Hindsight is 2020 – Resources

On this page, you’ll find resources generated by our March 12, 2021 event, Hindsight is 2020. We envisioned this meeting of writing center professionals, administrators, tutors, and students as a way for us to come together after a very long and strange year. We hope you’ll find some insights here from our community about how to practice writing center work both during and after this crisis.

Writing Center Life Hacks

“Orienting Clients in a Pandemic”

Submitted by Liz Whiteacre and Dawn Hershberger
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? To solve the problem of orienting students participating in the Designated Tutor Program, we created a video for participating asynchronous, online classes. Our infographic shares what we did and what we’d do differently next time.
Keywords: Orientation, Communicating with Clients, Communicating with Faculty

“How to Get Your Student to Write in Their Own Words, Instead of Yours”

Submitted by Abigail Lake
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? It’s all in the title! I get a lot of students asking me how I would fix the content of their paper, but I always try to get them to tell me instead. The results almost always yield what you see in the video (well, sort of).
Keywords: Content Building, Brainstorming, Student Engagement

Proofreading Hack

Submitted by Kaylynn Welch
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? This resource could help tutors with proofreading their own or students’ papers by giving them easy way to catch mistakes.
Keywords: Proofreading, Editing

Receptionist Hack

Submitted by Mary Evelyn McPherson
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? This resource could help receptionists stay organized when talking to clients or answering questions over the phone.
Keywords: Receptionist, Organization

Folder Organization Hack

Submitted by Sarah Jarrell
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? This video can provide tutors with a model for how to organize writing center related files on their computer.
Keywords: Files, Computer Organization, Tutor Efficiency

“Tips for Tutors, From Tutors”

Submitted by Brittany Ellis, Martha McCafferty, Kellie Smith, Christina Staten, and Olivia Wright
How can this resource help folks working in writing centers? Though we all miss being face-to-face and helping students in person, we have developed a great sense of community while being online . Here are some of our favorite tutoring “hacks” that have made this transition easier!
Keywords: Fostering Community, Online Tutoring, Workplace Culture