Abstract
In 1976, when was struggling with a bewildering explosion of figures gathered in relation to a study of basic writers, wrote to Mina Shaughnessy. Help, said, I am awash in a sea of uncontrolled variables, error counts, and tests for statistical significance. Now that I've started counting things, can't seem to stop. As always, Mina somehow found time to write back, and she gave me some eminently sensible advice: Cut the list of countable items in half, she said, and then begin to narrow from there. But while you count and categorize, don't forget to listen to what the students are telling you. Her concern was later reiterated in the essay, Basic Writing: