Starting the Conversation

by Kyli Ramsay

Listen to this submission by clicking play below!

In order to become a Writing Tutor at The Writing Center @ Penn State Learning, students must take a training course, ENGL 250. My professor, Beth Parfitt, tasked us with making a mock-up redesign of The Dangling Modifier, a site intended to connect Peer Writing Tutors nationally. I had never even heard of this site before. Also, for someone joining a class to learn about becoming a tutor, I was surprised to be doing web design. I had little to no experience with this concept and truly did not understand why I had to do it. Beth told us the site started to decline when COVID-19 hit, reducing submissions and the size of issues. Three years later, looking at the site seemed confusing. The site’s visual aspects did not scream “Writing Tutor” nor did it seem to be mostly produced by undergraduate students. Navigating the site was complicated, and posts offered little to no visual value or inspiration.

So I got to work.

My classmates and I combed through WordPress themes, navigated Sites at Penn State, and attempted to create our own version of what would one day be an improved Dangling Modifier. Everyone had great ideas. We workshopped with each other and helped one another figure out different site hacks. 

The initial site I created with this project by no means resembles The Dangling Modifier you see now, but it was enough to prompt Beth to ask me to work on this site further with her help. Additionally, she introduced me to the Student Engagement Network (SEN) Grant, which would allow me to work more on the site without having to miss out on work opportunities to support my living on campus. 

I started brainstorming different looks and ideas with Beth with little knowledge about Web Design. I had to keep in mind that this site would not resemble that of a multi-million dollar company but that it needed to be freshened up. It was tough to wrestle with the ideas of grandeur and remember the importance of simplicity.

Lucky for me, I had an open English class this semester and my advisor suggested ENGL 420, Writing for the Web. At the time, I had no plans to write for the web, but I figured the class wouldn’t be all that miserable. As it turns out, it was one of the most helpful classes for this experience. 

While taking ENGL 420 this semester, Spring 2023, I learned about Divi, a free theme within sites at Penn State that allows you to completely build the look of your site from a blank page. I immediately loved the idea. I could create the site the way I wanted without any barriers. Beth loved the idea. It wasn’t until I actually started working on creating the site that I realized just how challenging and demanding the site would be. I had to learn how to design aesthetic yet user-friendly titles and fonts, make the site mobile-friendly, account for accessibility, and navigate how to manage potential submissions, among many other things. 

My nights became consumed with Google searches: “How to add headers in Divi,” “How to remove author meta in Divi,” and “Theme ideas for Divi.” Even after all of this, when I finally figured most of it out and got an actual site template, I hated it. After all that work! I quickly came to realize that perhaps simpler was better, but that didn’t change what I learned along the way. I learned about the importance of headings for accessibility, adding alt text, important information for menus, and more. I was also able to determine the site’s true purpose through all of this. 

My dream for the site is to find a new, more active way for undergraduate students from writing centers across the nation to communicate about their experiences.

I also wanted to make the site more accessible and visually appealing. I have learned so much about my ability to problem-solve, my awareness of various communities, and my professional writing skills through this experience. I am excited to share that with the world and see other students at our writing center here at Penn State find the passion that I did when making this site.

In order to keep the dream, we need submissions! Submissions can include any medium of writing with any and all topics related to Peer Writing Tutoring. If you are an undergraduate student interested in writing for The Dangling Modifier, or if you have any questions, hit the submit button in the menu or follow this link. Happy writing!

About the Author

Kyli Ramsay anticipates graduating from Schreyer Honors College at Penn State in May of 2025 with a degree in Secondary English Education and a minor in English. Kyli has been working at The Writing Center @ Penn State Learning for over a year and has the position of Community Manager which allowed her to get involved in the redevelopment of The Dangling Modifier. As President of her a cappella group, None of the Above, Kyli values leadership, effective communication, and organizational skills. In her free time, Kyli enjoys music of all genres, reading rom-com novels—especially the overly cheesy ones—and hanging out with friends.