WRITING PROGRAM
Freely Available/Open Educational Resources by Topic
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Composition (English 100, 101, 102, 111, and 112)
Academic Integrity
- “Academic Honesty.” College Success, Lumen Learning, n.d.
- Paraphrasing v. Patchwriting lesson plan from the MLA Style Center.
- “Plagiarism and Academic Dishonesty.” MLA Style Center, adapted from the MLA Handbook, 8th ed., published by the Modern Language Association.
- “Words We’re Watching: ‘Patchwriting.’” Merriam-Webster, n.d.
- Why We Cite. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. 11 Dec. 2018. [YouTube Video.]
Arguing
- “The Architecture of Argument.” The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison. n.d.
- “Argument.” The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020.
- “Rhetorical Appeals.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- Scott, Andrea. “Formulating a Thesis.” Writing Commons, n.d.
Artificial Intelligence
- metaLAB. AI Pedagogy Project. Harvard University, 2024.
- MLA-CCCC Joint Task Force on AI and Writing. Exploring AI Pedagogy: A Community Collection of Teaching Reflections. Humanities Commons, n.d.
- Schnitzler, Carly, Annette Vee, and Tim Laquintano, editors. TextGenEd: Continuing Experiments. WAC Clearinghouse, 2024.
- Vee, Annette, Tim Laquintano, and Carly Schnitzler, editors. TextGenEd: Teaching with Text Generation Technologies. WAC Clearinghouse, 2023.
Audience
- Audience Exercises via The Inkwell, Florida State College Composition Program
Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. “Audience.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Pressbooks, n.d.
Beyond the Five-Paragraph Format
- Lynch, Paul. “The Sixth Paragraph: A Re-Vision of the Essay.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 286–301.
Conclusions
- “Conclusions.” The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020.
Data Visualization—Infographics, Charts, Graphs, Tables, & More
- “40 of the Best Infographics to Inspire You.” Canva, n.d.
- “How to Create Infographics to Explain Complicated Concepts.” Microsoft. 26 July 2023.
- McCandless, David. “The Beauty of Data Visualization” YouTube, uploaded by TED-Ed, 23 Nov. 2012.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Charts and Graphs.” Writing Commons. n.d.
- Singh, Nicole. “How to Make an Infographic – Ultimate Guide.” Canva, 2023.
- Yau, Nathan. “Real Chart Rules to Follow.” Flowing Data, 11 Aug. 2015.
Description
- Lucken, Melissa, Christopher Manning, and Sally Pierce. “Imagery and Experiential Language.” Expression and Inquiry, Pressbooks, 2020.
Design
- Butterick, Matthew. Butterick’s Practical Typography, 2nd ed.
- “Desktop Publishing.” WAC Clearinghouse, n.d.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Principles of Design.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- “What I Should Know About Genre and Design?” WAC Clearinghouse, n.d.
Documenting Sources
- Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. “Crediting and Citing Your Sources.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Pressbooks, n.d.
- Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. “Creating a Works Cited Page.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Pressbooks, n.d.
- Nicholls Library Citation Guide.
- MLA Formatting and Style Guide. Purdue Online Writing Lab, n.d.
- MLA Style Center.
- Practicing in-text citations worksheet.
- Using MLA Style–A Table of Contents of sorts to the MLA Style Center. From here you can access sample papers, quizzes, and other MLA style resources and general writing tips.
- Works Cited: A Quick Guide.
Editing and Proofreading
- Editing. Writing Commons. n.d.
- Editing and Proofreading. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. n.d.
- Proofreading Your Paper. The Writing Center, University of Arkansas Little Rock. n.d.
- Reading Aloud. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. n.d.
Ethnography
- Blum Malley, Suzanne, and Ames Hawkins. Engaging Communities: Writing Ethnographic Research, n.d. Engaging Communities is an open-access online textbook focused on teaching ethnographic writing. Individual chapters and the text’s introduction would probably be the most useful in English 101 or 102.
- Driscoll, Dana Lynn. “Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 153–74.
- Kahn, Seth. “Putting Ethnographic Writing in Context.” Writing Spaces. Edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, vol. 2, Parlor Press, 2011.
- Moxley, Joe. “Ethnography.” Writing Commons, 26 May 2019.
Piller, Erick. “I’m Supposed to Be Writing an Ethnography. What Now?” Nicholls State University, 22 July 2020.
General Reflections on Writing
- DePiero, Zack, and Ryan Dippre. “How Writing Happens.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 43–62.
- Reid, E. Shelley. “Ten Ways to Think About Writing: Metaphoric Musings for College Writing Students.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 3–23.
Genre
- Bickmore, Lisa. “Genre in the Wild: Understanding Genre Within Rhetorical (Eco)Systems.” Open English @ SLCC: Texts on Writing, Language and Literacy. Salt Lake Community College English Department, 2016.
