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.

Welcome to composition and rhetoric! While most of you are taking this course because it is required, we hope that all of you will leave with more confidence in your reading, writing, researching, and speaking abilities as these are all elements of freshman composition. Many times, these elements are presented in excellent textbooks written by top scholars. While the collaborators of this particular textbook respect and value those textbooks available from publishers, we have been concerned with disenfranchising students who do not have the resources to purchase textbooks. Therefore, we decided to put together this Open Educational Resource (OER) explicitly for use in freshman composition courses at Texas A&M University. Thanks to a generous grant from Dean David Carlson of the Texas A&M University Libraries, this project became a reality. It is a collaborative endeavor undertaken by faculty in the libraries and English Department as part of the Provost’s Student Success Initiatives at Texas A&M and continues to be a work in progress. Combined, Dr. Terri Pantuso, Dr. Kathy Anders, and Prof. Sarah LeMire have over 30 years of experience in writing and research instruction. Our goal is for students to leave this course as critical thinkers, polished writers, and informed citizens who can engage in civil public discourse. Gig ‘em, Ags!

The thirty chapters in this edited collection were selected from the more than 500 presentations at the Writing Research Across Borders II Conference in 2011. With representatives from more than forty countries, this conference gave rise to the International Society for the Advancement of Writing Research. The chapters selected for this collection represent cutting edge research on writing from all regions, organized around three themes—cultures, places, and measures. The authors report research that considers writing in all levels of schooling, in science, in the public sphere, and in the workplace, as well as at the relationship among these various places of writing. The authors also consider the cultures of writing—among them national cultures, gender cultures, schooling cultures, scientific cultures, and cultures of the workplace. Finally, the chapters examine various ways of measuring writing and how these measures interact with practices of teaching and learning.Edited by Charles Bazerman, Chris Dean, Jessica Early, Karen Lunsford, Suzie Null, Paul Rogers, and Amanda Stansell.

A freshman composition textbook used by the English Department of Virginia Western Community College (VWCC) in Roanoke, Virginia. It aligns with ENG 111, the standard first-year composition course in the Virginia Community College System (VCCS). The ten chapter headings are:

1. Chapter 1 - Critical Reading
2. Chapter 2 - Rhetorical Analysis
3. Chapter 3 - Argument
4. Chapter 4 - The Writing Process
5. Chapter 5 - Rhetorical Modes
6. Chapter 6 - Finding and Using Outside Sources
7. Chapter 7 - How and Why to Cite
8. Chapter 8 - Writing Basics: What Makes a Good Sentence?
9. Chapter 9 - Punctuation
10. Chapter 10 - Working With Words: Which Word is Right?

This book was created by the English faculty and librarians of VWCC using Creative Commons -licensed materials and original contributions.

Welcome to Mindful Technical Writing: An Introduction to the Fundamentals, an open textbook 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. It offers a no-cost alternative to commercial products, combining practical guidance with interactive exercises and thoughtfully designed writing opportunities.

This book’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.

This is the full instructor guide for the Ohio Open Ed Collaborative First Year Writing Course

The is the complete instructor guide for the Ohio Open Ed Collaborative First Year Writing course. 

In Placing the History of College Writing, Nathan Shepley argues that pre-1950s composition history, if analyzed with the right conceptual tools, can pluralize and clarify our understanding of the relationship between the writing of college students and the writing's physical, social, and discursive surroundings. Even if the immediate outcome of student writing is to generate academic credit, Shepley shows, the writing does more complex rhetorical work. It gives students chances to uphold or adjust institutional codes for student behavior, allows students and their literacy sponsors to respond to sociopolitical issues in a city or state, enables faculty and administrators to create strategic representations of institutional or program identities, and connects people across disciplines, occupations, and geographic locations. Shepley argues that even if many of today's composition scholars and instructors work at institutions that lack extensive historical records of the kind usually preferred by composition historians, those scholars and teachers can mine their institutional collections for signs of the various contexts with which student writing dealt.

The Process of Research Writing is a web-based research writing textbook (or is that textweb?) suitable for teachers and students in research oriented composition and rhetoric classes.

