Top Picks
Business Writing
"This course allows students to develop effective written communication strategies specifically for the workplace. From idea gathering to drafting to delivery, this course will prepare students to write a variety of documents, including memos, letters, and reports, tailored to professional audiences." (Lumen Learning)
The Process of Research Writing
"The Process of Research Writing is a web-based research writing textbook suitable for teachers and students in research oriented composition and rhetoric classes." (Steven D. Krause)
English Composition I
"Composition I focuses on principles of writing, critical reading and essay composition using rhetorical styles common in college-level writing (narrative, example/illustration, compare/contrast, cause-and-effect, argument)." (OER Commons)
Writing for Succes
"Writing for Success is a text that provides instruction in steps, builds writing, reading, and critical thinking, and combines comprehensive grammar review with an introduction to paragraph writing and composition." (University of Minnesota Open Textbooks)
Style for Students: A Writing Guide
"Whether planning a paper, running a grammar check, completing a report, composing an email, puzzling over a usage or grammar issue, or writing a resume or online portfolio, you are bound to find the material and examples you need in Style for Students Online." (Lumen Learning)
Textbook Databases
These links will take you directly to the portions of textbook databases that contain materials relevant to your subject. This is not an exhaustive list; we encourage you to investigate the Open Textbooks tab for additional content.
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College Open Textbook - English and Composition
• Aims to drive awareness, adoption, and affordability of open textbooks
• Lists open textbooks, peer reviews, and accessibility reviews
• Focused on the first two years of education at 4-year institutions
• Project of COT Education, a non-profit organization -
The Orange Grove Humanities Textbooks
• Florida's digital repository for instructional resources
• Multiple types of resources including open textbooks
• Can generally be distributed and downloaded freely, so long as credit is given and the works are not altered or used in commercial means -
Saylor Academy Books
• Repository of textbooks used for Saylor Academy's courses
• Freely available and open for downloading and sharing for the public
• Non-profit organization which offers free and open online courses and resources
Journal and Article Databases
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Directory of Open Access Journals
DOAJ is a directory of over 9,000 journals and more than 1.5 million articles from 133 countries. These articles can be freely customized, even for commercial purposes, so long as the work is attributed to the original author and the new work is licensed in the same way as the source material. In order to be accepted, the journals and articles must be peer-reviewed or editorial quality.
General Purpose Databases
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Merlot IIMERLOT II is a program of the California State University, in partnership with educational institutions, professional societies, and industries to provide a database of more than 40,000 materials related to a wide variety of subjects. These materials come in a variety of formats, including animations and simulations, assignments and quizzes/tests, case studies and reference materials, and open textbooks, journals, and articles. The intent is for these OER materials to be used by educators and students to enhance the learning experience.
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OER Commons
OER Commons is an Open Education resource similar to Merlot II which searches a variety of materials provided by other websites, institutions and societies according to your topic. There are various types of resources including full courses, textbooks, slides, articles, and more. This link will take you to the political science, but you can search for key words or by material type on the home page.
Search for Similar Materials by ISBN
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The California State Universityoffers users the ability to search for free online materials that are similar in content to many popular textbooks. Just enter a book's ISBN number and see what awaits!