word count in assignments

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Assignment length requirements are usually given in terms of numbers of words.

Unless the lecturer tells you that these limits are strict, it is normally acceptable to be 10% above or below this word limit (so, for example, a 2000 word assignment should be between 1800 and 2200 words). If the assignment uses the words “up to” (as in “up to 2500 words”) that usually means that you cannot go above the limit.

Use the tool below to calculate the acceptable range for an assignment (based on +/- 10%).

Unless the lecturer tells you otherwise, the word limit does not include ‘administrative’ sections of the assignment: the cover or title page, table of contents, table of figures, reference list, list of works cited, bibliography, or any appendices.

The word limit that you are given reflects the level of detail required . This means that if your assignment is too long, you're either taking too many words to explain your point or giving too many / too detailed examples. If your assignment is too short, either there is more to the answer than you have written or the assignment has not gone into enough detail about the answer.

• Don't try to remove single words from your assignment. It is unlikely to reduce the assignment's length significantly, but it may confuse your argument . Instead, aim to remove or condense whole sections of your assignment.
• You should not include something just because it is a fact, or just because it is included in your course materials. Include something only if it is relevant to your argument.
• Be direct. State your point rather than writing many paragraphs to ‘lead up’ to it.
• Go back to the question . Which sections relate to the point and which are secondary?
• Go back to the plan . Which paragraphs fit in the overall structure? Which paragraphs overlap and can be combined?
• Remove sections where you
• Over-explain your point
• Over-specify your point
• Repeat yourself
• Write off-topic or ramble
• Remove multiple examples where one or two are sufficient.
• Remove hedging language that adds little to the argument (e.g., it would seem that, it is possible that).

If you are often over the word count you should look at your writing style. See writing concisely for more.

Explain your argument fully

• Make sure every argument in your head and in your plan is on the page.
• Would a general (i.e., non-specialist) reader understand your point? Have someone else read over your assignment and ask you questions about it. What do they think is missing?
• Are there gaps in your argument?
• Does each point logically follow the last one, or do you jump over important points?

Look for the ‘hidden’ answer

• What theories do you think the marker expects?
• How does this relate to the materials from lectures and study guides? Use the course information in your answer to the assignment question.
• Are there complications or contradictions in the argument or in your research? Explain them and explore them.

Flesh it out

• Define any special terminology you've used that a general reader would not be familiar with.
• Illustrate with more examples and/or quotations.
• Contextualise and explain the quotations you use. How do they relate to your argument?

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 12 December, 2018

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10 Ways to Increase Your Essay Word Count (AI Included)

Table of contents

One of the biggest challenges students face is writing long-form essays of 2,000 words or more.

Someone brought this up at a recent webinar I attended, and I couldn't help but think back to my freshman year. Several years ago, I had to write a long essay on an interesting but unfamiliar subject. It took me a lot longer than it should.

After writing hundreds of articles, essays and reports, I've developed my own list of 'smart hacks' to help increase word count on any written piece. 

Let's dive into the word count expansion strategies I use today when I write various texts.

How NOT to increase word count

Adding fluff words.

Adding meaningless words only confuses the core arguments and distracts the evaluator. Whatever merit your actual content may have had will be obscured by a mountain of meaningless words.

The sentence in my essay read,

"Violent acts by adults are often caused by childhood exposure to violence.".  

If I try to forcedly add fluff words to expand the text, my sentence would sound stretched:

“Violent acts are often associated with the fact that adults who commit violent acts - acts that are seen as savage, harsh, rough, physically abusive, or otherwise unacceptable in society - have been exposed to similar harsh or extreme violence during their childhoods or when they were young”.

Voice and tone

Although passive voice makes a sentence longer, I have found that my writing is much sharper when I use active voice. Also, do not confuse the need to use a formal or academic tone with passive voice.

Quoting without context

This one is like digging yourself into a hole. I quoted so many out-of-context references that I found my essay running on all sorts of tangents. After spending hours trying to connect the dots between the tangents, I ended up having to rewrite the entire piece because I was unable to justify the distracting content. 

Mindless paraphrasing

You hear it from your professor, and spew it back at her. Mindlessly repeating content in different sections of an essay - as if your teacher wouldn't notice, won't really help you ace your courses.

Even more mistakes

After asking some of my classmates, I found out that some of them had resorted to even worse hacks that eventually got them in trouble:

• Using filler words - In order to fill more pages, some diverge from the specified format and increase fonts, margins, and spacing. You will lose credibility if you do this, and you will also lose points if you deviate from the writing style specified.
• Plagiarism - Plagiarizing large chunks from others' essays or research papers was not only seen as lazy, but it was a fast way from a not-so-great grade to a failed grade.
• Other sneaky tricks - These included whitening out gibberish text and increasing the size of periods. Teachers have seen it all and know every trick in the book.

The right way to increase word count

Eventually, my word count increased in a way that makes each word actually count (pardon the pun), and it turns out there are some pretty cool tricks to do that.

With the right tools and techniques, you spend less time on the heavy lifting, more time on the actual writing, and at the end of the day, you have a much more comprehensive essay that is a delight to read. =

1. Use an AI writing tool

Skip the manual paraphrasing and use a smart AI writing tool. For example, I added almost 50 words to a 125-word paragraph using Wordtune’s text expand feature .