- Dirk, Kerry. “Navigating Genres.” Writing Spaces. Edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, vol. 1, Parlor Press, 2010.
Giving and Receiving Feedback
- Cavanaugh, Andrew J. “How Audio Feedback Can Help Students Understand Grammatical and Mechanical Errors.” MLA Style Center. 18 June 2020.
- DePeter, Ron. “How to Write Meaningful Peer Response Praise.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 3, edited by Dana Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew Vetter, Parlor Press, 2020, pp. 40–51.
- “Getting Feedback.” The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020.
- “How Can I Get the Most Out of Peer Review?” WAC Clearinghouse, n.d.
- Kelly, Erin E. “The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly of Peer Review.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 299–317.
- Lucken, Melissa, Christopher Manning, and Sally Pierce. “Five Evaluation Criteria.” Expression and Inquiry, Pressbooks, 2020.
- “Peer Review Checklist.” English Composition I, Lumen Learning, n.d.
- Reynolds, Julie, and Vickie Russell. “Can You Hear Us Now? A Comparison of Peer Review Quality When Students Give Audio Versus Written Feedback.” The WAC Journal, vol. 19, 2008, pp. 29–44.
- Shafer, Leah. “Responding to Student Writing–and Writers.” Usable Knowledge, 9 Feb. 2016.
- “Vocabulary for Discussing Student Writing.” Harvard Writing Project. n.d.
In-Class and Out-of-Class Activities
- Academic Discussion Strategies. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- Activities and Assignments Archive. Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing.
- In-Class Writing Exercises. The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Incorporating Sources
- Janechek, Jennifer. “Incorporate Evidence into a Research Paper.” Writing Commons. n.d.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Avoid the Use of Unsupported Opinions as Evidence.” Writing Commons. n.d.
- —. “When Should I Quote? When Should I Paraphrase?” Writing Commons, n.d.
- Stedman, Kyle D. “Annoying Ways People Use Sources.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 242–56.
- “Quotations.” The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020.
- University Libraries. Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. The Ohio State University, n.d.
Information Literacy/Research
Information Literacy
- “Five Components of Information Literacy.” YouTube, uploaded by Seminole State Library, 29 Jan. 2014.
- Moxley, Joseph. “Information Literacy.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- Moxley, Joseph M., and Grace Veach. “Authority is Constructed and Contextual,” Writing Commons, n.d.
- The Ellender Memorial Library’s Introduction to Information Literacy has six classes “that teach skills that will help you with research, finding sources, and information literacy skills.” Students can receive a badge as proof of completing a class. The classes are based on the Association of College and Research Libraries’ Information Literacy Framework.
Research
- Branson, Tyler. “A Writing Studies Scholar Teaches Interview-Based Writing Assignments.” Who Teaches Writing? Edited by Joshua Daniel, Oklahoma State University Libraries, 2022.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Research,” Writing Commons, n.d.
- University Libraries. Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. The Ohio State University, n.d.
Introductions
- “Introductions.” The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 2020.
Multimodal Texts
- Gagich, Melanie. “An Introduction to and Strategies for Multimodal Composing.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 3, edited by Dana Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew Vetter, Parlor Press, 2020, pp. 65–85.
- VanKooten, Crystal. “Thinking Across Modes and Media (and Baking Cake): Two Techniques for Writing with Video, Audio, and Images.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 266–80.
Organization and “Flow”
- Developmental Writing: Topic Sentences
- Developmental Writing: Transitions
- Photinos, Christine. “Paragraph Transitions.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- Transitioning: Beware of Velcro, Harvard College Writing Center
- “Use Transition Words.” Federal Plain Language Guidelines, 2011.
Personal and Literacy Narratives
- Cephus, Heidi. “A Shakespearean Teaches Narrative.” Who Teaches Writing? edited by Joshua Daniel, Oklahoma State University Libraries, 2022.
- Childers, Sara Beth. “A Memoirist Teaches Narrative.” Who Teaches Writing? edited by Joshua Daniel, Oklahoma State University Libraries, 2022.
- Comer, Kathryn, Michael Harker, and Ben McCorkle, eds. The Archive as Classroom: Pedagogical Approaches to the Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives. Computers and Composition Digital Press, 2019.
- Digital Archive of Literacy Narratives.
- McLean, Scott. “Narration.” Successful Writing, Saylor Academy, 2012.
- “Narratives of Reading, Writing, and other Literacies.” Naugle CommLab, Georgia Tech Comm Center.
- Ramsdell, Catherine. “Storytelling, Narration, and the ‘Who I Am’ Story.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 270–85.
Podcasts and Audio Texts
- Anchor.fm: Podcast creation software. Available on iOS, Android, and web browsers.
