palmer, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Write Here, Right Now: An Interactive Introduction to Academic Writing and Research (Tucker and Chafe, Ryerson University, 2018) Multi-media including video and assignments. (CC BY)

  

• Write What Matters: A modular open educational resource to support first-year writing courses in Idaho (Long et al., MSL Academic Endeavors, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Writing Guide with Handbook (OpenStax, Bachelor-Robinson, 2022)

  Writing Guide with Handbook (2022) – LibreTexts (CC BY)

  

• Writing In College: From Competence to Excellence (Guptill, 2016)

  Writing In College: From Competence to Excellence (Guptill, 2016) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Writing Rhetorically: Framing First Year Writing (Fontenot) (CC BY)

  This OER has a focus on dual enrollment students

  

• Writing Unleashed (Priebe et al, North Dakota University System, 2020)

  Writing Unleashed – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Writing, Reading, and College Success: A First-Year Composition Course for All Learners​ (Kashyap and Dyquisto, 2020) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC)

  

• You, Writing: A Guide to College Composition (Glynn, 2018) (Glynn, Hallsten-Erickson, and Swing) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  You, Writing! A Guide to College Composition – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

Resources that cover parts of the C-ID ENGL 100 descriptor or treat topics individually rather than as part of a cohesive textbook approach

See also the Style Guides section and the Readings section on the main Open Educational Resources and English page.

• A Guide to Analyzing Arguments in an Academic Setting (UMass Dartmouth, 2024) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• A Writer’s Guide to Mindful Reading (Carillo, 2017) (CC BY-NC-ND)“ND” indicates no modifications can be made to this OER.
• Auburn University Writing Resources (2018) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Bad Ideas about Writing (2017) (CC BY)A collection of articles intended to stimulate questioning of common beliefs about writing.
• Composition 2: Research and Writing (Seay, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA except where otherwise noted)
• Critical Language Awareness: Language Power Techniques and English Grammar (Reinhardt et al, 2023) (CC BY-NC)
• Critical Thinking in Academic Research (Gruwell and Ewing, 2022) (CC BY except where otherwise noted)
• Excelsior Online Writing Lab (CC BY) Includes interactive exercises.
• Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis (Fallows, 2011)Exploring Perspectives: A Concise Guide to Analysis (Fallows, 2011)  – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
  Designed to help students write and revise an analytical essay. (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Heritages of Change: Curatorial Activism and First-Year Writing (Tracy, 2024) (CC BY-NC)Heritages of Change: Curatorial Activism and First-Year Writing (Tracy, 2024) -LibreTexts (CC BY-NC)
• Integrated Skills: Academic Writing with Sources (Duke et al., UIC Global Engagement, 2021) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Introduction to College Research (Butler et al, 2021) (CC BY)
• Methods of Discovery (Zemliansky, 2014) (CC BY-NC-SA)Research focused, advanced
• MLA 8th Edition Instructional Videos (CC BY)This resource has 8 videos on how to properly cite the most common sources using the 2016 MLA 8th edition. The videos teach students how to do their own documentation and citation, rather than encourage them to use citation generators.
• Off the Shelf: A Digital Anthology of Classic and Contemporary Short Stories (Stephen Logan and Heather Thompson-Gillis) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Open English @ SLCC: Texts on Writing, Language, and Literacy (SLCC English Department, 2016) (CC BY-NC)
• Processes: Writing Across Academic Careers (Iverson and Ehrenfeld, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Reading and Writing Successfully in College: A Guide for Students (Lynne) (CC BY-SA)
• Rhetoric and Composition/Rhetorical Analysis (Wikibooks, 2021) (CC BY-SA)Brief treatments of a range of rhetorical concepts.
• Rhetorical Analysis in the Real World (Ryder) (CC BY-NC-ND)“ND” indicates no modifications can be made. A frequently cited personal essay demonstrating the value of rhetorical analysis.
• The Argumentative Research Project: A Step by Step Course (Layton, 2016)  (CC BY-SA)
• The Simple Math of Writing Well (Harrop)The Simple Math of Writing Well (Harrop) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
• University Academic Writing for International Students: A Usage-based Approach (Moder et al, 2020) (CC BY)
• Who Teaches Writing? (Daniel et al., Oklahoma State University 2022) (CC BY except where otherwise noted)
• Why Study Rhetoric? or, What Freestyle Rap Teaches Us about Writing (CC BY-NC-ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made)
• Writing Commons (CC BY-NC-ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made)Writing Commons is “an encyclopedia for writers, rhetors, knowledge workers, symbol analysts…800+ original articles on subjects of interest to producers and consumers of texts in home, school and workplace settings”.
• Writing for Inquiry and Research (Kessler et al, 2023) (CC BY-NC)
• Writing Is Easier Than You Think: A Composition Textbook with 100+ Model Essays (Webb, 2020) (CC BY)
• Writing LCC: An Anthology of Student Writing Collected at Lansing Community College Lansing, Michigan (Warnke, 2021) (CC BY)
• Writing SpacesWriting Spaces Volume I – LibreTexts, Writing Spaces Volume II – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-ND; “ND” indicates no modifications can be made)
  Writing Spaces is “an open textbook project for college-level writing studies courses. Each volume in the Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing series contains peer-reviewed collections of essays about writing—all composed by teachers for students”.
• Writing to Learn: A Course Design and Educational Resources (Keston, 2022) (CC BY-NC)