How to add more sentences to a paragraph

One method to expand your word count is to find short paragraphs and adding more sentences that clarify what they mean. This task used to be pretty frustrating, but with the use of AI it's made simple. Start by going over the essay, and notice if there's a paragraph that stands out in terms of being lean and overly simplified. Paste that paragraph into the Wordtune editor, and click the 'Plus' icon.

You'll be able to expand the article in any number of ways, including adding an explanation, an analogy, a counterargument, or even a simple continuation of your idea. Then, simply scroll through the different suggestions that AI produces, and find the best one.

2. Take advantage of outlines

It may seem counter-intuitive, but completing your outline can help you meet your word count goal.

Say you need to turn a 200-word article into a 1,500-word essay. Make an outline of the article before trying to tackle this seemingly impossible task of writing the whole piece.This will give you a clearer picture of how your entire thesis works and how to logically support it.

As an example, suppose we're writing an essay on why kids shouldn't play phone games.

To begin, you need to summarize your message in a few sentences. For example:

‍ “Kids have susceptible brains, and games can change the whole chemistry of their brains in a bad way, causing them to go off on tantrums and screaming fits. Moreover, these games form addictive habits that will persist when the kids become older. By continuing to play phone games, the kids fail to develop emotionally, and may become unsocial introverted people. Moreover, there are signs that games make kids more violent and emotionally unstable. Since phones are always at reach, kids can continuously play throughout the day, not stopping even when eating lunch or when attending a school class.”

Before expanding it, write an outline to get a sense of its structure and flow. As a result, you can easily determine how much text is needed for each section, which ones require expanded text, and which ones can be kept brief.  This clarity not only helps me reduce anxiety, but also gives me a clear plan of action to finish this essay!

For example, for the paragraph on video games, my outline would look something like this:

Introduction (include statistics and research to argue that video games are harmful for kids) and state the thesis (250 words) Negative effects of video games on children: first build larger categories and then substantiate with smaller points, evidence and data within each point: - Effects on emotional development (200 words) - Effects on physical development (200 words) - Effects on social development (200 words) - Effects on intellectual development (200 words) Give counter-views Cite research that talks about potential positive effects of video games, if used the proper way and under supervision (250 words) Give solutions State why parents find it so hard to keep kids away from video games, especially mobile video games, and offer concrete solutions to set better boundaries with kids for video game usage (250 words) Conclusion Offer a strong conclusion that brings all of the essay together in a summary (250 words)

Note that I’ve planned to write a few hundred more words than the prescribed word limit, so I have scope to edit and tighten later on. 

3. Expand your text with intros and conclusions

I use this method all the time to get unstuck and write longer articles without worrying about word counts.

Let's say you finish expanding your outline, and the article is still short a few hundred words.

Two places you should consider expanding are the introduction and conclusion.

How does this work?

• In the introduction and conclusion, you can add free-flowing stories, ideas and paragraphs, without having to validate each sentence with technical reference, sources and quotes.
• You can use anecdotes, personal experiences, news articles, and research findings to introduce your topic, or to close it.
• You can also go into detail about why you were motivated to explore the topic in more depth and why it has helped you to develop your argument. We wrote about essay hooks in more detail here, so be sure to check it out.
• Remind readers why this entire argument matters at the human level in the conclusion. This is done by repeating the topic, the core of your argument, and why you have justified your thesis. 

Add these elements to your introduction and conclusion, and you will quickly reach your essay quota.

Here's an example from the Wordtune blog of an anecdote placed as part of the intro:

4. Use examples to illustrate your point

It is always helpful to provide examples to illustrate complex academic or technical points. As well as adding color and descriptiveness to your own words, examples help your arguments come to life in a way that academic writing cannot. Having read several essays about the same topic, your evaluator will probably find it enjoyable to read something more creative and genuine. 

Examples also help readers visualize your narrative. The situations can be real or imagined, but they must be authentic, relatable, and most importantly, relevant to your topic. Providing examples from your real-life experience will demonstrate to the teacher that you understand your topic.

I started this article by describing my experience as a freshman. The challenges I faced as a student are similar to those you are currently facing, so sharing my journey will help you learn from my mistakes.

5. Invest in serious research 

Research is the most effective way to increase a paper's word count. 

The more research you conduct, the more ideas, perspectives, and information you have to base your arguments on. 

Research takes time and effort, which you may or may not have. 

Here's where my smart tools come into play.

No matter how long a paper is, Wordtune Read will give you all the key highlights.

The following is a composite screenshot of how Wordtune Read summarized the effects of video games on children from a long and complex article. The key highlights on the right help you distill the core messages of the research in minutes, condensing hours of reading into minutes.

In just a few steps, you can add at least two supporting arguments or stats for each point you have in your outline. And just like that, you have several hundred very relevant words, added almost effortlessly to your essay.

6. Ask 'Why' questions

At this stage, the research has already provided you with some solid perspectives, but there's nothing like adding some original perspectives to the existing body of research. Asking ‘why’ questions is an effective way to do this. In addition to strengthening your arguments, it will also enhance your essay with relevant and original content.

Think back to the example of the negative effects of video games on children. Let's say one of the arguments you have is "phone games cause emotional issues". Use a series of 'why' questions to dig deeper into the text. 

Ask questions like: "why is that true?", "Why is it important?", etc. For each answer, ask another why question and develop some original angles based on the insights that may emerge. 