The Process of Research Writing is a web-based research writing textbook suitable for teachers and students in research oriented composition and rhetoric classes. Instead of focusing on one research paper, I focus on the process of research writing through a series of shorter writing exercises. Students begin by having to carefully think about a topic of research for the semester and by developing a working thesis. They then write a series of shorter essays that explore that topic. All along the way, students are continuing to research and revise their working thesis so that by the end of the term, their thinking about their original topic of research has evolved. As a result, they are not only prepared to write a “traditional” research paper; they better understand what it means to conduct academic research, which I believe is the real goal of an introductory writing course.

This concise and highly accessible textbook outlines the principles and techniques of storytelling. It is intended as a high-school and college-level introduction to the central concepts of narrative theory – concepts that will aid students in developing their competence not only in analysing and interpreting short stories and novels, but also in writing them. This textbook prioritises clarity over intricacy of theory, equipping its readers with the necessary tools to embark on further study of literature, literary theory and creative writing. Building on a ‘semiotic model of narrative,’ it is structured around the key elements of narratological theory, with chapters on plot, setting, characterisation, and narration, as well as on language and theme – elements which are underrepresented in existing textbooks on narrative theory. The chapter on language constitutes essential reading for those students unfamiliar with rhetoric, while the chapter on theme draws together significant perspectives from contemporary critical theory (including feminism and postcolonialism). This textbook is engaging and easily navigable, with key concepts highlighted and clearly explained, both in the text and in a full glossary located at the end of the book. Throughout the textbook the reader is aided by diagrams, images, quotes from prominent theorists, and instructive examples from classical and popular short stories and novels (such as Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Franz Kafka’s ‘The Metamorphosis,’ J. K. Rowling’s Harry Potter, or Dostoyevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov, amongst many others). Prose Fiction: An Introduction to the Semiotics of Narrative can either be incorporated as the main textbook into a wider syllabus on narrative theory and creative writing, or it can be used as a supplementary reference book for readers interested in narrative fiction. The textbook is a must-read for beginning students of narratology, especially those with no or limited prior experience in this area. It is of especial relevance to English and Humanities major students in Asia, for whom it was conceived and written.

This course is an introduction to the theory, the practice, and the implications (both social and ethical) of rhetoric, the art and craft of persuasion. This semester, many of your skills will have the opportunity to be deepened by practice, including your analytical and critical thinking skills, your persuasive writing skills, and your oral presentation skills. In this course you will act as both a rhetor (a person who uses rhetoric) and as a rhetorical critic (one who studies the art of rhetoric). Both write to persuade; both ask and answer important questions. Always one of their goals is to create new knowledge for all of us, so no endeavor in this class is a "mere exercise."

The first in a two-volume set, A Rhetoric of Literate Action is written for "the experienced writer with a substantial repertoire of skills, [who] now would find it useful to think in more fundamental strategic terms about what they want their texts to accomplish, what form the texts might take, how to develop specific contents, and how to arrange the work of writing." The reader is offered a framework for identifying and understanding the situations writing comes out of and is directed toward; a consideration of how a text works to transform a situation and achieve the writer's motives; and advice on how to bring the text to completion and "how to manage the work and one's own emotions and energies so as to accomplish the work most effectively."

Introductory Writing Course developed through the Ohio Department of Higher Education OER Innovation Grant. The course is part of the Ohio Transfer Module and is also named TME002. This work was completed and the course was posted in September 2018. For more information about credit transfer between Ohio colleges and universities, please visit: transfercredit.ohio.gov.Team LeadRachel Brooks-Pannell                       Columbus State Community CollegeContent ContributorsCatherine Braun                                  Ohio State UniversityMartin Brick                                         Ohio Dominican UniversityPeter Landino                                      Terra State Community CollegeBrian Leingang                                    Edison State Community CollegeBonnie Proudfoot                                Hocking CollegeJason Reynolds                                  Southern State Community CollegeMarie Stokes                                       Stark State CollegeLibrarianKatie Foran-Mulcahy                           University of Cincinnati Clermont CollegeReview TeamAnna Bogen                                        Marion Technical CollegeSteven Mohr                                       Terra State Community CollegeKelsey Squire                                      Ohio Dominican University

