Literature and Writing with Dr. Whitney Kosters

Literature and Writing with Dr. Whitney Kosters English professor, PhD in Literature, with 20+ years teaching college-level English. Premium teaching guides on Gumroad + Teachers Pay Teachers.

Lectures, writing strategies, and literary analysis for students, teachers, and writers.

09/23/2026

How to motivate students to read: Part 4.

Stop explaining so much before students start to read. Let them feel that something is off before you tell them what it means, and suddenly they have a reason to keep reading.

Follow for the entire series and share your tips below.

09/10/2026

Rhetorical analysis helps you understand how a message is influencing you instead of just experiencing the effect.
In my full lecture, I break down how to do rhetorical analysis in 7 steps. Watch here:
https://youtu.be/kcMRS601bLM

Teachers, I also turned these same 7 steps into a classroom poster you can use with your students so the strategies stay visible all year long. Download the poster here or click the link in my bio: https://whitneykoster.gumroad.com/l/ajwzbv


RIP, Dolly Parton. đź’” What an icon. I hope we never forget how hard she worked to put millions of books into the hands of...
08/26/2026

RIP, Dolly Parton. đź’”

What an icon. I hope we never forget how hard she worked to put millions of books into the hands of children who may never have grown up with them otherwise. Let's keep honoring her legacy by continuing to read to children, supporting libraries, and helping all people find the book that makes them want to read another one. Reading changes what we can imagine for ourselves and what we ultimately understand about the world around us.


08/14/2026

The first week of school is the perfect time to set the tone for what reading can actually be:
curious, human, personal, and always worth
discussing. That’s why I made this poster: to
keep this purpose visible all year.

Download it here: https://whitneykoster.gumroad.com/l/qcrne


08/14/2026

Teaching _Frankenstein_ in AP Lit this year? I made a full unit so you don't have to buila everything from scratch. It includes lessons, close reading, AP style MCQS, FRQs, and exam practice, plus my full Frankenstein lecture is free right here:
https://youtu.be/jqb3zY4olm4

I'm an AP Reader, English professor, and hold a PhD in English, so the whole unit is built around the kind of thinking students actually need for AP Lit.

Teachers, download the teaching guide here: https:// whitneykoster.gumroad.com/l/gnbnxj

Students, download the study guide here: https:// whitneykoster.gumroad.com/l/cgfbbs

08/05/2026

Need Help Turning an Interpretation into a Literary Argument?

The biggest mistake in literary analysis isn't choosing the wrong evidence-it's believing evidence is the argument. In my full lecture, I'll show you, step-by-step, how to build a literary argument.

Watch it here:
https://youtu.be/RheO9yqltlA

Join me on YouTube at www.YouTube.com/


Join me on TikTok at www.TikTok.com/


www.drwhitneykosters.com

Tips

08/01/2026

So many English teachers asked if they could hang this message in their classrooms… so I turned it into a printable poster.

It explains what literature is actually teaching students—and why English class has always been about more than just books.

Available here: https://whitneykoster.gumroad.com/l/qcrne

07/24/2026

You can know exactly what kind of life you want and still keep choosing the things that pull you away from it. Homer understood that nearly 3,000 years ago. If you've ever wondered why The Odyssey still matters, this is why.

Watch the full lecture here:
https://youtu.be/Q8nTT-MOcJY?is=y|kI_08A3qdQG7-X

Follow here and on YouTube if you want literature that helps you understand yourself as much as the stories. I make literature human. https://www.youtube.com/
?sub_confirmation=1

06/13/2026

Think You Don’t Like Jane Austen? Think Again…

06/02/2026

The secret English class kept from you

Address

Los Angeles, CA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Literature and Writing with Dr. Whitney Kosters posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to Literature and Writing with Dr. Whitney Kosters:

Shortcuts

Featured

Share

Category