While it beats manual paraphrasing in terms of speed, I felt it also improved the overall quality of the writing.

7. Address the counter view

It's a foolproof way to score brownie points with tutors and also add some value - and word count - to your essay. 

Counter views or counterpoints are positions diametrically opposed to your own.

I argue, for example, that video games negatively affect children in the essay about video games. There is always some literature available (and there is always some literature available) on the counter-side of why and under what circumstances video games can actually have a positive impact on children. I am able to write a pretty solid section on that topic. 

By balancing the pros and cons of both arguments, I will also be able to bridge the two points of view.

Just like that, you've added about 200 words to your essay!

8. Use quotes and references

While the bibliography section doesn’t usually count towards the overall essay word count, there are some easy tricks you can use to maximize the references. Once you are done with the essay, run through your list of citations and find interesting quotes that you may have missed, which you can now incorporate.

9. Get feedback from a friend

If you're like me, working on the same essay for a long time with complete immersion means you develop blind spots to obvious misses and flaws in your text. This could be especially problematic for non-native English speakers .

Ask a trusted friend or peer to look over your essay again. Share your essay on Gdoc with your friends and find out if they spot something that seems missing, out of place, or that stands out like a sore thumb.

Also, ask them to question your assumptions in the essay - this may give you new angles and perspectives to explore, thus expanding the word count even further.

Your friends will help you find the problematic paragraphs in your writing and make them more concise and effective .

10. Add text while editing

Once you have finished writing your essay, you can use the review stage to edit and add text to your essay.

This is another great opportunity to use your AI writing tool, and get suggestions for ways to make your sentences more fluent . You can also replace superfluous words with stronger vocabulary, and pick alternative ways to word sentences that contain repetitive words.

Try and spot long, convoluted sentences and break them up to smaller sentences.

Keep it long and interesting

Essays that meet the prescribed criteria, including word count, indicate to your teachers that you not only possess subject matter knowledge, but also writing, grammar, logic, research, and communication skills.

You can find interesting angles even in the most mundane sounding topics if you challenge yourself to do the work and not worry too much about the word count. With the 11 smart hacks - including use of the smart writing tools - essay writing and meeting the specified word count becomes much easier! 

Learning how to expand a text in an interesting way - and not just by adding fluff - makes you a better writer regardless of the format - essays, reports, statements of purpose - even books! 

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Why is Word Count Important (How to Manage Assignment Paper Length)

Word count is a crucial factor in writing projects which affects how much time you are going to need to complete it in time. It is a grading criterion which is entirely within the student’s control and failure to stay within the usual allowance range of 10% can result in penalties to the final grade. To put it another way, word count guidelines are there to help students with their assignments, so it important to always pay attention to this!

Understanding the main purpose for assigning a specific limit on the number of words in an assignment should help you write a better paper that stays on track and help you avoid unnecessary filler content. Given the importance of this factor, we will be covering this in more depth first, before moving on to tips on how to manage the word count and make the paper longer or shorter, as per your requirement.

Table of Contents

What is the purpose of word counts for an assignment?

1.       word count guidelines clarify the level of detail which is being expected.

Word counts are one of the most important clues that teachers give to students to inform them what is expected of them in the assignment. We have covered in our guide on assignment structure that combining the word count with the grading criteria can easily give you a rough outline and draft for your paper, which will then make the actual writing work much easier. You can also use our assignment time calculator to estimate roughly how long you will need.

If you end up writing a fair bit more or less than the stated guideline, it should be an indication for you that you have either:

• not collected your thoughts properly
• not phrased your points in the right way
• not put everything together into a concise and coherent paper

.. or a combination of these factors.

If you ever face a situation in which you are really struggling to meet the word count, then it is time for some introspection and reflection on what you have written compared to what you have learnt in your coursework. This is because word count guideline and limits are anything but random – you can be sure that they’ve been chosen after careful consideration so try not to make unfounded assumptions that ‘there must be a mistake with the word given’!

To summarize, the main issue that teachers have with shorter papers isn’t actually that they didn’t meet the word count – it’s the fact that a paper with a lower word count is likely to be lower in quality with weaker points which have not been fully substantiated to the extent required.

2.       Word count limits emphasize the need to be precise and concise

Limits on the number of words allowed in a paper also pushes students towards being precise in the points that they choose to include in their assignment and present it in a concise manner. Without word counts, students will have a hard time by determining themselves how much content needs to go into each section or subsection.

So, without word counts, some students may potentially struggle to write a good paper and up with content which is too thin (as they do not know what is being expected of them). Other students may wander all over the place and end up writing too much unnecessarily. Hence, they are important guidelines that help stress the importance of quantity over quality – writing a lot doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ve written good content!

3.       Word count requirements fairness in grading of all students

Another point worth considering is that word counts help make the grading scale uniform and standardized for all students – it levels the playing field by ensuring that all students make the points which they need to within the same number of words. Going one step further, word count guidelines can also be standardized across different courses, modules, universities and even countries, making the odds even for all students everywhere (well, at least in theory).

What is the purpose of word count allowance?

When a teacher specifies the word count for an assignment, they are not going to scrutinize whether you have stopped a few words short or went a few words over. What they’re trying to convey to you is that to answer the assignment requirement properly, you will roughly need the number of words that they have specified to cover all necessary points concisely.