Textbooks

Openly Licensed

• Literature, Critical Thinking, & Writing (Shehorn, 2023) (CC BY)

  

• Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity (Steinberg, 2014)  (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Surface and Subtext: Literature, Research, Writing (Carly-Miles et al, 2024) (CC BY-NC)

  

• The Open Anthology of Literature in English (O’Brien) (CC BY-NC)

  

• Writing and Critical Thinking Through Literature (Ringo and Kashyap, 2020) – LibreTexts

  Writing and Critical Thinking Through Literature (Ringo and Kashyap, 2020) – Canvas Commons (CC BY-NC)

  

• Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication (Bennet, 2017)

  Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication (Bennet, 2017) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

  

Copyrighted and Openly Licensed

• Composition and Literature (Sexton and Soles, BCcampus, 2019)This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Introduction to Literature (Lumen Learning)Introduction to Literature (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts  
  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.
• Literature for the Humanities (Lumen Learning)This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.

Resources

• The English Composition (C-ID English 100) textbooks and resources will be helpful.
• Creating Literary Analysis (Cordell and Pennington, 2012) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Critical Worlds Subtitle: A Targeted Introduction to Literary Analysis (Martinez) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Introduction to Literature Subtitle:Fairy Tales, Folk Tales, and How They Shape Us (Young) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• Introduction to Poetry (Lindsay and Bergstrom, 2019) (CC BY)
• Say Her Name: Discovering Women’s Voices in History (Palmer, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA)
• World Mythology Subtitle:Myth, Metaphor, and Mystery (Gurevich, 2021) (CC BY)
• See the literature elective textbooks, readers, and anthologies below.

Textbooks

Openly Licensed

• American Literature I: An Anthology of Texts From Early America Through the Civil War (Kurtz) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Authoring America: A Survey of American Literature from Its Beginnings to 2020, VOLUME 1: American Literature from Its Beginnings to 1820 (Grogan, 2021) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Authoring America: A Survey of American Literature from the Beginnings to 2020, VOLUME 2: American Literature from 1820-1865 (Grogan, 2021) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution (Kurant, 2018)

  Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution (Kurant, 2018) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

  

• Digital American Literature Anthology (O’Connor, 2019) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• The Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature (DeRosa  et al., 2016) – LibreTexts (CC BY)

  

Copyrighted and Openly Licensed

• American Literature I (Lumen Learning)American Literature I (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts
  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page. Covers the time period up until the Civil War. 

