Purpose
This digital anthology houses the shared readings used across SSC composition courses to strengthen analytical reading, discussion, and academic writing. (Teagle Foundation Reading Initiative)
ALL
1113
1213
EXTERNAL
Tip: Use the filter + search below to quickly find a reading. Titles open in a new tab.
How to use this anthology
1) Choose your course filter (or “All”). 2) Search by title or author. 3) Open the PDF and use your device’s annotation tools. If a link is marked EXTERNAL, it opens a website instead of a PDF. 4) Cite using MLA 9th edition
Complete Anthology Catalog (A–Z by Author)
All readings are listed below. Use filters/search to narrow.
A
Top ↑Achebe, Chinua
- Things Fall Apartnovel11131213
Alcott, Louisa May
- “Transcendental Wild Oats”short story11131213
Ali, Agha Shahid
- “Tonight”poetry11131213
Angelou, Maya
- “Finishing School”non-fiction11131213
- “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”poetryALL
- “Still I Rise”poetryALL
B
Top ↑Barthelme, Donald
- “Some of Us Had Been Threatening Our Good Friend Colby”short story11131213
Benét, Stephen Vincent
- “The Devil and Daniel Webster”short storyALL
Birk, Newman P., and Genevieve B. Birk NOT POL PDF
- “Selection, Slanting and Charged Language”non-fiction11131213
Boethius
- “Fortune’s Wheel”non-fiction11131213
Bradbury, Ray
- DOWNLOADS RATHER THAN OPENS Fahrenheit 451novelALL
- “All Summer in a Day”short storyALL
- “The Veldt”short storyALL
Brady, Judy
- “Why I Want a Wife”non-fictionALL
Buckley, William F., Jr.
- DNLS/NOT POL “Why Don’t We Complain?”non-fictionALL
C
Top ↑Camus, Albert
- “The Myth of Sisyphus”non-fiction1213
Cheever, John
- NP “The Swimmer”short storyALL
Chopin, Kate
- “The Story of an Hour”short storyALL
Clear, James
- “Why Facts Don’t Change Our Minds”non-fiction11131213
Clifton, Lucille
- NP “homage to my hips”poetryALL
Cross, Donna Woolfolk
- “Propaganda: How Not to Be Bamboozled”non-fiction1213
Crow Dog, Mary, and Richard Erdoes
- “Civilize Them with a Stick”non-fiction11131213
D
Top ↑de Maupassant, Guy
- “The Necklace”short storyALL
Dix, Dorothea
- NP “I Tell What I Have Seen” (excerpt from On Behalf of the Insane Poor)non-fiction11131213
Dold, Catherine
- NP “American Cannibal” (formerly: “What Happened to the Anasazi”)non-fiction11131213
Donne, John
- “Meditation XVII”non-fiction11131213
Douglass, Frederick
- “Learning to Read and Write”non-fictionALL
- “Resurrection”non-fiction11131213
Dove, Rita
Doyle, Arthur Conan
- Hound of the Baskervilles novella ALL
Dugan, Alan
- NP “Prayer”poetry11131213
Dweck, Carol S.
- ISE “Boosting Achievement with Messages that Motivate”non-fiction11131213
E
Top ↑Egan, Jennifer
- NP “The Thin Red Line”non-fiction11131213
Ellison, Ralph
- NP “Battle Royal” (excerpt from *Invisible Man*)non-fiction11131213
Emerson, Ralph Waldo
- “Nature”non-fiction1213
- “Self-Reliance”non-fiction1213
Epstein, Joseph
- “The Perpetual Adolescent”non-fiction11131213
Erdrich, Louise
- ISE American Horseshort story11131213
- ISE Poemspoetry11131213
- ISE The Flowershort story11131213
- ISE The Leapshort story11131213
- ISE The Red Convertibleshort story11131213
F
Top ↑Faulkner, William
- "A Rose for Emily" short storyALL
Frankel, Max
- NP “Turning Away from the Holocaust”non-fictionALL
Freire, Paulo
- NP “The ‘Banking’ Concept of Education” (Chapter 2 only)non-fiction1213
Frost, Robert
- “Mending Wall”poetryALL
G
Top ↑Gaiman, Neil
- Coralinenovella11131213
Gilman, Charlotte Perkins
- “The Yellow Wallpaper”short story11131213
H
Top ↑Hass, Robert
- NP “A Story about the Body”poetry11131213
Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- “Rappaccini’s Daughter”short storyALL
- “The Birthmark”short story11131213
- “The Minister’s Black Veil”short storyALL
- “Young Goodman Brown”short storyALL
HBP Editors
Hughes, Langston
- “I, Too, Sing America”poetryALL
- “Let America Be America Again”poetryALL
- “Theme for English B”poetryALL
J
Top ↑Jackson, Andrew
- Second Annual Addressnon-fiction1213
Jackson, Shirley
- The Lotteryshort storyALL
Jacobs, W. W.