Hence, you will almost always have a word count allowance for your assignments since the actual number specified is only intended to be a ballpark figure to guide you on the level of detail required. The standard allowance is usually 10% plus or minus so if your assignment length has been specified as 2,000 words, it would fine to turn in a paper that ranges from 1,800 words to 2,200 words. If the word count allowance was specified as 5% instead, then would mean that your paper needs to between 1,900 words to 2,100 words in length.

On the other hand, if there is no specific note about such an allowance range in the assignment requirements file, try to check the module outline file since it may be given there instead. Should that not give you any result, then check the university guidelines and see if you can find it mentioned there. If you don’t have any luck with that either, then you should probably just ask your teacher directly. In any case, try not to make an assumption on the word count allowance.

How to boost word count and make an essay paper longer

For some students, word counts are things to be dreaded and they may often find themselves falling short of the minimum word count which has been specified. It doesn’t have to be all that hard! You can follow these tips to make your essay paper longer easily in an organic way that doesn’t make your teacher suspect that you’ve resorted to some cheap tricks to achieve this.

1.       Add critical analysis to paraphrased points

A crucial part of academic assignment writing is to draw on points mentioned in other credible sources like peer-reviewed journal articles or trustworthy news outlets. When doing this, paraphrasing is an extremely important skills that you need to develop to avoid plagiarism. Even if you are providing the source from where you have taken an idea, we generally advise not to quote directly unless unavoidable. We have dedicated guide for how to effectively paraphrase ideas from other sources in your words and this guide includes some helpful tips on how to get better at this skill.

When paraphrasing content from other sources, you should always add a critical analysis of the point which you are referencing. Apart from increasing the word count of you paper, this helps you tick another checkbox. Teachers expect to see you engage with the material taken from a credible source and this approach would be proof of that.

To show you an example of how you could do this, you can see the table below. We follow a few steps to end up with more than twice the number of words that we started out with.

• We start with a source text from Porter’s well-known paper on competitive forces . We have chosen a section of the paper which has 54 words in total.
• Building on this, we can paraphrase this part in our own words , while giving the reference for the source text as per APA format and we end up writing 39 words for this.
• Lastly, we could just add a couple of lines after our paraphrased sentence to explain what we understood from th e source material. This would help the teacher realize that we are not just regurgitating information from other places. It signals to them that we have actually understood the points and concepts being discussed. This adds another 73 words to our total count.

So, by paraphrasing a source text of 54 words, we ended up doubling that (39+73 = 112 words ) with relatively little effort. For more information on this, check out our dedicated guide on how to critically analyze and engage with existing literature.

2.       Add relevant examples to support your points

You can also make use of examples to add more credibility to the points that you are trying to make. This also comes with the benefit of informing your teacher that you were able to grasp the idea or concept better as you were able to match it to a suitable example. So, taking the same scenario as above regarding competitive forces, we can then add another sentence at the end like this:

In this way, we’ve added another 94 words on top of the 112 from earlier, so we have now added around 206 words to the paper. To put this in context, if this were part of a 2,000-word paper, we have effectively written around 10% of the required word count fairly easily. To identify how and where you can add examples organically, you may need to skim over your essay a couple of times and try to get a feel for which parts could use an example or two.

3.       Include a secondary supporting reference for your point

If you feel it is appropriate, you can also include an additional point from a different source which supports the previous statement and adds further weight to the message which you are trying to convey. Having too many references is better than having too few references. However, you should try to find a middle ground and make sure to follow up referenced points with critical analysis so that your entire paper isn’t just a mix of views of others with no originality to the points you are making.

4.       Include facts, figures, or other statistical data

This would be done in a similar way to the previous suggestion in which you can provide some facts and figures from reliable sources to support the information you have just presented. You could potentially also do it the other way around by starting with a stat or figure and explaining it in your own words.

5.       Try to balance your points with alternate viewpoints (and address them)

This is the opposite of the above suggestion. You can also try to increase the words in your assignment in an organic way by presenting some opposing arguments and then trying to take a stance on which seems more appropriate or suitable to the topic of your essay. For nearly every single point that you make, there are likely to be differing viewpoints from others – you have to pick your battles though as inserting conflicting viewpoints for every single statement would make your paper dry and monotonous.

If you do use this option, then you have to make sure that you address the opposing viewpoints with suitable counterarguments and why one view is superior to the other.

6.       Always add labels for figures and tables

Labels for figures and tables are typically included in the word count of assignments unless otherwise specified. There’s no good reason NOT to use labels for each and every figure and table which you include in paper. Apart from being a standard requirement in many academic formats/styles, it is a fairly easy way to increase the word count of your paper, so it’s a win-win to always do this.

7.       Make proper use of transition (connecting) words

You can also make use of transition and connecting words like the following to increase your word count while also creating a coherent flow between your points.