- Audacity: This open-source audio recording and editing software is less intuitive than the Anchor app, but it’s extremely powerful, and it’s not hard to learn the basics, especially if you look up tutorials on YouTube.
- Byers, Rob. “The Producer’s Handbook to Mixing Audio Stories.” NPR. 31 Oct. 2018. A very in depth guide.
- Finding Public Domain & Creative Commons Media: Scroll down to “Audio Content” to find a list of websites with free, non-copyrighted music and audio to download and use in a podcast.
- “How A Pillow Fort Can Make Your Podcast Sound Better.” NPR. 10 January 2020. Text and video content.
- NPR’s Student Podcasting Challenge. Here you’ll find sample podcasts, tips, ideas, and other resources on helping students create podcasts.
- MacAdam, Alison. “Want Razor-sharp Focus in your Audio Stories? This Group Activity can Help.” NPR. 24 Sept. 2018. Focused on news stories, but the activities on focusing on the driving question can be useful for arguments as well as argument based research projects.
- May, Michael. “Score! Best Practices for Using Music in Audio Storytelling.” NPR. 5 July 2016.
- Project Audio: Teaching Students How to Produce Their Own Podcasts: Even though this New York Times resource is intended for teachers, students might benefit from looking over it, listening to some of the examples, and even considering some of the questions on the worksheets provided.
- RadioLab. “Since 2002, Radiolab has been devoted to investigating a strange world. Created by Jad Abumrad and hosted by Jad and Robert Krulwich, Radiolab has won Peabody Awards, a National Academies Communication Award “for their investigative use of radio to make science accessible to broad audiences,” and in 2011 Abumrad received the MacArthur Genius grant. The show has an archive of hundreds of episodes and has toured in sold out shows nationwide.” Great examples of podcasts.
- “Radio Rookies DIY Toolkit: How To Do Vox Pop.” YouTube, uploaded by WNYC, 16 Sept. 2013.
- Socolovsky, Jerome. “How to Decide what to Cut (or not) in an Interview.” NPR. 12 Nov. 2019.
- Start a Podcast. By John Lagomarsino of Anchor.fm. Recommended episodes: “Show Structure” and “Recording and Microphones.”
- “Starting Your Podcast: A Guide For Students.” NPR. November 15, 2018.
- “Teaching Podcasting: A Curriculum Guide for Educators.” NPR. This is a PDF file.
Profiles
- Branson, Tyler. “A Writing Studies Scholar Teaches Interview-Based Writing Assignments.” Who Teaches Writing? edited by Joshua Daniel, Oklahoma State University Libraries, 2022.
Purpose
- Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. “Purpose.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Pressbooks, n.d.
Prewriting
- “Developing a Research Question.” Arizona State University, n.d.
- “Generating Ideas for your Paper.” The Writing Center, University of Wisconsin–Madison, n.d.
- “How to Create a Mind Map.” Learning Lab, RMIT University, n.d.
- “Prewriting Techniques.” Boundless Writing, n.d.
- University Libraries. Choosing and Using Sources: A Guide to Academic Research. The Ohio State University, n.d.
Reading
- Carillo, Ellen C. A Writer’s Guide to Mindful Reading. WAC Clearinghouse/University Press of Colorado, 2017.
- Rider, Wendy. “Improving Student Writing through Reading Strategies.” The MLA Style Center. 2 March 2020.
For information on rhetorical reading and Peter Elbow’s believing/doubting games, see Chapter 2: Developing a Repertoire of Reading Strategies, pp. 20–21.
- “Reading Strategies.” College Success, Lumen Learning, n.d.
Reflective Writing
- Giles, Sandra. “Reflective Writing and the Revision Process: What Were You Thinking?” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 1, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2010, pp. 191–204.
- Miller, Benjamin. “What’s the Diff? Version History and Revision Reflections.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 334–51.
Research
- Buck, Rachel, and Silvia Vaccino-Salvadore. “‘Doing Research Is Fun; Citing Sources Is Not’: Understanding the Fuzzy Definition of Plagiarism.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 217–27.
- DeRise, Danielle. “Everything’s Biased: A Guide to Determining when Bias Matters.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 140–51.
- Driscoll, Dana Lynn. “Introduction to Primary Research: Observations, Surveys, and Interviews.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 2, edited by Charles Lowe and Pavel Zemliansky, Parlor Press, 2011, pp. 153–74.
Review Essays
- Writing Commons: Reviews and Recommendations
From Chris Manning, Sally Pierce, and Melissa Lucken’s Expression and Inquiry (Pressbooks, 2020): What Is Evaluative Writing?, Establishing Evaluative Criteria, How to Evaluate, and Structure of the Evaluative Essay
Revising
- Burnell, Carol, Jaime Wood, Monique Babin, Susan Pesznecker, and Nicole Rosevear. “Higher vs. Lower Order Concerns.” The Word on College Reading and Writing, Pressbooks, n.d.