Resources

• African American Literature (Syllabus and links to readings) (CC BY NC-SA).
• Case Study: Expanding the Open Anthology of Earlier American Literature (Robbins) (CC BY)

Textbooks

Openly Licensed

• Authoring America: A Survey of American Literature from Its Beginnings to 2020, VOLUME 1: American Literature from Its Beginnings to 1820 (Grogan, 2021) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Authoring America: A Survey of American Literature from the Beginnings to 2020, Volume 3: American Literature from 1865-1914 (Grogan, 2021) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Authoring America: A Survey of American Literature from the Beginnings to 2020, Volume 4: American Literature from 1914-1945 (Grogan, 2021) (CC BY-SA)

  

• Writing the Nation: A Concise Guide to American Literature 1865 to Present (Berke et al., 2015)

  Writing the Nation: A Concise Guide to American Literature 1865 to Present (Berke et al., 2015) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

  

Copyrighted and Openly Licensed

• American Literature I (Lumen Learning)American Literature I (Lumen Learning) – LibreTexts
  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page. Covers the time period up until the Civil War. 
• American Literature II (Lumen)American Literature II (Lumen) – LibreTexts
  This courseware includes resources copyrighted and openly licensed by multiple individuals and organizations. Click the words “Licenses and Attributions” at the bottom of each page for copyright and licensing information specific to the material on that page.

Resources

• African American Literature (Syllabus and links to readings) (CC BY NC-SA).

• Compact Anthology of World Literature (Getty and Kwon, 2015)

  (Getty and Kwon, 2015) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)
  Readings are all pre-seventeenth century.

  

• World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 (Getty and Kwon, 2015)

  World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650 (Getty and Kwon, 2015) – LibreTexts  (CC BY-SA)

  

• Compact Anthology of World Literature II: Volumes 4, 5, and 6 (Turlington et al., 2018)

  Compact Anthology of World Literature II: Volumes 4, 5, and 6 (Turlington et al., 2018) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

  

• Literature in Context: An Open Anthology (National Endowment for the Humanities, Marymount University, and University of Virginia) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  This is a web-accessible and mobile-friendly digital anthology of curated, contextualized, machine-readable literature in English. A digitization of literary texts from 1660-1830.

  

• Literature in Context: An Open Anthology (National Endowment for the Humanities, Marymount University, and University of Virginia) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  This is a web-accessible and mobile-friendly digital anthology of curated, contextualized, machine-readable literature in English. A digitization of literary texts from 1660-1830.

  

No resources identified.

• British Literature I: Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century and Neoclassicism (Robinson and Getty, 2018) (CC BY-SA)

  

• British Literature through History (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• British Literature II: Romantic Era to the Twentieth Century and Beyond (Robinson, 2018)

  British Literature II: Romantic Era to the Twentieth Century and Beyond (Robinson, 2018) – LibreTexts (CC BY-SA)

  

• British Literature through History (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• English Literature: Victorians and Moderns (Sexton)

  English Literature: Victorians and Moderns (Sexton) – LibreTexts  (CC BY)

  

• Kids Read the Best Stuff (Priebe, 2022) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  An Openly Sourced Textbook Covering the Study of Children’s Literature

  

• The Inside, Outside, and Upside Downs of Children’s Literature: From Poets and Pop-ups to Princesses and Porridge (Schuster) (CC BY-NC-ND)

  “ND” indicates no modifications can be made

  

Textbooks

• Creative Writing, Creative Process: Ruminations and Exercises (Cheney, 2020) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

• Elements of Creative Writing (Tracey et al, 2023) (CC BY-NC)

  

• Introduction to Creative Writing (Lein, 2021) (CC BY)

  

• Vanguard: Exercises for the Creative Writing Classroom (Bailey et al, 2020) (CC BY)

  

• Write or Left: Intro to Creative Writing (Priebe, 2019) (CC BY-NC-SA)

  

Resources

• Naming the Unnameable: An Approach to Poetry for New Generations (Rubin, 2018); Naming the Unnameable: An Approach to Poetry for New Generations (Rubin, 2018) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA “except where otherwise noted”)