English

Becoming America: An Exploration of American Literature from Precolonial to Post-Revolution

Featuring sixty-nine authors and full texts of their works, the selections in this open anthology represent the diverse voices in early American literature.

Includes: Reading and review questions

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

British Literature I: Middle Ages to the Eighteenth Century and Neoclassicism

Featuring over 50 authors and full texts of their works, this anthology follows the shift of monarchic to parliamentarian rule in Britain, and the heroic epic to the more egalitarian novel as genre.

Includes: Reading and review questions, key terms

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

British Literature II: Romantic Era to the Twentieth Century and Beyond

Featuring 37 authors and full texts of their works, the selections in this open anthology represent the literature developed within and developing through their respective eras.

Includes: Biographies for each author, reading and review questions

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

CanLit Guides

CanLit Guides is a flexible learning resource that helps students critically engage with Canadian literature while encouraging and promoting independent study. CanLit Guides provides first- and second-year university students with information, resources, and exercises addressing literary theory, Canadian literary history, and works of Canadian fiction, non-fiction, and drama. Please note that while free to read, most of the website is not licensed for reuse.

Compact Anthology of World Literature, Parts 1 – 3

The introductions in this anthology are meant to provide an overview of foundational literature and their historical background. There are three parts to this text split into three separate volumes, Part 1 focused on The Ancient World, Part 2 on the Middle Ages, and Part 3 on the Renaissance.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Compact Anthology of World Literature II, Parts 4 – 6

The introductions in this anthology are meant to provide an overview of foundational literature and their historical background. There are three parts to this text split into three separate volumes, Part 4 focuses on the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Century, Part 5 on the Long Nineteenth Century, and Part 6 on the Twentieth Century and Contemporary Literature.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Genre in a Changing World

This book collection of essays provides a wide-ranging sampler of current work.

Licence: CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (Note: This is an open access text which restricts remixing and adapting).

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

The Ideologies of Lived Space in Literary Texts, Ancient and Modern

Inspired by the spatial turn in the humanities, this collection presents a number of essays on the ideological role of space in literary texts. The individual articles analyse ancient and modern literary texts from the angle of the most recent theoretical conceptualisations of space. The focus throughout is on how the experience of space is determined by dominant political, philosophical or religious ideologies and how, in turn, the description of spaces in literature is employed to express, broadcast or deconstruct this experience.

Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

An Introduction to African and Afro-Diasporic Peoples and Influences in British Literature and Culture before the Industrial Revolution

An Introduction to African and Afro-Diasporic Peoples and Influences in British Literature and Culture before the Industrial Revolution corrects, expands, and celebrates the presence of the African Diaspora in the study of British literature.

Includes: Further reading

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity

Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity attempts to make the study of literature more than simply another school subject that students have to take. At a time when all subjects seem to be valued only for their testability, this book tries to show the value of reading and studying literature, even earlier literature. It shows students, some of whom will themselves become teachers, that literature actually has something to say to them. Furthermore, it shows that literature is meant to be enjoyed, that, as the Roman poet Horace (and his Renaissance disciple Sir Philip Sidney) said, the functions of literature are to teach and to delight. The book will also be useful to teachers who want to convey their passion for literature to their students. After an introductory chapter that offers advice on how to read (and teach) literature, the book consists of a series of chapters that examine individual literary works ranging from The Iliad to Charles Dickens’ Bleak House. These chapters can not substitute for reading the actual works. Rather they are intended to help students read those works. They are attempts to demystify the act of reading and to show that these works, whether they are nearly three thousand or less than two hundred years old, still have important things to say to contemporary readers (Description from resource).

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Open Anthology of Early World Literature in English Translation

This webpage is a collection of free and open primary texts in digital formats for the study of early world literature in English translation. Multiple English translations are provided for comparison and study, as well as open secondary and supplemental resources.

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative

This textbook outlines the principles and techniques of storytelling. It is intended as an introduction to the central concepts of narrative theory that will aid students in developing their competence not only in analyzing and interpreting short stories and novels, but also in writing them.

Includes: Summary, glossary

Licence: CC BY 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

World Literature I: Beginnings to 1650

This peer-reviewed World Literature I anthology includes introductory text and images before each series of readings. Sections of the text are divided by time period in three parts: the Ancient World, Middle Ages, and Renaissance, and then divided into chapters by location.

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Writing the Nation: A Concise Introduction to American Literature 1865 to Present

Writing the Nation: A Concise Guide to American Literature 1865 to Present is a text that surveys key literary movements and the American authors associated with the movement. Topics include late romanticism, realism, naturalism, modernism, and modern literature.

Includes: Key terms, glossary

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Writing

Bad Ideas About Writing

This collection aims to identify bad ideas about writing and suggest better ones.

Licence: CC BY 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Brehe’s Grammar Anatomy

This book provides an in-depth look at beginner grammar terms and concepts, providing clear examples with limited technical jargon.

Includes: Exercises, glossary

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success

This book is designed as a comprehensive grammar and writing text for high intermediate and advanced level non-native speakers of English.

Includes: Integrated examples, exercises, suggested writing topics, grading rubrics

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate

This textbook has been designed for students to learn the foundational concepts for a first year composition course.

Includes: Suggested assignments, videos and readings

Licence: CC BY 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Howdy or Hello?: Technical and Business Communications

Technical writing courses introduce you to some of the most important aspects of writing in the worlds of science, technology, and business—in other words, the kind of writing that scientists, nurses, doctors, computer specialists, government officials, engineers, and other professionals do as a part of their regular work. The skills learned in technical writing courses can be useful in other fields as well, including education and social sciences.

Includes: Quick reference for APA and MLA citations

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

How Arguments Work – A Guide to Writing and Analyzing Texts in College

This book 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.

Includes: Audio version of text, annotated sample essays

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Mindful Technical Writing: An Introduction to the Fundamentals

This is textbook is designed for use in co-requisite 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.

Includes: Activities

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Naming the Unnameable: An Approach to Poetry for New Generations

Informed by a writing philosophy that values both spontaneity and discipline, this book offers practical advice and strategies for developing a writing process that is centered on play.

Includes: Key terms, recommended accompanying resources

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

The Simple Math of Writing Well: Writing for the 21st Century

This text addresses the importance of writing well in the Google age.

Includes: Exercises with answer keys

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Successful College Composition, 3rd ed.

This textbook and accompanying instructor manual provides an overview of writing skills for an introductory writing course. A modularized version is available for D2L.

Includes: Exercises, key takeaways, instructor manual

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Writing and Literature: Composition as Inquiry, Learning, Thinking, and Communication

This textbook teaches the various writing styles appropriate for analyzing, addressing, and critiquing various genres. The text and its pairing of helpful visual aids throughout emphasizes the importance of critical reading and analysis in producing a successful composition.

Includes: Glossary, assignment ideas

Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Writing Unleashed: Content and Structure

This book is designed for use as a textbook in first-year college composition programs.

Includes: Questions to consider

Licence: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Writing Fabulous Features

This book teaches the art and craft of feature writing to help readers learning to write non-fiction with flair.

Includes: Feature examples, interviews with journalists

Licence: CC BY-NC 4.0

Reviews: Available through the Open Textbook Library

Your Subject Librarian in the Department of English is Christena McKillop