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Conducting Research in a Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.IntroductionThis portion of the course is intended to recommend the best open educational resources related to presenting research, including creating a defensible research thesis; supporting and defending ideas in writing; understanding and debating the arguments of others;  selecting credible source material to use in a persuasive research essay; avoiding plagiarism; formatting and presenting sources in an approved academic format; and the process of drafting, revising, editing and polishing an academic research paper. These skills will overlap with other learning objectives (e.g. Reading in Academia, Persuasion and Argument, Rhetorical Situations, Genres, etc.), and instructors will likely want to use these resources and design activities in conjunction with other learning objectives. Further, this module assumes that instructors have chosen their own primary readings (academic journal articles, examples of student research papers, editorials) as examples to which the strategies outlined in these resources may be applied.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectives:Select a topic for researchAssess the needs of the audienceCreate a working thesisIdentify types of researchAnalyze and evaluate sourcesUse library databasesAvoid plagiarismParaphrase, summarize and quote from source materialUnderstand documentation types and stylesCreate a working outlineDraft a research paperSeek feedback through peer collaborationUse the revision process to create a formal research-based written document

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Conducting Research in a Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Critical Thinking in a Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.IntroductionCritical Thinking is one of the five main learning outcomes for the Ohio Transfer Module’s Ohio guidelines for second-year writing. The Department of Higher Education recognizes that second-year writing builds on the skills of first-year writing and adds the following skills to what a student should be able to do by the end of the courseFind and evaluate appropriate material from electronic and other sources.Locate, evaluate, organize, and use primary and secondary research material. Secondary research material should be collected from various sources, including journal articles and other scholarly texts found in library databases, other official databases (e.g., federal government databases), and informal electronic networks and internet sources.Analyze and critique sources in their writing.Juxtapose and integrate ideas and arguments from sources.Develop a clear line of argument that incorporates ideas and evidence from sources.Use strategies—such as interpretation, synthesis, response, critique, and design/redesign—to compose texts that integrate the writer’s ideas with those from appropriate sources.The materials below range from introductory lessons to more in-depth and detailed explanations for the various processes in critical thinking that build on the material from first-year writing. Many of the second-year material overlaps with other chapters on Reading and Writing in Academia, Understanding Rhetorical Situations, and Conducting Research. The materials are available as single lessons that can be used to supplement other course material and readings, or as standalone sections that can provide weeks of information and activities that can align with other writing assignments.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectives:Find and evaluate appropriate material from electronic and other sourcesUse library resources to locate academic sourcesIdentify appropriate and credible websites and online articles Analyze and critique sources in their writingApply the rhetorical situationExamine the logicJuxtapose and integrate ideas and arguments from sources throughSummaryParaphraseQuotationSynthesisDevelop a clear line of argument that incorporates ideas and evidence from sourcesProvide appropriate support and evidence for claimsIncorporate opposing viewpointsProvide counterarguments

Critical Thinking is one of the five main learning outcomes for the Ohio Transfer Module’s Ohio guidelines for second-year writing. The Department of Higher Education recognizes that second-year writing builds on the skills of first-year writing and adds the following skills to what a student should be able to do by the end of the course:Find and evaluate appropriate material from electronic and other sources.Locate, evaluate, organize, and use primary and secondary research material. Secondary research material should be collected from various sources, including journal articles and other scholarly texts found in library databases, other official databases (e.g., federal government databases), and informal electronic networks and internet sources.Analyze and critique sources in their writing.Juxtapose and integrate ideas and arguments from sources.Develop a clear line of argument that incorporates ideas and evidence from sources.Use strategies—such as interpretation, synthesis, response, critique, and design/redesign—to compose texts that integrate the writer’s ideas with those from appropriate sources.

IntroductionThis portion of the course is simply to provide explanation, examples, and samples of Genres or Rhetorical Modes of writing students might be assigned in First- and Second-Year Writing courses. This module assumes that instructors will utilize other learning objectives (e.g. Writing as a Process, Collaboration, Grammar and Style, Critical Thinking, Conducting Research, and Understanding Rhetorical Situations, etc.) to teach writing, using this section merely as illustrations of academic genres or rhetorical modes.  

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Genres that might be assigned in a First- and/or Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded to a Course Management System via hyperlink.IntroductionThis portion of the course is simply to provide explanation, examples, and samples of Genres or Rhetorical Modes of writing students might be assigned in First- and Second-Year Writing courses. This module assumes that instructors will utilize other learning objectives (e.g. Writing as a Process, Collaboration, Grammar and Style, Critical Thinking, Conducting Research, and Understanding Rhetorical Situations, etc.) to teach writing, using this section merely as illustrations of academic genres or rhetorical modes.