To eventually replace the use of The Norton Field Guide in many of our Composition sections and to eliminate the cost of texts for thousands of students, a no-cost Open Educational Resource (OER), most likely an e-book with downloadable and printing capabilities, is being developed by Adam Mc Kee and Rachel Brooks-Pannell for department feedback. The anticipated release of the OER is fall of 2025.
As the English department transitions away from The Norton Field Guide starting in Autumn 2024, we have provided these temporary OERs in the Writing Repository for use in the meantime. If there are topics you are looking for not addressed here, please check the tabs for Instructional Texts, Writing Centers/Labs, Research and Citations, or Rhetoric. If you still do not find what you are looking for, please let Adam and Rachel know.
EmpoWORD: A Student-Centered Anthology and Handbook for College Writers was published by Shane Abrams at Portland State University in 2018. This text is a robust and thorough writing resource for student-centered writing with emphasis on rhetorical awareness, key vocabulary, and strategies for effective writing. This OER includes three parts; each contains three chapters and a sample assignment.
Part One: Description, Narration, and Reflection
Part Three: Research and Argumentation
English Composition: Connect, Collaborate, Communicate was published in 2019 by faculty of the University of Hawai’i system. It was designed to help students learn the foundational concepts for first-year college composition. This OER textbook includes five chapters; each providing learning objectives, student stories, insight on the chapter topic, and activities.
Composition for Commodores, the 2nd edition, was published in 2024 by faculty of Lorain County Community College. It was designed from remixed materials combined with content specific to the students of Lorain. This OER includes many chapters; each with learning objectives, readings of length, exercises, and attributions to other OERs.