- Irvin, L. Lennie. “Changing Your Mindset About Revision.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 318–33.
- Kandel, Michael. “Be Skeptical When You Read Your First Draft.” MLA Style Center. 1 April 2020.
- “Revising and Editing.” English Composition II: Rhetorical Methods–Based. Lumen Learning, n.d.
- Saltz, Laura. “Revising the Draft.” Writing Center at Harvard University, 1998.
Rhetoric
- Blakesley, David. “Elaborate Rhetorics.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 228–46.
- Duffy, William. “What Is Rhetoric? A ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Primer.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 247–65.
Style
- FitzGerald, William T. “Writing with Force and Flair.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing, vol. 3, edited by Dana Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew Vetter, Parlor Press, 2020, pp. 52–64.
- Tremain, Lisa. “What Can I Add to the Discourse Community? How Writers Use Code Meshing and Translanguaging to Negotiate Discourse.” Writing Spaces: Readings on Writing. Edited by Trace Daniels-Lerberg, Dana L. Driscoll, Mary Stewart, and Matthew A. Vetter, vol. 5, Parlor Press, 2023, pp. 87–101.
Titles
- Title Exercises via The Inkwell, Florida State College Composition Program
Technical and Professional Communication (English 310 and 368)
Data Visualization—Infographics, Charts, Graphs, Tables, & More
- “40 of the Best Infographics to Inspire You.” Canva, n.d.
- “How to Create Infographics to Explain Complicated Concepts.” Microsoft. 26 July 2023.
- McCandless, David. “The Beauty of Data Visualization” YouTube, uploaded by TED-Ed, 23 Nov. 2012.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Charts and Graphs.” Writing Commons. n.d.
- Singh, Nicole. “How to Make an Infographic – Ultimate Guide.” Canva, 2023.
- Yau, Nathan. “Real Chart Rules to Follow.” Flowing Data, 11 Aug. 2015.
Design
- Butterick, Matthew. Butterick’s Practical Typography, 2nd ed.
- “Desktop Publishing.” WAC Clearinghouse, n.d.
- Moxley, Joseph M. “Principles of Design.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- “What I Should Know About Genre and Design?” WAC Clearinghouse, n.d.
Genre
- Bickmore, Lisa. “Genre in the Wild: Understanding Genre Within Rhetorical (Eco)Systems.” Open English @ SLCC: Texts on Writing, Language and Literacy. Salt Lake Community College English Department, 2016.
Organization and “Flow”
- “Use Transition Words.” Federal Plain Language Guidelines, 2011.
Presentations
Jewell, Michelle. “Tips for Giving a Great Online Presentation.” Applied Ecology News. Department of Applied Ecology, North Carolina State University, Oct. 2, 2020
Résumés
- Butterick, Matthew. “Résumés.” Practical Typography, 2nd ed.
- Piller, Erick. “Writing a Résumé: A Very Brief Guide,” n.d.
Style
Moxely, Joseph M. and Julie Staggers. “Technical Writing Prose Style*.” Writing Commons. n.d.
What Is Technical Communication?
- Gerdes, Julia. “Professional and Technical Communication: An Overview.” Writing Commons, n.d.
- Moxley, Joseph M., and Julie Staggers. “Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World.” Writing Commons, 2023.
- Yu, Han, and Jonathan Buehl, editors. Keywords in Technical and Professional Communication. WAC Clearinghouse/University Press of Colorado, 2023.
Workplace Writing—Writing Commons Course
- Workplace Writing is a Writing Commons course created by Joseph M. Moxley and Julie Staggers. It features a sample syllabus, assignments, readings, and other resources for instructors and students.
Other Open Educational Resources
The Writing Program recommends the following open educational resources as alternatives to commercial textbooks. (Please note that we discovered many of these materials through the excellent work of San Diego State University’s Writing Hub.)
- A Writer’s Guide to Mindful Reading
- Bad Ideas About Writing
- Boundless Writing
- Choosing and Using Sources
- Excelsior OWL
- Expression and Inquiry
- Open Technical Communication
- Technical and Professional Communication: Open-Access Educational Resources
- The Nature of Writing
- The Word on College Reading and Writing
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Writing Lab
- Who Teaches Writing?
- Write Here, Right Now
- Writing Commons
- Writing in College: From Competence to Excellence
- Writing Spaces
CONTACT INFORMATION
Writing Program Administrators
Erick Piller
Peltier Hall 251B
erick.piller@nicholls.edu
985-448-4980
Scott Banville
Peltier Hall 251C
scott.banville@nicholls.edu
985-448-4445