• Words that help build on ideas: ‘Additionally’, ‘Moreover’, ‘Furthermore’, ‘In fact’
• Words that imply sequence or chronology: ‘Thereafter’, ‘Subsequently’
• Words indicating inference: ‘Therefore’, ‘Hence’, ‘Thus’, ‘As a result’ ‘Consequently’
• Words indicating similarity: ‘Similarly’, ‘Likewise’
• Words indicating contrast in ideas: ‘Although’, ‘Even though’, ‘However’, ‘Nevertheless’, ‘In contrast’, ‘On one hand’ (which is paired with ‘while on the other hand’), ‘From another perspective’, ‘Regardless’,
• Words for giving examples: ‘For instance’, ‘For example’, ‘As an example’
• Words for summarizing ideas: ‘In other words’, ‘In conclusion’, ‘Ultimately’
• Words that can help when paraphrasing: ‘According to’, ‘As mentioned/stated/claimed by’, ‘In their paper’

8.       Check the assignment requirements one more time

If you have done all the suggestions above and still find that you are short of the word count and are lacking ideas on how to expand further, then you should take a look at the assignment requirements again. Perhaps there could be some keywords in there for ideas, concepts or information that are expected, which you may have potentially forgotten or overlooked in the heat of writing the assignment.

9.       Avoid tricks like adjusting font and margins

Most students have a natural tendency to ‘under-write’ thinking they have a covered a topic or point adequately in a smaller number of words than are needed. However, if you find yourself trying to increase the word count of your paper using unnecessary phrases then you should realize with your intuition that you have not articulated your thoughts adequately. This means that the quality of your essay isn’t likely to be all that good and so you’re going to end up with a lower grade.

Another reason why you should avoid desperate tricks like using some large typeface fonts or adjusting the margins is because they’re fairly obvious to spot to a trained eye. You might not notice it, given your relative inexperience, but you can bet that your teachers would have seen almost all the plays in the book and spot weird formats in an instant.

As an example, a common trick that some students do is to add in some unnecessary words between some paragraphs and set the font color to white. The algorithm of some plagiarism detection software have been beefed up in recent times to detect this trick and automatically places a markup on such things that are out of the ordinary for teachers to review manually. In other instances, teachers who can spot that the content seems to be lacking compared to the word count specified can download the Word version of your submitted file, change the formatting details to standard style (which includes the font color) and detect this trick easily enough.

10.   Avoid unnecessary filler and fluff

You should be careful not to add in fluff material which would make it very difficult for teachers to get the gist of the points that you are trying to make. Remember, most of your teachers have probably been ‘in the game’ for a long time now and are sure to have come across a wide variety of students and the tactics that they use to pad their paper and reach the word count. As a result, it is usually very easy for them to tell that you have just filled your paper low quality content to meet the required word count.

How to shorten an essay paper?

There are going to be other times when you will want to cut down the length of your paper as you may have already exceeded the word count, which is typically the case for those writing long thesis or dissertations. If you are in a position where you have gone significantly over the word count and beyond the allowance range, then it means that you probably haven’t narrowed down or focused on just the most important and relevant points.

You can reduce your word count by avoiding things like repeating long form of words which are often represented by commonly used abbreviations and acronyms. This includes topics like like Human Resources Management (HRM) or concepts like Resource Based View (RBV). The first time that you use these kinds of words in your paper, you should mention the full form and include the abbreviation or acronym in brackets. Thereafter, you can continue using the shortened form for the rest of your paper.

How many words to write if word count is not specified?

If the necessary word count has not been mentioned for an assignment, then you should try to consider some other cues in the assignment requirements files. We have a guide on the standard word count weights (percentages) – this can help plan how many words to allocate to each section and then add them all up.

What is included in the assignment word count?

1.       in-text references.

In-text references are included in the word count, which is typically why some referencing formats specify the use of the phrase ‘et al.’ (which is derived from the Latin word for ‘and others’) when the source you are citing has multiple authors. In some formats like APA, you should use this phrase if there are more than 2 authors, while in another format like Harvard, you only need to use this when citing works with more than 3 authors.

2.       Labels for tables and figures

What is not included in the assignment word count, 1.       abstract / executive summary, 2.       table of contents, 3.       footnotes, 4.       references / bibliography, 5.       appendix, suggested word counts.

Around 200-300 words should be sufficient for Abstract / Executive Summary.

2.       Introduction and conclusions

Typically, you do not want to exceed 10% of the overall word count for introduction and conclusions. If the paper that you are writing is a thesis or a dissertation of 10,000 words or more, then you can even go as low as 5% of the overall word count but use your own judgement for the optimal length of these section. Most importantly, try to check the weights assigned to these sections in the scoring rubric and make sure to match that.

3.       Personal Statement

Other misconceptions about word count.

The counter for words in an MS Word document as well as most plagiarism detection software like Turnitin to which you submit your assignment does not include the spacing between words in the overall word count. These are counted under the separate counter for ‘Characters (with spaces)’.

The impact of different referencing styles on word count

This was much more important in the past, when assignment papers were almost always submitted as hard copies and, in these cases, the referencing format and style had a big impact on whether you had met the word count of your essay or not.

This is because each of the standard styles had their specific guidelines for page margins, the spacing between text, the specific font to be used and its size and other similar factors. If you had followed these correctly, teachers would be able to roughly gauge the total number of words that you have written just by looking at the number of pages.

Now, you’re probably thinking that counting the exact number of words on a hard copy assignment, especially if it is long, is impractical as it would take a long time. We can set you straight on that – teachers have an easy trick to get a rough estimation of the number of words in your paper.

• They would start by picking a few random lines in your page and counting the number of words in each of them to get an average estimation of the words per line
• They would then count the number of lines on a single page
• Finally, they can just multiply that by the total number of pages excluding the standard parts which are not included such as table of contents, references section etc.

