Submission FAQs

*To submit your piece right now, please fill out this Google Form.

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Content Guidelines FAQs

Who should I write to?

We hope writers can imagine they are writing directly to their undergraduate peers in the writing center community.  As our tagline states, the Dangling Modifier is “for peer tutors, by peer tutors.” For many writers, this may be their first publication. With that in mind, we want them to write for the communities they know well, to showcase their voice and ethos as tutors. Though we hope writing center staff and personnel will also read published pieces, we strive to reach an undergraduate audience, so we want our writers to as well!

Does my writing have to be formal?

Absolutely not! You can write a formal piece, a conversational piece, make a comical video, write a poem—any voice that is uniquely yours. When considering what tone to write in, authors should consider their genre as well as their intended audience and purpose. The DM does use a blog format, and so we may encourage you to consider conventions of this style of writing.  For example, blogs typically including enticing (i.e. clickable!) titles, clear and conversational vocabulary, and content that speaks to other ongoing conversations on the web.  By using this familiar style we hope to meet reader expectations for engaging and accessible web writing.

How long does my submission have to be?

This will entirely depend on the medium you choose. A poem can be very short, whereas a video’s length is determined more by time rather than word count. We ask that you use your best judgment for length and consider how much space you truly need to get your point across. We want writers to have space to play while also recognizing that blogs typically hover in the 1000-word sphere. In general, written article submissions should not be more than 2,000 words and videos/podcasts should be kept under 10 minutes. Think about how much time you would spend reading or listening to a blog post.

How should I title my piece?

Be creative with a purpose! Generally aim for a shorter title, 10 words or less, but find a way to hook your audience before they even read or listen to your introduction.

How should my piece look on the page?

Once again, this depends on the medium you choose. For videos and podcasts, this is not necessarily an issue. However, poets should consider how their work’s layout delivers a message. If a PDF is simpler to convey a message, editors can also consider that. Blog writers should consider adding headings, subheadings, pull quotes, and potentially images to break up their work on the page and make it easier to consume as a reader. We want writers to consider the rhetorical design of the work and how that impacts the content.

Do I need citations?

Often, sources can provide context and evidence for our positions and arguments. Citations help readers to understand how we know what we know. It may be helpful to pretend your reader has limited knowledge of your topic. What might they need to know to understand your piece? Another way of thinking about this is that writing is a conversation. Sources and citations illustrate to your readers which conversations you’re engaging with online. You can do this directly by linking to specific websites and publications or you can do this more formally by using a style system, like MLA. In sum, citations allow readers to better understand where information and ideas are coming from. That said, not every piece may require direct citations.

If you do cite or quote sources in your piece directly, we ask that you use one of the following consistently throughout your piece:

  1. Use parenthetical citations in MLA format with a works cited following the piece.
  2. Directly link sources in the article using hyperlinks.

Do I need pictures?

One of the great affordances of online publication is the ability to embed images, audio, and visual to creative a more interactive reading experience. We encourage writers to include media in their posts to interact and engage with readers on multiple levels. Any photos/images you submit to us should be copyright free or you should have permission to use. Please follow all attribution guidelines if choosing creative commons licensed images.

We are happy to work with writers doing experimental, multimodal work, and can work with those writers on a case-by-case basis.

How do I send in my submission?

Once you feel your piece is ready (see above), you can submit your piece either by going to the website and choosing the “Submit” tab in the menu or by going directly to this form.

The form will walk you through submitting your piece, but you should be prepared to include the following:

  • Your preferred email
  • Whether or not you’re an undergraduate student
  • Name (as you would like it to appear on the site if accepted)
  • Writing center affiliation
  • A place to copy and paste (or email) your piece
  • Why do you think your piece is a good fit for The Dangling Modifier?
  • If accepted, are you able to Zoom about your submission after we send it to our team? (times will be scheduled on an individual basis)
  • Any other questions/concerns you have

Accepted Submissions FAQs

What happens after my piece is accepted?

Once your piece is accepted, you will receive an email from the Publishing Manager assigning you a Google Drive folder where you will upload accepted submission information outlined below. You will also receive a Process Mentor, who will guide you through the publishing process and meet with you via Zoom if you indicated so on your initial submission application. They will be your main point of contact during your publishing journey.

What do I need in my author’s bio and photo?

In your author bio we ask that you generally include your name, year, major(s)/minor(s), graduation year, writing history/writing center association, and a fun fact.  Work your ethos here! Our philosophy is that tutors are also humans and we recognize that our personal hobbies and interests often influence who we are in the writing center. We also recognize that the DM is a first publication for many writers and is often used to promote research and writing skills to future employers and graduate schools. You may choose to craft your bio with all this in mind.

Examples:

  • Jane Tabet-Kirkpatrick is a recent graduate from the University of New Mexico with a degree in Political Science and Spanish. She worked as a writing center consultant for two years at the University if New Mexico-Valencia campus. She hopes to teach English in Spain before applying to law school. She is also an avid Taylor Swift fan!
  • Sarah Flynn is currently a senior at Worcester State University, Massachusetts. She will graduate in May 2022 with a Bachelor’s degree of Arts in English with a concentration in writing and a minor in Communication. She is a CRLA–certified writing consultant who has been working at her university’s writing center since October 2019. She has written within various writing genres such as academic writing, professional writing, journalistic writing, technical writing, and her favorite, creative writing. For her senior capstone, she created a short story collection inspired by Dungeons & Dragons called The Haunted One. She has multiple articles and videos published in The New Worcester Spy. If you are interested in her writing, see her portfolio at: https://www.sarah-flynn.com/.
  • With an MAT in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) from USC, Stephanie Liu-Rojas works with international and multilingual students in writing and speaking, while also coordinating the Writing Center at Pitzer College. Currently, she is pursuing her PhD in Educational Studies at the Claremont Graduate University with an emphasis on inclusive pedagogies and transformative justice. When she isn’t studying or researching ways to be more inclusive, diverse, and equitable in her teachings, Stephanie indulges in vegan chocolate, nature, children’s adventure book series, and action movies.

For the author photo, we ask you to make sure it’s an appropriate picture that you are comfortable having posted alongside your work.

How do I submit an audio recording of my piece?

We encourage all writers to include an audio recording of their piece to accompany the print text on the site. This not only adds accessibility to your piece, but it also creates more ways to read and interact with your work. Considering reading aloud is a key tenet of the face-to-face writing tutorial, we like to think this task mimics that process and includes the affordances that come with it.

You can record your piece using a voice memo on a phone or a professional recording with a microphone. MP3 files work best. You will submit this in the post-acceptance Google Drive Folder.

What are “pull quotes”?

A pull quote is like a teaser from an article, often a catchy phrase or quote, displayed as a graphic element on the page. It’s meant to draw readers in or emphasize an important point in the article. In your Google Drive folder, we ask that in a document you include parts of your piece that you would like to become a pull quote.

What are the “keywords” I need to submit?

We ask that writers include 3-4 keywords or “searchable tags” for their piece On their accepted submission document. These are words related to your piece so that if someone is searching for posts about a specific topic, they can find it easily on our site. Example keywords for this article would be: AI, ChatGPT, Creativity, and Originality.

 

After all of this is completed, the piece will be reviewed a final time with your Process Mentor and then it is published on the site! You can reach out to us or your Process Mentor anytime during the process for help or guidance.

If you have any questions, please feel free to email us: danglingmodifier.psu.edu@gmail.com