- “The Monkey’s Paw”short storyALL
Jefferson, Thomas
- Declaration of Independencenon-fiction11131213
Justice, Donald
- NP “Men at Forty”poetryALL
K
Top ↑Kafka, Franz
- The Metamorphosisnovella11131213
Kakutani, Michiko
- NP “The Word Police”non-fiction11131213
Keller, Helen
- “The Day Language Came into My Life”non-fictionALL
King, Martin Luther, Jr.
- “I Have a Dream”non-fictionALL
- "In Response to Public Statement by Eight Alabama Clergymen”non-fiction11131213
- "Letter from Birmingham Jail”non-fiction11131213
King, Robert D.
- "Should English Be the Law?”non-fiction11131213
Kingsolver, Barbara
- “Somebody’s Baby”non-fictionALL
Knoblauch, C. H.
- Professor McBride’s Study Guide to Knoblauchresource11131213
- “Literacy and the Politics of Education”non-fiction1213
Kristofferson, Kris
- ISE Video of songvideo11131213
- ise Me and Bobby McGee”poetryALL
L
Top ↑Lamott, Anne
- Shitty First Draftsnon-fiction11131213
Langer, Susanne K.
- ISE “Language and Thought”non-fiction11131213
Le Guin, Ursula K.
- The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelasshort storyALL
- “She Unnames Them”short storyALL
Learning Strategies
- ISE 10 Do’s and Don’ts for Office VisitsresourceALL
- 10 Tips for Getting Better GradesresourceALLEXTERNAL
- WRONG LINK 10 Ways to Whip the Freshman Composition RequirementresourceALLEXTERNAL
- ISE 9 Questions to Improve MetacognitionresourceALL
- ISE Bloom’s Taxonomy: Writing that Demonstrates Thinking AbilityresourceALL
- ISE Class EtiquetteresourceALL
- ISE Differences between High School and CollegeresourceALL
- ISE Effective Metacognitive StrategiesresourceALL
- ISE Fixed vs. Growth Mindsets SummaryresourceALL
- Four Student Behaviors That Will Endear You to ProfessorsresourceALLEXTERNAL
- ISE How to Study (resources page)resourceALL
- ISE Metacognition: Learning about Learning (video)videoALL
- ISE Mindset InfographicresourceALL
- Study PledgeresourceALLEXTERNAL
- ISE The Study Cycle (graphic)resourceALL
- What I Wish Someone Had Told Me about Freshman YearresourceALLEXTERNAL
Lederer, Richard
Lee, Li-Young
- ISE “Persimmons”poetryALL
Lutz, William
- ISE “The World of Doublespeak”non-fiction11131213
- ISE “Weasel Words”non-fiction11131213
M
Top ↑Madison, James
- Amendments to the US Constitutionnon-fiction11131213
- US Constitutionnon-fiction11131213
Mill, John Stuart
- On Liberty (abridged)non-fiction11131213
Moore, Dinty W.
- "Of Striped Food and Polar Bears"non-fiction11131213
Morrison, Toni
- BROKEN "Recitatif"short story11131213EXTERNAL
- NP "Sweetness"short story11131213EXTERNAL
- ?? Belovedshort story11131213EXTERNAL
- BROKN The Bluest Eyeshort story11131213EXTERNAL
Mull, Amanda
- "How to Stop Hating Your Least Favorite Food"non-fiction11131213
Murray, Donald M.
- "The Maker's Eye: Revising Your Own Manuscript"non-fictionALL
N
Top ↑Naylor, Gloria
- "The Meanings of a Word"non-fictionALL
Nixon, Richard
- "Checker's Speech"non-fiction1213
Noyes, Alfred
- "The Highwayman"poetryALL
O
Top ↑Orwell, George
- Animal Farmnovel11131213
- “A Hanging”non-fictionALL
- “Excerpt from 1984 and ‘The Principles of Newspeak’”non-fiction11131213
- “Freedom of the Press” (Proposed Preface to Animal Farm)non-fiction11131213
- “Politics and the English Language”non-fiction11131213
- “Shooting an Elephant”non-fictionALL
- “Why I Write”non-fiction11131213
P
Top ↑Paine, Thomas
- "Common Sense"non-fiction1213
PBS
- Indian Removal Actnon-fiction1213
Piercy, Marge
- NP "The Friend"poetryALLEXTERNAL
Plato
- "Allegory of the Cave"non-fiction1213
Poe, Edgar Allan
- "The Black Cat"short storyALL
- "The Cask of Amontillado"short storyALL
- "The Man of the Crowd"short storyALL
- "The Masque of the Red Death"short storyALL
- "The Philosophy of Composition"essay11131213
- "The Pit and the Pendulum"short storyALL
- "The Raven"poetryALL
R
Top ↑Rauch, Jonathan
- NP "Caring for Your Introvert"non-fictionALLEXTERNAL
Red Cloud
- "Red Cloud's Speech"non-fictionALL
Rhode, Deborah L.
- NP "Why Looks Are the Last Bastion of Discrimination"non-fictionALL
Ringo, Allegra
- "Why Do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?"non-fictionALL
Roberts, Paul
- BROKEN "How to Say Nothing in 500 Words"non-fictionALLEXTERNAL
Roethke, Theodore
- NP "My Papa's Waltz"poetryALLEXTERNAL
Rothschild, Matthew
- NP "The New McCarthyism"non-fiction1213EXTERNAL
S
Top ↑Sagan, Carl
- "The Fine Art of Baloney Detection"non-fiction11131213
Saki (H. H. Munro)
- "The Open Window"short storyALL
Schiel, Marilyn
- NP "Levi's"non-fictionALL
Sedaris, David
- NP 25 Great Essays and Short Stories by David Sedaris from The Electric Typewriternon-fiction11131213EXTERNAL
- NP Essays from The New Yorkernon-fiction11131213EXTERNAL
Smith, Stevie
- "Not Waving but Drowning"poetryALL
Stanton, Elizabeth Cady
- "The Declaration of Sentiments"non-fiction11131213
Steinbeck, John
- BROKEN Excerpts from The Grapes of Wrath (Chapter 19)non-fiction11131213EXTERNAL
Stockton, Frank
- “The Lady or the Tiger”short storyALL
Stryk, Lucien
- NP "Cherries"poetryALLEXTERNAL
Swift, Jonathan
- "A Modest Proposal"non-fiction1213
T
Top ↑Tannen, Deborah
- ISE "Sex, Lies and Conversation"non-fiction11131213
- ISE Other articles by Tannennon-fiction11131213
Thoreau, Henry David
- "Civil Disobedience"non-fiction1213
Thurber, James
- “The Catbird Seat”short storyALL
Twain, Mark
- "Fenimore Cooper's Literary Offenses"short story11131213
- ISE "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County"short storyALL
- ISE The Man that Corrupted Hadleyburgshort story11131213
U
Top ↑V
Top ↑Van Dusen, Lewis
- "Civil Disobedience: Destroyer of Democracy"non-fiction1213
Vonnegut, Kurt
- NP "How to Write with Style"non-fictionALL
W
Top ↑Walker, Alice
- ISE "Am I Blue?"non-fictionALL
- "Everyday Use"short storyALL
White, E. B.
- ISE "Once More to the Lake"non-fiction11131213
Winn, Marie
- ISE "Television: The Plug-In Drug"non-fiction11131213
Wollstonecraft, Mary
- "A Vindication of the Rights of Women"non-fiction11131213
Wordsworth, William
- "Expostulation and Reply"poetry11131213
- ISE "Lines Composed a Few Miles above Tintern Abbey"poetry11131213
X
Top ↑X, Malcolm
- ISE "Coming to an Awareness of Language"non-fictionALL
Y
Top ↑Yeats, William Butler
- ISE "An Irish Airman Foresees His Death"poetry11131213
- ISE "When You Are Old"poetry11131213
Z
Top ↑Zinsser, William
- "Simplicity"non-fiction11131213