So, do not try to be a wise ass – your teachers have been doing this for so long that it is almost second nature for them to tell if a student has met the word count, and whether they have used any obvious tricks to make it seem like their paper is long than it is.

The key differences in different formatting styles are summarized below to help you get a better understanding of this point.

Hu B,. Hu, M., Yang. Y. (2016). Open or closed? Technology sharing, supplier investment, and competition.  Manufacturing Service Operations Management .

Porter, M. E. (1979). How Competitive Forces Shape Strategy. Harvard Business Review [Online]. Available from: https://hbr.org/1979/03/how-competitive-forces-shape-strategy [Accessed 14 November 2021]

Reuters (2019). De Beers curbs diamond supply as earnings drop. Reuters [Online]. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-anglo-results-debeers/de-beers-curbs-diamond-supply-as-earnings-drop-idUSKCN1UK1WB [Accessed 13 November 2021]

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APA 7th Edition Referencing Guide: Formatting your assignment

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• Formatting your assignment
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Check your course module outline, or ask your tutor how they would like your assignments formatted.  If you can't find this information, then the below guidelines have been taken from the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association: The Official Guide to APA Style (7th ed.) (the Manual) to assist you.

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* { box-sizing: border-box; } .row { display: flex; } .column { flex: 50%; padding: 10px; height: }.

All papers should have a title page (you may have been provided a template in your module outline). All pages should be numbered (top right corner) and often you are expected to include your student ID number on each page too.  If you are handing in a paper copy, you may need to ensure you only print on one side of the page (check your tutor's preferences).

All margins (top, bottom, left, and right) should be 2.54 cm (this is the default 'normal' setting on Word).  However, some tutors might like your left margin to be much bigger (e.g. 4 cm) to allow for marking.  Also, if you are intending to get your assignment bound, you need to allow space on the left-hand margin to allow for this.

The entire paper should be double spaced, except:

• Elements of the title page (not relevant for undergraduates)
• The body of tables, figures and images will depend on the presentation of the data.
• Displayed equations

Postgraduate students and those of you publishing your work, refer to the Manual for specific information.

APA style allows for a range of accessible fonts to be used, but be consistent and use the same font throughout your paper.  However, it would be advisable to stick to 11-point Calibri or 11-point Arial throughout your assignments.

Paragraph alignment and indentation

Text should be aligned left, so that your right margin has an uneven "ragged" look. D on't use full justification, otherwise your words will be unevenly spaced across the page.

Indent the first line of every paragraph by using the tab key.

• Level 1 headings should be centred and bold.
• Level 2 headings should be left-aligned and bold
• Level 3 headings should be left-aligned and bold italic

See the Manual for further information.

Appendices contain material that supplements your paper, but would be distracting or inappropriate to include within the body of your text.  For example, if you interview someone for your research, you might want to include the transcript of the interview in an appendix.

Appendices go at the very end of your assignment after references, footnotes, tables, and figures.  Begin each appendix on a new page and provide a label and title for each.  If you only have one, label it Appendix. If you have more than one, label each with a capital letter e.g. "Appendix A", "Appendix B", in the order mentioned in the text. (Note, each appendix needs to be mentioned at least once within the text by its label, e.g. "see Appendix A".)  Labels should be bold and centred.  The appendix title should describe its contents and also be bold and centred, but on a separate line from the label.  Use title case for both the label and title.

Appendix A (label)

Analysis of Speech Fragments (title)

Content of appendix formatted the same as the body of the assignment.

According to the Manual, your word count should include the entire document from the title page to the appendices.  However, for the purposes of an assignment, we would only expect your word count to include the text (and in text citations) of the body of your work, not the title page, contents page, reference list or appendices.  As always, double check with your tutor to find out their preference.

Italicising foreign words

The APA Guide requires any words in a language that the intended reader is not familiar with to be written in italics. However, this is something you can use your judgement on. If you are uncomfortable about italicising 'foreign' words, or think your intended reader/s will be offended by it, you do not have to.

Wintec will always place cultural appropriateness above a formatting requirement.

Please note: Te Reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand. It is not a foreign language.

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• Last Updated: Jul 2, 2024 3:02 PM
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• Jan 16, 2020

5 tips to stick to your word count in any written assignment

Updated: Mar 1

If you've been asked to stick to a word count on an assignment, there's usually a good reason for it.

In academic assignments, sticking to a word count shows that you not only know your stuff, but that you also know how to clearly and succinctly explain it to others. Too many words is likely waffle and may imply a lack of confidence in knowing which information or research is key and which isn't. Too few suggests that you haven't put enough time or effort in, or that your research isn't thorough enough. Either way, it could lose you marks.

In print, as well as keeping you on the point, a word count is often to do with the amount of space the publication has available for each article. If an editor asks for 2,000 words on the demise of the honey bee and you give them 2,700, or even 2,200, that's a lot of your work that they're going to need to scrap (they might even just scrap the whole article). Aside from creating work for the editor, you are also doing yourself an injustice. By putting an editor in a position where they need to cut your work, they are going to cut the bits that they don't think are important or interesting enough... it doesn't matter if you think that line was your best work, or your most important finding - it's gone, baby!

Similarly, in marketing materials, a word count is probably given to fill a set workspace. Pages in products such as brochures and pamphlets are printed in multiples of four (4, 8, 12, 16, and so on) so if you send the designer five pages of text, they're either going to have to cut a whole page of your work, or find three more pages.

Here are some ways to help you stick to your word count and make your work more palatable.

Start as you mean to go on. You have a word count that you need to stick to, the best way to do that is to plan ahead, rather than writing until you have a tome and then trying to cut it back into an essay.

Before you start, think about the key things you want to cover and any sections that you need to include such as an introduction, methodology, etc. Prioritise these sections, and give each one a word count according to how important it is.

"Bottom up - I write a sentence for each paragraph (or section) and decide the relative weight of each, then work upwards. Obviously, editing is still required, but you have developed a sense as to how much depth or detail you're going to be able to reach."

~Beverley Gibbs, Director of Learning and Teaching (Strategy) at The University of Sheffield

2) Simplify

Don't use five words where you could use one. Similarly, avoid using jargon that can often be overly verbose and put many readers off. By using plain English, you will not only avoid exceeding your word count, but you will also open your text up to a wider audience which is what most publishers (and writers) will want.

"Lose the jargon, cut to get to your core messages and keep what your audience needs at the heart of what you are saying."

~ Peta Sweet, Communications and Coaching for Change

3) Understand your brief

Understanding what's being asked of you is key to staying within your word count as it means you can easily get to the point and stay on it. Using a highlighter to go through the brief before you start can help pick out the key questions or points to keep you focused.

4) Stay on topic

It's really easy to get sidetracked when you're talking. How many times have you found yourself telling a long story, getting half way through and realising that you've got so far off topic you can't remember what your point was? The same thing happens in writing, but if you can avoid it (or spot it in your edit) then it will help to keep you within your word count.

This is not the same as proofreading (you'll still need to do that). Once you've finished writing, give your work some time to breathe before going back to try and cut things out.

You should usually aim to cut your word count by 10% during your edit. Look out for repetition, superfluous words, unnecessary adjectives and anything that isn't relevant or supportive of your point. Cut anything that strays away from your core messages. You can sometimes cut out whole paragraphs in this way.

Also keep an eye out for intensifiers like 'really' and 'very' as these are probably not needed. You can do a simple search for these words and cut them out to easily reduce your word count.

"Be brutal! Write what you want to say but then go back later and look at what you're saying that doesn't add value, words that aren't needed or shorter ways of saying the same thing."

~ Krysia Wooffinden, Assistant Director of Skills, Employment and Education at Sheffield City Region

"Write and then come back later to edit. Cut the adverbs and adjectives, and keep to the point."

~ Lorraine Dixon, Writer and Publisher at Open Narrative

What are your tips for keeping within your word count? Leave a comment below.

Stick to your word count

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The Word Limit in Academic Writing (and How to Stick to It)

• 3-minute read
• 24th September 2016

Even the phrase “word limit” can cause panic among students . For some it’s the challenge of writing enough, while others find it hard to stick within the limit given. In either case, it can lead to spending more time worrying about the length of your paper than the content!

But why do college papers come with set word limits? And what should you do to ensure you don’t write too much or too little?

Why Have a Word Limit?

There are two main reasons that academic papers usually come with a word limit:

• Fairness It’s impossible to grade two papers of vastly different lengths (e.g., 20,000 compared to 2,000 words) on the same scale. The word limit makes sure that everyone taking the same class knows what is expected of them.
• Communication Skills As well as testing your knowledge, college papers are about communicating clearly and concisely. Setting a word limit forces you to consider what you’re saying more carefully, helping you to develop your writing skills.

Sticking to the word limit is, therefore, part of being a good academic, since being a long way over or under could suggest you’ve misjudged the scope of the essay topic or that you’re having trouble communicating your ideas.

How to Stick to the Word Limit

Although many colleges give you roughly 10% leeway on the word limit, you should aim for your finished paper to be as close to the suggested word count as possible. If you find yourself writing too much, you can reduce the word count by:

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• Editing out repetition, redundant words and padding phrases
• Cutting down long or unnecessary quotations
• Reducing the number of examples or case studies used (if you’ve included several)
• Using the active voice instead of the passive voice

More generally, you should re-read your work and eliminate anything that isn’t directly related to the question you’re answering. As well as helping you stick to the word limit, this will make your work more focused, which could boost your grades.

How to Increase Your Word Count

If you’re struggling to write enough, the temptation might be to add padding phrases like “in my opinion” or long block quotations until you hit the minimum word count. But this will simply detract from the clarity of your writing.

Instead, the answer is usually to go back over your work and look for things that could be improved with a little additional attention. This might involve:

• Addressing anything from your essay question that you’ve overlooked
• Adding illustrative examples to support a point
• Considering different sources and views on the same issue
• Using short quotations as evidence for your arguments

Moreover, whether you’ve written too much or too little, getting someone else to read your work and offer feedback is a fantastic idea (especially if you ask a professional for help). This will help you to identify areas that could be expanded or cut in the next draft, so eventually you should be able to get your essay to the required length.

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• How long is an essay? Guidelines for different types of essay

How Long is an Essay? Guidelines for Different Types of Essay

Published on January 28, 2019 by Shona McCombes . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The length of an academic essay varies depending on your level and subject of study, departmental guidelines, and specific course requirements. In general, an essay is a shorter piece of writing than a research paper  or thesis .

In most cases, your assignment will include clear guidelines on the number of words or pages you are expected to write. Often this will be a range rather than an exact number (for example, 2500–3000 words, or 10–12 pages). If you’re not sure, always check with your instructor.

