88 Open Essays: A Reader for Students of Composition & Rhetoric

PLEASE NOTE: Some K-12 sites block access to Google Docs where this file resides. If you are unable to access it, it is also available at https://human.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Literature_and_Literacy/Book%3A_88_Open_Essays_-_A_Reader_for_Students_of_Composition_and_Rhetoric_(Wangler_and_Ulrich) This book is a free and open resource for composition instructors and students, full of essays that could supplement OER rhetoric and writing texts that lack readings. All of the essays in this reader are versatile rhetorically and thematically. It is arranged alphabetically by author name. Each essay has a series of hashtags that apply to the essay in some way. You can search for essays thematically for topics like education, the environment, politics, or health. You can also search for essays based on composition concepts like analysis, synthesis, and research. You can search for essays that are based on shared values, essays that rely heavily on ethos, logos, or pathos, essays that are very kairos-dependent, and essays that are scholarly. This collection was created in Google Docs so that it is easily adapted and edited.

Material Type: Reading, Textbook

Authors: Sarah Wangler, Tina Ulrich

You, Writing! A Guide to College Composition

This text is meant to be used in any first year College Composition class or as a general guide to college writing. The book focuses on writing as a process, not a product. The goal is to help students discover their own writing process, trying out different methods and strategies to find what works best for them.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Alexandra Glynn, Amy Jo Swing, Kelli Hallsten-Erickson

Public Speaking: The Virtual Text

Public Speaking: The Virtual Text is a free online public speaking textbook. Chapters appear in PDF format and may be printed in black and white or in color.

Material Type: Textbook

Public Speaking

The purpose of this course is to systematically examine the elements and factors which result in an effective speech. Tying these together are the themes of information and ethics, emphasized in each resource because they are becoming increasingly important to all communicators. Upon successful completion of this course, students will be able to: resolve ethical issues involving speech preparation and presentation; recommend techniques for resolving issues, which may interfere with active listening; identify the most effective speech topics, qualities, content, and delivery techniques based on the specific characteristics of an audience; evaluate the effectiveness of speeches for different types of audiences; use online and library-based research to find and critique the credibility of sources of information; cite sources of information appropriately, accurately, and clearly in both spoken and written contexts; choose the most effective pattern of organization for presenting different types of information to a listening audience; evaluate the effectiveness of supporting details or evidence based on the main ideas or arguments they are used to support; choose the most appropriate pattern for organizing a persuasive speech, based on the relationship between arguments and evidence or the relationship between the topic and the audience; identify whether the functions of an introduction or conclusion have been fulfilled and will be effective when presented to a specific type of audience; create keyword and sentence outlines for informative and persuasive speeches; revise a passage written for readers so that it can be delivered effectively and engagingly to listeners; identify and use techniques to improve the fluidity and clarity of verbal delivery; recognize non-verbal techniques that communicate the speakerĺÎĺ_ĺĚĺ_s confidence and credibility in a sample speech; demonstrate comprehensive knowledge of effective, ethical public speaking by accurately and thoroughly assessing the qualities of entire informative, persuasive, and special occasion speeches. This free course may be completed online at any time. (Communication 101)

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Homework/Assignment, Lecture, Reading, Syllabus, Textbook

Principles of Public Speaking

The course is an introduction to the preparation and delivery of oral presentations in an extemporaneous style. Emphasis is on ethical research, critical and logical analysis, and organization of informative and persuasive presentations.

Material Type: Full Course

Author: Lisa Schreiber

Interpersonal Communication

A Mindful Approach to Relationships Short Description: Return to milneopentextbooks.org to download PDF and other versions of this textNewParaInterpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relationships helps readers examine their own one-on-one communicative interactions using a mindfulness lens. The writing team of Jason S. Wrench, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine Thweatt incorporates the latest communication theory and research to help students navigate everyday interpersonal interactions. The 14 chapters in this book cover topics typically taught in an undergraduate interpersonal communication course: family interactions, interpersonal dynamics, language, listening, nonverbal communication, and romantic relationships, as well as exploring emerging areas such as self-compassion, body positivity, friendships, and “the dark side”. The writing takes on a purposefully informal tone to engage readers. Each chapter is broken into different sections that have unique instructional outcomes, key takeaways, and exercises, and concludes with real-world case studies and sample quiz questions. Also included is an extensive glossary with over 350 definitions. Long Description: Interpersonal Communication: A Mindful Approach to Relationships helps readers examine their own one-on-one communicative interactions using a mindfulness lens. The writing team of Jason S. Wrench, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter, and Katherine Thweatt incorporates the latest communication theory and research to help students navigate everyday interpersonal interactions. The 14 chapters in this book cover topics typically taught in an undergraduate interpersonal communication course: family interactions, interpersonal dynamics, language, listening, nonverbal communication, and romantic relationships, as well as exploring emerging areas such as self-compassion, body positivity, friendships, and “the dark side”. The writing takes on a purposefully informal tone to engage readers. Each chapter is broken into different sections that have unique instructional outcomes, key takeaways, and exercises, and concludes with real-world case studies and sample quiz questions. Also included is an extensive glossary with over 350 definitions. Word Count: 225461 (Note: This resource's metadata has been created automatically by reformatting and/or combining the information that the author initially provided as part of a bulk import process.)

