-by David Wandera

“The writing center, year after year, has been the reason I do well at Bread Loaf. Keep up the good work.” (VT student, Summer 2013)

1 The number of writing centers in Vermont during the summer session 2013.

2 The number of venues where people could meet for Writing Center peer reading (library and the barn)

3 The number of peer reader meetings held to reflect, regroup, and consult

5 The number of days during the week when the Writing Center was open

5 The number of weeks when the Writing Center was open for business

5 ½ The number of hours every peer reader spent in training at the start of the summer

8 a.m. The earliest the Writing Center was open (on Sundays)

8 The number of stages of writing when people sought peer reading services

“brainstorming”

“rough draft”

“first draft”

“editing”

“nearly final draft”

“finishing and editing”

“done”

“completed draft”

8 The number of categories of positive comments about what was useful during peer reading sessions.

“brainstorming, bouncing ideas, having someone to ask questions”

“time to find my own errors and problems mixed with suggestions”

“solid feedback”

“reflecting back concerns”

“she helped me find an ending that was not happy”

“I received great advice as to how to make my main idea cleaner throughout the piece”

“good give and take, asked me about my understanding of poems”

“the ability to improve my essay and learn new writing techniques”

9 The lowest number of visits per week to the Writing Center (during the second week of the summer).

10 p.m. The official time when the Writing Center was to be closed for the day (on Sundays)

12 a.m. The actual time some peer reading sessions ended at the Writing Center (sometimes even at 1am!)

17 The highest number of visits per week to the Writing Center (during the week of finals)

18 The number of peer readers giving service in the VT Writing Center 2013.

30 The total number of hours the Writing Center was open each week

150 The total number of hours the Writing Center was open for the whole summer

A favorite studying spot for Writing Center peer readers on the 2nd floor of the library