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

Recommended ResourcesIn first-year writing, emphasis might be placed on getting students to be more critical thinkers, readers, and writers; to recognize the elements that inform rhetorical situations; to understand the importance of the writing process; and to practice the composing of formal written work in response to many sources. Second-year writing builds on the lessons learned in first-year writing, while possibly adding deeper analysis and critique through the development of arguments supported by evidence found during formal research. Given that many colleges/universities only require their students to take first-year writing, some instructors have chosen to introduce learning objectives from second-year writing to their students earlier. This overlap between the two means that a variety of genres can be taught in either course. Below are some possibilities. In no way is this list complete, but it does provide common writing assignment descriptions and examples/samples.Successful WritingThis resource is available as a PDF.Cause and EffectClassificationComparison and ContrastDefinitionDescriptionIllustrationNarrationPersuasionProcess AnalysisResearchWriting for SuccessThis is adapted from a work produced by a publisher who has requested that the original author not receive attribution. This adapted edition is produced by the University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing through the eLearning Support Initiative.Cause-and-Effect EssayClassification EssayCompare-and-Contrast EssayDefinition EssayDescriptive EssayIllustration EssayNarrative EssayPersuasive EssayProcess Analysis EssayWriting Unleashed by Sybil Priebe, Dana Anderson, and Ronda MarmanThis resource is available as a PDF and published by North Dakota State College of Science. ArgumentCause and EffectCompare and ContrastDefinitionDescriptionDivision and ClassificationEmailEssaysIllustrationLettersMemoirsNarrationProfilesProcess AnalysisResearchPurdue Online Writing LabMost students are familiar with this site due to its extensive use among English instructors.Annotated BibliographiesArgumentBook ReportsBook ReviewsDefinitionsExam EssaysExploratoryCover LettersResearch RésumésThe Process of Research Writing by Steven KrauseThis resource has Creative Commons Attribution, Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0.Annotated Bibliography

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topics of Grammar and Style in a First-Year Writing Course. This information could also be used in a Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.Introduction In this section, style and grammar are addressed in three different senses. There is a Style Guide that covers audience awareness and clear written communications. That is followed by a guide to the most common Citation Styles (APA, MLA, and CMS). Last but not least, there is an in depth Grammar Handbook that comes with exercises and checklists for perfecting mechanics and assuring strong revision and proofreading.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectives:Be aware of intended audienceUse standard written EnglishCommunicate clearly and efficientlyOvercome barriers to clear communicationsFormat correctlyUse the appropriate citation style with sourcesAvoid grammatical and mechanical errors

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topics of Grammar and Style in a First-Year Writing Course. This information could also be used in a Second-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.Course Map  The resources included here are intended to address the aforementioned learning objective. Specific sections of each resource have been paired with subjects in this guide. That said, many of these texts could also be used in whole. A shorter text like Robin Jeffrey’s About Writing or a handbook like Saylor Academy’s Business English for Success may be all that students with a strong background in English need. In other cases, a more comprehensive text, like the University of Minnesota’s Writing for Success, may be required to properly prepare students for college writing.

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Media and Design -- reading, analyzing, and composing multimodal texts -- in a First-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink. 

The media landscape our students inhabit is rich with multimodal texts. Instructors might assume that because students are constantly consuming multimodal texts, they are adept at reading and composing them. However, that is not necessarily the case. Just as students need to be taught to critically analyze printed texts, they also need to be taught to critically analyze multimodal texts and recognize the rhetorical moves in such texts. Providing students with tools to analyze and compose a variety of texts also helps prepare them to adjust to the literacy demands of an increasingly digital communications environment, in which they will have to filter information and make sense of, assess, learn from, and compose multimodal texts.This module recommends texts that align with learning objectives focused on analyzing and composing with multimodal resources. Many of the suggested readings and activities described in the other modules of this guide can be applied to multimodal texts (e.g., analyzing multimodal texts instead of or alongside of primarily alphabetic texts). Below are additional resources and suggestions. 

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources available to address the resource goal of Punctuation in a First-Year Writing Course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.IntroductionThis description is intended to apply to a range of First-Year Writing courses, from highly conceptual to more traditional presentations, in regards to punctuation. It will cover definitions of the most common punctuation terms, examples of proper usage, and exercises that demonstrate proper usage. These descriptions and exercises can be incorporated regardless of the types of readings chosen for the course, the genres a course may focus on, etc. This guide is intended to work as a handbook on general punctuation rules and usage.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectives:Explain and illustrate common comma errorsIllustrate comma usage with conjunctionsCoordinating conjunctionsConjunctive adverbsSubordinating conjunctionsIllustrate comma usage with clausesRelative clausesDependent and Independent clausesExplain and illustrate use of apostrophesExplain and illustrate use of semicolonsExplain and illustrate use of colonsExplain and illustrate use of quotationsExplain and illustrate use of hyphensExplain and illustrate use of parenthesesExplain and illustrate use of dashes

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources available to address the resource goal of Punctuation in a First-Year Writing Course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.Course MapApplication of the following resources addresses the learning objectives above. Many of the resources have complete chapters that apply to these Punctuation objectives as a whole, with examples as expected in a typical handbook covering punctuation. The exercises and lessons can be used to demonstrate the application of these terms in single-sentence exercises, or in actual student writing. 

