LibGuides: Open Educational Resources: English

English Resources

This is a selection of openly licensed textbooks that has been created for free use in courses. These resources may be adopted for use as classroom text, modified to create new texts, or used as a supplemental learning tool to aid in understanding key concepts.

Composition

Oregon Writes Open Writing Text by Jenn Kepka

An open text created as part of the Open Oregon initiative, intended to guide students through rhetorical and assignment analysis, writing processes, rhetorical modes, and critical reading. Licensed under a series of Creative Commons licenses.
Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence by Amy Guptill

An open textbook from SUNY, written by Amy Guptill. It is intended to help new college students navigate the world of college writing, from understanding their assignments to identifying sources and working on clarity. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA 4.0.
Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing

Multivolume collection of open essays intended for use in a first-year writing classroom. Essays are licensed under individual Creative Commons licenses.

Literature

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. This completely-open anthology will connect students to the conversation of literature that is embedded in American history and has helped shaped its culture. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0.
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. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 4.0.
Literature, the Humanities, and Humanity by Theodore Steinberg
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. ... [The chapters] 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. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA.
Writing the Nation: A Concise Guide 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. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA.

Below are locations where you may find novels that are openly licensed or in the public domain, available for use in courses or for your own enjoyment!

HathiTrust
HathiTrust is a partnership of academic and research institutions, which offers millions of titles that have been digitized from libraries around the world. The collection contains many classical works that are in the public domain. Below are links to some of their novel collections.

Project Gutenberg
Project Gutenberg is a collection of more than 57,000 free eBooks, most of which are classical works that are in the public domain in the United States. They have a vast collection of classical works of literature. Included below are links to some of their 'bookshelves.'

LibriVox
LibriVox is a site of free, public domain audiobooks read and submitted by volunteers worldwide. Users can listen to, download, and share the audiobooks.

English Composition

UNC Writing Center: Tips & Tools
UNC has made available a number of writing handouts and videos. Most handouts are licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0.
Excelsior Online Writing Lab
The Excelsior OWL is intended to help students begin the process of writing for college-level courses, as they transition to writing outside of their introductory courses. It provides multimedia support for writers, including a variety of interactive activities, quizzes, videos, and games. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY 4.0 International.
Writing Commons
Writing Commons is a free, comprehensive, peer-reviewed commons of resources for students in college-level writing and resource courses. It was developed to help students improve their writing, critical thinking, and information literacy. Reference the terms of use here.

Literature

Public Domain Review
The Public Domain Review is an online journal and not-for-profit project that endeavors to help students explore the rich wealth of public domain works. It contains collections of images, books, audio, and film files; publishes biweekly long-form essays offering insight and reflection on resources, as well as a curated gallery of highlighted resources. All of the primary source materials are in the public domain, and any works created by The Public Domain Review are licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Plagiarism

Understanding Plagiarism
A brief video tutorial from Eastern Michigan University outlining examples of plagiarism. Licensed under Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-SA 3.0.

Open Educational Resources

English Resources

Composition​

Literature

English Composition

Literature

Plagiarism

Composition