This online textbook provides a generalized understanding of composition and to serve as a supplementary aid to high school English teachers.

This collection of resources covers the fundamentals of literature and encourages critical and thoughtful responses to a variety of writings, from short stories, poetry, and music to case studies and academic essays. There is a comprehensive guide to the basic building blocks of writing, with terms, discussion points, video examples, and pop-culture relevancy. A link to each writing is included, with works ranging from Sophocles to Bono. 

This resource contains a downloadable common cartridge file for ENGL1020. The entire course is a true OER remix, containing original OER materials as well as OERs adopted or adapted from other authors. The course includes the texts of readings, or links to the text. Each page in the course has a CC license on it.

Thank you for visiting our Tennessee Board of Regents OER Grant English 1020: Introduction to Literature course. The pilot launched in spring 2023. This Walters State Community College composition course focuses on reading and analyzing poetry, drama, and short stories. The course has been designed with Quality Matters standards, Universal Design for Learning concepts, Growth Mindset fundamentals, and Lumen Circles concepts.     

These four literature-based composition assignments guide students through increasingly sophisticated use of sources. The different techniques used in each of the first three papers are all applied in the longer fourth paper, for which students “adopt” a short story and its author, performing wide-ranging general and scholarly research to create a unified discussion.

Here are the guidelines for Essay 1. Choose one topic to write the first essay.

Objective: I can identify and explain the theme of a story.After reading the book Auggie and Me: A Julian Chapter as a class, students are going to work in groups to create a headline for the book that captures the core idea or theme that we want to remember. Then, once they have their headline, on their own, they will take their headline and create an article that explains or supports the headline. Finally, they will work through the writing process to publish their article. *This activity should take 2-3 hours to complete. 

Objective: I can identify and explain the theme of a story.After reading the book Auggie and Me: A Julian Chapter as a class (or having students read it), students are going to work in a group to create a headline for the book that captures the core idea or theme that we want to remember. Then, once they have their headline, on their own, they will take their headline and create an article that explains or supports the headline. Finally, they will work through the writing process to publish their article. *This activity should take 2-3 hours to complete. 

A presentation for writers struggling creativity as they follow along with the effect that Hamilton: An American Musical had on my own creative writing journey.

This is an activity designed to accompany Edgar Allen Poe's A Tell Tale Heart. It includes discussion about mental illness and ends with the students writing a letter to Poe.

It is not enough when writing or responding to a piece of literature to share an opinion. Writers and speakers need to justify why the opinion is a valid opinion.
In the writings submitted in class, many students have not been providing justifications or reasons that support the statements made. A good way to find justifications is to look back through what was read for specific details to support the point to be made. Finding information from the text to support the points being made strengthens the argument and is what those that write well do. Strive to improve – use justifications in your writing responses!