Digital library
Textbooks, references and open learning resources.
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Literary Studies for a Sustainable Future: An Introductory Course with Social Justice and Ecocriticism Intersections
Lisette Espinoza Vazquez · ROTEL · 2024
Literary Studies for a Sustainable Future: An Introductory Course with Social Justice and Ecocriticism Intersections is a university literature textbook that offers a sampling of the vast array of storytelling and literary traditions from around the world. Led by course outcomes, the book’s readings, activities, and assignments aim to establish a 21st century framework. Novice literary scholars establish correlations between local and regional literature with those from distant lands on relevant concerns and topics, like those outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Through songs and folklore, film clips, poetry, myth, storytelling, and satirical theater, its chapters feature key literary texts and terms to present literature as vital community-sustaining cultural expressions. Learners witness the roles literature have on climate, ecology, and social justice challenges.
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Intermediate College Writing: Building and Practicing Mindful Writing Skills
Dawn Atkinson; Stacey Corbitt · Montana Technological University · 2026
Welcome to Intermediate College Writing: Building and Practicing Mindful Writing Skills, an open textbook designed for use in university-level courses that focus on cultivating study skills alongside effective academic and workplace writing skills. It offers a no-cost alternative to commercial products, combining practical guidance with interactive exercises and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities. This textbook’s modular design and ample coverage of topics and genres means that it can be used flexibly over semester-long or stretch courses, allowing instructors and students to select the chapters that are most relevant for their needs. By blending new material with reviews of key topics, such as academic integrity, the chapters provide fresh perspectives on matters vital to the development of strong writing skills. The book adapts, builds upon, and expands material covered in our other two open textbooks, Mindful Technical Writing: An Introduction to the Fundamentals (Atkinson & Corbitt, 2021)1 and Advanced-Level Writing in the University Classroom and Beyond: Mindful Practices for Technical, Business, and Scientific Communication (Atkinson & Corbitt, 2024). If you would like to access a Word Document version of this text please email Author, Stacey Corbitt, scorbitt@mtech.edu.
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Mindful Technical Writing: An Introduction to the Fundamentals
Dawn Atkinson; Stacey Corbitt · Montana Technological University · 2026
Welcome to Mindful Technical Writing: An Introduction to the Fundamentals, an open textbook designed for use in corequisite course pairings of developmental writing and introductory technical writing, or indeed in other lower-division college writing courses that focus on building study skills alongside effective workplace and academic writing skills. It offers a no-cost alternative to commercial products, combining practical guidance with interactive exercises and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities. This textbook is organized into units, though its chapters are modular so that instructors can select and assign readings and exercises for their particular classes rather than be tied to a fixed route through the material. Its Creative Commons licensing allows instructors to customize chapters for specific learners and educational contexts, and the built-in activities can be modified and supplemented as desired to suit teaching preferences. The book’s ample coverage of topics and genres means that it can be used flexibly over semester-long or stretch courses. If you would like to access a Word Document version of this text please email Author, Stacey Corbitt, scorbitt@mtech.edu.
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American Literature I: An Anthology of Texts From Early America Through the Civil War
Jenifer Kurtz · Virginia's Academic Library Consortium (VIVA) · 2020
This book offers an anthology of texts that includes letters, journals, poetry, newspaper articles, pamphlets, sermons, narratives, and short fiction written in and about America beginning with collected oral stories from Native American tribes and ending with the poetry of Emily Dickinson. Many major and minor authors are included, providing a sampling of the different styles, topics, cultures, and concerns present during the formation and development of America through the mid-nineteenth century.
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Writing for Success
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing · 2015
Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition. Beginning with the sentence and its essential elements, this book addresses each concept with clear, concise and effective examples that are immediately reinforced with exercises and opportunities to demonstrate, and reinforce, learning. Each chapter allows your students to demonstrate mastery of the principles of quality writing. With its incremental approach, it can address a range of writing levels and abilities, helping each student in your course prepare for their next writing or university course. Constant reinforcement is provided through examples and exercises, and the text involves students in the learning process through reading, problem-solving, practicing, listening, and experiencing the writing process. Each chapter also has integrated examples that unify the discussion and form a common, easy-to-understand basis for discussion and exploration. This will put your students at ease, and allow for greater absorption of the material. Tips for effective writing are included in every chapter, as well. Thought-provoking scenarios provide challenges and opportunities for collaboration and interaction. These exercises are especially helpful if you incorporate group work in your course. Clear exercises teach sentence and paragraph writing skills that lead to common English composition and research essays. Features: Exercises are integrated in each segment. Each concept is immediately reinforced as soon as it is introduced to keep students on track. Exercises are designed to facilitate interaction and collaboration. This allows for peer-peer engagement, development of interpersonal skills, and promotion of critical thinking skills. Exercises that involve self-editing and collaborative writing are featured. This feature develops and promotes student inte
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Chinese Rhetoric and Writing: An Introduction for Language Teachers
Andy Kirkpatrick; Zhichang Xu · WAC Clearinghouse · 2012
The authors of Chinese Rhetoric and Writing offer a response to the argument that Chinese students' academic writing in English is influenced by "culturally nuanced rhetorical baggage that is uniquely Chinese and hard to eradicate." Noting that this argument draws from "an essentially monolingual and Anglo-centric view of writing," they point out that the rapid growth in the use of English worldwide calls for "a radical reassessment of what English is in today's world." The result is a book that provides teachers of writing, and in particular those involved in the teaching of English academic writing to Chinese students, an introduction to key stages in the development of Chinese rhetoric, a wide-ranging field with a history of several thousand years. Understanding this important rhetorical tradition provides a strong foundation for assessing and responding to the writing of this growing group of students.
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Beyond Dichotomy: Synergizing Writing Center and Classroom Pedagogies
Steven Corbett · WAC Clearinghouse · 2015
How closely can or should writing centers and writing classrooms collaborate? Beyond Dichotomy explores how research on peer tutoring one-to-one and in small groups can inform our work with students in writing centers and other tutoring programs, as well as in writing courses and classrooms. These multi-method (including rhetorical and discourse analyses and ethnographic and case-study) investigations center on several course-based tutoring (CBT) partnerships at two universities. Rather than practice separately in the center or in the classroom, rather than seeing teacher here and tutor there and student over there, CBT asks all participants in the dynamic drama of teaching and learning to consider the many possible means of connecting synergistically. This book offers the "more-is-more" value of designing more peer-to-peer learning situations for developmental and multicultural writers, and a more elaborate view of what happens in these peer-centered learning environments. It offers important implications—especially of directive and nondirective tutoring strategies and methods—for peer-to-peer learning and one-to-one tutoring and conferencing for all teachers and learners of writing.
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Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice
Kristen Munger · Open SUNY · 2016
Steps to Success: Crossing the Bridge Between Literacy Research and Practice introduces instructional strategies linked to the most current research-supported practices in the field of literacy. The book includes chapters related to scientifically-based literacy research, early literacy development, literacy assessment, digital age influences on children's literature, literacy development in underserved student groups, secondary literacy instructional strategies, literacy and modern language, and critical discourse analysis. Chapters are written by authors with expertise in both college teaching and the delivery of research-supported literacy practices in schools. The book features detailed explanations of a wide variety of literacy strategies that can be implemented by both beginning and expert practitioners. Readers will gain knowledge about topics frequently covered in college literacy courses, along with guided practice for applying this knowledge in their future or current classrooms. The book's success-oriented framework helps guide educators toward improving their own practices and is designed to foster the literacy development of students of all ages.