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Reading in Academia in a First-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 stresses college-level reading. It will focus on three areas in particular: 1) Preparedness – how college reading may differ from high school reading; 2) Reading Strategies – how to choose, evaluate, and interact with texts; 3) Reading into Writing – how to make notes, summarize, paraphrase, and use what you are reading in an ethical manner. These skills will overlap with other learning objectives (e.g. Writing in Academia, Rhetorical Situations, 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 reading (essays, literature, etc.) to which the strategies outlined in these resources may be applied.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectivesDetermine an author’s purpose in writingIdentify reasons and evidence that support an author’s argumentDistinguish between reliable and unreliable sourcesPractice effective annotation and note-taking techniquesIdentify words or phrases that suggest an author’s biasRecognize appeals to logos, pathos, and/or ethosUnderstand ethical methods of paraphrasing and summarizing a source

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Reading in Academia in a First-Year Writing Course.  All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded or added to a Course Management System via hyperlink.Course MapThe resources included here are intended to address the above listed learning objectives.  They will cover three aspects of Reading in Academia: preparedness, strategies for reading, and using reading in writing ethically. Preparedness may be taught as a standalone lesson or as a group of lessons, but most other tasks would be handled in the context of meeting other learning objectives, such as Writing in Academia, Rhetorical Situations, Genres, etc.  

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources available to address the resource goal of Understanding Rhetorical Situations in a First-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 Writing as a Process in a First-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 process writing, including identifying the steps in the writing process, understanding that the process is flexible, generating ideas for development of a topic, narrowing the topic in order to identify a thesis, drafting the essay and handling writer’s block, organizing the draft, engaging a peer review process, creating successively improved drafts, using revision and editing to improve the drafts, and assessing the effectiveness of the writing process.These skills will overlap with other learning objectives (e.g. Critical Thinking, Conducting Research, 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) as examples to which the strategies outlined in these resources may be applied. It should be noted that the skills involved in the writing process are not only applicable to the academic writing presented in a first-year writing course, but to a broad cross section of the rhetorical patterns employed in many cultures and languages.Learning ObjectivesThis module is designed to address the following learning objectives:Identify the steps in the writing process Understand that the process is flexible Generate ideas for development of a topic Narrow the topic to identify the working thesis Create an outline Draft the essay while handling writer’s block Organize and reorganize the draft Engage the peer review process Create successively improved drafts Use revision and editing to improve drafts Create a working outline Assess the effectiveness of the writing process Revise the process as needed.

How to Use This GuideThis document is intended to highlight resources that can be used to address the topic of Writing as a Process in a First-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 Writing in Academia in a First-Year Writing Course. All resources are Open Access and can be downloaded to a Course Management System via hyperlink.IntroductionOften students enroll in a college-writing course with the common misconception that they will be doing more of what they did in high school English. This portion of the course is simply to introduce students to college writing, specifically how it differs from that of high school, the myths and expectations of writing for higher education, as well as types of assignments instructors may ask students to do. This module does not include many activities, for its intent is not to hone the writing skills of students. This introductory guide is intended to help students transition into new ways of approaching writing, and can be utilized regardless of the types of writing assignments chosen for the course.  

Foundational Practices of Online Writing Instruction, edited by Beth L. Hewett and Kevin Eric DePew, with associate editors Elif Guler and Robbin Zeff Warner, addresses the questions and decisions that administrators and instructors most need to consider when developing online writing programs and courses. Written by experts in the field (members of the Conference on College Composition and Communication Committee for Effective Practices in OWI and other experts and stakeholders), the contributors to this collection explain the foundations of the recently published (2013) A Position Statement of Principles and Examples Effective Practices for OWI and provide illustrative practical applications. To that end, in every chapter, the authors address issues of inclusive and accessible writing instruction (based upon physical and mental disability, linguistic ability, and socioeconomic challenges) in technology enhanced settings.

Members of the Gordon faculty have collaborated on the authorship of this guide, and it is targeted directly at Gordon students to help them with their writing across the GSC curriculum. This guide provides at least three distinct advantages over other guides: it is specifically targeted to Gordon State students, it covers writing across the whole curriculum, not just English; and it is free.

Many approaches to crafting this guide were entertained, but the authors decided that what students really want from a composition guide are practical examples of writing that they might actually encounter in their classroom experiences at Gordon. Many guides try to do this, but this guide uses real Gordon professors and real Gordon class assignments as a starting point. This results in what we feel is a substantial improvement over other available writing guides.

This book combines the Introduction to Writing in College by Melanie Gagich and ENG 102: Reading, Writing and Research by Emilie Zickel, which were both supported by Cleveland State University’s 2017 Textbook Affordability Small Grant. The book was then revised, edited, and formatted by Melanie Gagich, Emilie Zickel, Yvonne Bruce, Sarah Lacy, John Lanning, Amanda Lloyd, Charlotte Morgan, and Rashida Mustafa. This work was made possible through the generous support of the Cleveland State University Office of the Provost.

Within each chapter there are sections written by Melanie Gagich, Emilie Zickel, or other members of the textbook team (see above) and authorial attributions are given. This book also contains other resources integrated under Creative Commons licenses. These open access resources include complete and also remixed chapters from Monique Babin, Carol Burnell, Susan Pesznecker, Nichole Rosevear, and Jamie Wood’s The Word on College Reading and Writing, links to several essays from the open source textbook series Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, and several links to articles from the open source website Writing Commons. Additionally, parts of this book also come out of a remixed version of Robin Jeffrey’s, About Writing, which have been rearranged, amended, edited, and enhanced with digital reading experience by including videos and visual reading features. Shared and remixed materials will be denoted with attribution information when necessary.