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: John S. Wrench, Katherine S. Thweatt, Narissra M. Punyanunt-Carter

Low Intermediate ESL Writing

Created for Washtenaw Community College's low intermediate ESL students, this OER writing textbook covers writing sentences, summaries, opinions, and narratives, as well as improving spelling and grammar.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Heather Zettelmaier

College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success

College ESL Writers: Applied Grammar and Composing Strategies for Success is designed as a comprehensive grammar and writing etext for high intermediate and advanced level non-native speakers of English. We open the text with a discussion on the sentence and then break it down into its elemental components, before reconstructing them into effective sentences with paragraphs and larger academic assignments. Following that, we provide instruction in paragraph and essay writing with several opportunities to both review the fundamentals as well as to demonstrate mastery and move on to more challenging assignments.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Barbara Hall, Elizabeth Wallace

ESL for Beginning Students: The Way You Like It: Basic Beginning Grammar/Writing (Part One of Two)

Book 1. Beginning grammar book in a 5-level series for ESL students. This is the first of the two books for beginners.

Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Textbook

Author: Don Bissonnette

ESL: Basic American English/Civics 2

Money Matters with its dual meaning is the title of Module 9 of the 16 modules in the ESL course. Students focus on the financial aspect of their lives. Discussions, assignments, class activities support student comprehension of concepts in the module. Students connect how values and decisions influence financial goals. What are needs and wants? Pronouns and possessive adjectives are the grammar components of the module.  

Material Type: Lesson, Module

Author: Lathika Sadasivan

Communication Beginnings: An Introductory Listening and Speaking Text for English Language Learners

This textbook is designed for beginning-intermediate English language learners. It is composed of 7 chapters, each of which covers specific speaking and listening learning objectives and includes dialogues, interviews, discussions and conversation activities. Each chapter includes listening and speaking components such as dialogues, interviews, discussions and conversation activities. Each chapter also focuses on 10 target words from the New General Service List of English vocabulary. The textbook includes an audio component that consists of recorded conversations of native and non-native English speakers, as well as links to additional listening resources on the web.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Della Jean Abrams

Free ESL Lesson Plan: Life in Canada

This is a great lesson to use with your pre-Intermediate students that are looking to practice speaking, reading, and grammar skills. Also, this is a fantastic lesson to use as a review with students moving to the intermediate level. Since this resource involves several speaking activities, you can rest assured that it is useful in larger classroom settings and for one on one tutoring.If you want additional lesson plans and support, including teachers’ notes, be sure to register for a free Off2Class account.

Material Type: Lesson Plan, Reading, Student Guide, Teaching/Learning Strategy

Author: Regan McNeill

The American Yawp

The American Yawp constructs a coherent and accessible narrative from all the best of recent historical scholarship. Without losing sight of politics and power, it incorporates transnational perspectives, integrates diverse voices, recovers narratives of resistance, and explores the complex process of cultural creation. It looks for America in crowded slave cabins, bustling markets, congested tenements, and marbled halls. It navigates between maternity wards, prisons, streets, bars, and boardrooms. Whitman’s America, like ours, cut across the narrow boundaries that strangle many narratives. Balancing academic rigor with popular readability, The American Yawp offers a multi-layered, democratic alternative to the American past.

Material Type: Textbook

Western Civilization-An Open Source Book

This textbook is intended to meet the curriculum requirements for St. Clair County Community College's HIS 101 course through the use of primary source content. Topics covered include ancient Greece, ancient Rome, the rise of Christianity, the Middle Ages, the emergence of Islam, and the Renaissance.

Material Type: Primary Source, Textbook

Author: Ryan P. Johnson

Western Civilization (HIST 116)

History 116, the first part of the introductory surveys of Western Civilization. This course covers the period from –early civilized man to the early Middle Ages of Europe, with emphasis on Greece, Rome, Egypt and other Mediterranean peoples.

Material Type: Assessment, Full Course, Reading, Syllabus

Western Civilization I

This hybrid textbook and open course is a comprehensive set of teaching materials for Western Civilization I (until 1648), created through a Round Six ALG Textbook Transformation Grant. Topics covered include prehistory and ancient history by region, the Middle Ages, the Renaissance, and the Reformation.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Dee Mckinney, Katie Shepard

Western Civilization: A Concise History - Volume 1

A three-volume textbook covering the history of Western Civilization from c. 8000 BCE to the recent past. Written to be compatible with most existing Western Civilization courses at American colleges and universities, Western Civilization: A Concise History rejects the triumphalist narrative of western progress while still providing an essential overview of the histories of the ancient Mediterranean, Europe, and the global connections of the modern era. "Version 3.0" released May, 2024.

Material Type: Textbook

Author: Christopher Brooks

European History

This project discovers the history of Modern Europe, starting at the Hundred Years War and ending at the present time. A chronological perspective of history is attempted within this text. Although this is the case, it is also important to understand patterns within European History, therefore chapters will attempt to cover a breadth of material even though their titles might be that of a specific pattern in history rather than a time period.

Material Type: Textbook

European Civilization, 1648-1945

This course offers a broad survey of modern European history, from the end of the Thirty Years' War to the aftermath of World War II. Along with the consideration of major events and figures such as the French Revolution and Napoleon, attention will be paid to the experience of ordinary people in times of upheaval and transition. The period will thus be viewed neither in terms of historical inevitability nor as a procession of great men, but rather through the lens of the complex interrelations between demographic change, political revolution, and cultural development. Textbook accounts will be accompanied by the study of exemplary works of art, literature, and cinema.

Material Type: Full Course, Lecture, Syllabus

Author: John Merriman

European History

A basic outline of Western Civilization from the Renaissance to modern times.

Material Type: Textbook

Authors: Alex Botero-Lowry, Brandon Johnsonn, Josh Harmon, Payam Doostzadeh, Zach B