This lecture is intended to help writers to recognize and avoid mixed metaphors and malaprop in their own writing and others'. These are common errors in writing and speaking that are especially common in English, which is full of "invisible" figurative language. The lecture is offered here in three different formats: video without captions, video with captions, and a full transcript.
Material Type: Lecture
This resource is useful in a first-year composition course. The examples are intended for a literature-based composition class. There are also examples of opening strategies intended for an expository composition class. The Word version will give both types of examples.
Material Type: Student Guide
This resource provides lecture notes and writing assignments for the study of drama. While Othello and Trifles are mentioned specifically, these notes and assignments can be adapted and applied to practically any play. Unless otherwise noted, the materials in this unit are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Lecture Notes
This short fiction unit provides lectures regarding specific texts, discussion assignments, a short writing assignment, and resources for writing a character analysis essay. Unless otherwise noted on the individual pages, the materials in this resource are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Lecture Notes, Lesson, Module
This resource provides lecture notes and writing assignments for the study of poetry. While specific poems are presented here, these notes and assignments can be adapted and applied to practically any thematic group of poems. The unit contains several modules. The first posits the work of African American poet Langston Hughes as poems that establish a legacy of oratorical poems addressing social issues faced not only by African Americans, but by any and all Americans, especially the historically disenfranchised. The unit explores poems in Hughes' legacy, focusing on three poems by African American poets Maya Angelou, Elizabeth Alexander, and Amanda Gorman, who composed U.S. presidential inaugural poems. The second module explores nature poetry. Students read and analyze poems that explore, ponder and sometimes celebrate the relationship between human beings and nature. Ultimately, students compose poetry explication essays. The third module explores the book-length prose poem "I Remember" (Joe Brainard), teaching students to locate and make use of peer-reviewed articles. Additionally, students write their own "I Remember" poems. Included are introductory lecture, discussion , short writing, explication , and several other assignments. Unless otherwise noted, the materials in this unit are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Lesson, Module, Unit of Study
This is a summative, end-of-semester research project requiring a minimum of five (5) sources.
Material Type: Assessment
This is an early-semester formative assessment to help students begin developing 2 to 3 possible topics for their end-of-semester research project.
Material Type: Homework/Assignment
This formative assessment guides students through developling at least two (2) possible working thesis statement, evaluating which one is more successful, and at least one (1) way the stronger of the two can still be improved.
Material Type: Assessment
Because many students dislike extemporaneous writing, I would assign this early-semester self-reflection as homework, allowing them more time to develop their thoughts. If you do assign this in the classroom, I would allow students at least 30 minutes to generate their response. Part of that time may be in small-group prewriting sessions. At the end of the session, I would also allow students to have until the next class to submit a typed version. You will notice I do not specify a word count or that separate paragraphs should be used. I like to see both how much students will write based on the prompt, but also what their organization choices are. You are, of course, free to do otherwise.
Material Type: Assessment
This is a metacognitive reflection of the student's progress as a writer as part of an online discussion board.
Material Type: Assessment
This resource is intended as a model plan for linking course materials to student learning outcomes. These materials were used in planning a 15-week literature-based composition course taught within the TBR system, ENGL1020. The two attachments illustrate how the course assessments and readings are organized to fulfill statewide TBR General Education Outcomes as well as course-specific outcomes for each unit in the course. The course outline also demonstrates one possibility for sequencing course materials into a 15 week semester.The OER Commons file titled "ENGL1020 Literature Based Composition Course Common Cartridge" contains a downloadable online version of this course that can be plugged into any LMS.
Material Type: Teaching/Learning Strategy
The materials in this resource are intended for first-week-of-class activities in a literature-based composition course, although "The Danger of a Single Story" would be appropriate for viewing and discussion at any time during the semester. The first section of this resource explains some reasons for taking a literature-based composition course. The remaining materials provide ice-breaker and introductory activites.The "Varieties of Why," the study questions, and the discussion board activity are licensed under CC BY-NC-SA. The "Danger of a Single Story" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is used under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Homework/Assignment, Lecture
This resource provides references, writing aids and guides for students writing essays in a literature-based composition course. These materials were culled from several different sites; the individual pages link back to the original resource and indicate the Creative Commons license under which the page is adapted and/or reused. Except where otherwise noted, this resource is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Material Type: Lesson
This resource provides lecture notes and writing assignments for the study of a novel - in this case, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World. These notes and assignments, however, can be adapted and applied to practically any novel. Unless otherwise noted, this resource is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA.
Material Type: Homework/Assignment, Lecture Notes, Lesson
This resource contains a downloadable common cartridge file for ENGL1020. The entire course is a true OER remix, containing original OER materials as well as OERs adopted or adapted from other authors. The course includes the texts of readings, or links to the text. Each page in the course has a CC license on it.
Material Type: Full Course
This is a mirco-lecture on audience preceding a pre-writing activity to help students think more deeply about their potential audiences when writing a position argument.
Material Type: Assessment
This is a discussion board prompt that we have used for class introductions in our online ESL classes and in our in-person classes. It begins with a video on language learning strategies and asks students to introduce themselves and discuss their own strategies.
Material Type: Activity/Lab, Lesson
Introduction of past tense and past progressive tense for beginning level academic English.
Material Type: Full Course, Lesson, Module