In this article you’ll find some general guidelines for the length of different types of essay. But keep in mind that quality is more important than quantity – focus on making a strong argument or analysis, not on hitting a specific word count.

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Essay length guidelines, how long is each part of an essay, using length as a guide to topic and complexity, can i go under the suggested length, can i go over the suggested length, other interesting articles.

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In an academic essay, the main body should always take up the most space. This is where you make your arguments, give your evidence, and develop your ideas.

The introduction should be proportional to the essay’s length. In an essay under 3000 words, the introduction is usually just one paragraph. In longer and more complex essays, you might need to lay out the background and introduce your argument over two or three paragraphs.

The conclusion of an essay is often a single paragraph, even in longer essays. It doesn’t have to summarize every step of your essay, but should tie together your main points in a concise, convincing way.

The suggested word count doesn’t only tell you how long your essay should be – it also helps you work out how much information and complexity you can fit into the given space. This should guide the development of your thesis statement , which identifies the main topic of your essay and sets the boundaries of your overall argument.

A short essay will need a focused, specific topic and a clear, straightforward line of argument. A longer essay should still be focused, but it might call for a broader approach to the topic or a more complex, ambitious argument.

As you make an outline of your essay , make sure you have a clear idea of how much evidence, detail and argumentation will be needed to support your thesis. If you find that you don’t have enough ideas to fill out the word count, or that you need more space to make a convincing case, then consider revising your thesis to be more general or more specific.

The length of the essay also influences how much time you will need to spend on editing and proofreading .

You should always aim to meet the minimum length given in your assignment. If you are struggling to reach the word count:

• Add more evidence and examples to each paragraph to clarify or strengthen your points.
• Make sure you have fully explained or analyzed each example, and try to develop your points in more detail.
• Address a different aspect of your topic in a new paragraph. This might involve revising your thesis statement to make a more ambitious argument.
• Don’t use filler. Adding unnecessary words or complicated sentences will make your essay weaker and your argument less clear.
• Don’t fixate on an exact number. Your marker probably won’t care about 50 or 100 words – it’s more important that your argument is convincing and adequately developed for an essay of the suggested length.

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In some cases, you are allowed to exceed the upper word limit by 10% – so for an assignment of 2500–3000 words, you could write an absolute maximum of 3300 words. However, the rules depend on your course and institution, so always check with your instructor if you’re unsure.

Only exceed the word count if it’s really necessary to complete your argument. Longer essays take longer to grade, so avoid annoying your marker with extra work! If you are struggling to edit down:

• Check that every paragraph is relevant to your argument, and cut out irrelevant or out-of-place information.
• Make sure each paragraph focuses on one point and doesn’t meander.
• Cut out filler words and make sure each sentence is clear, concise, and related to the paragraph’s point.
• Don’t cut anything that is necessary to the logic of your argument. If you remove a paragraph, make sure to revise your transitions and fit all your points together.
• Don’t sacrifice the introduction or conclusion . These paragraphs are crucial to an effective essay –make sure you leave enough space to thoroughly introduce your topic and decisively wrap up your argument.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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Word Count Limit Policy for Assignments

This policy applies to all students following programmes of study leading to a St George’s, University of London award. For programmes run through an institutional agreement with another institution, this policy applies to the modules taught and assessed by St George's, Univesity of London.

Word limits in assignments

A maximum word limit is set for most assignments. Students are advised that when a word limit is set, they should ensure any work submitted does not exceed this limit. The maximum word limit is stipulated in module/course handbooks and advised to students at the time the assignment is set.

The significance of adhering to a word limit

Writing to agreed and stipulated word limits is a skill which students are expected to develop and demonstrate. Submitting an academic paper or a funding application requires an adherence to word limits. There are also many non-academic contexts where word limits are applied to permitted submissions. 

The “words” that should be counted

The word count is defined as any and all words included in the text of the assignment  [1] . The word count will include all text, including (but not limited to):

• the main body of text (including headings)
• all citations (both in and out of brackets)
• footnotes and endnotes
• questions set by the Module Leader*

(*Where the assignment has to include specific questions set by the Module Leader, the word limit will have been set to allow for inclusion of the specified questions.)

The “words” that should not be counted

The only words excluded  from the word count will be:

• assignment title
• tables and graphs
• figures and diagrams
• the reference list/bibliography
• appendices (including multimedia)
• headers and footers
• the abstract (if applicable).

Specific guidance for any particular assignment on word count restrictions

For each assignment, specific guidance on restrictions, as required, will be outlined in the relevant module handbook. Students requiring additional clarification should seek this from the Module Leader.

Stating the word count

Students should state the word count in accordance with the instructions issued by the programme.

Examples of instructions which may be issued include (though are not limited to):

(i) Students will be asked to state the word count in the header of any assignment they submit

(ii) Students will be asked to declare the number of words on an assignment cover sheet

(iii) Students will be asked to confirm that they have not exceeded the stipulated word limit for that assignment.

Verifying the word count during the marking process

All submissions will be eligible to have their word count verified. Where there is any concern that a word limit has been exceeded and/or inaccurately declared, the word count of that submission will be checked. Word counts will be verified from the electronic file submitted for marking (the electronic file may be only part of the submission requirement, which may include hard copies).

Markers should check the word count of a submission by downloading the work from the submission package (e.g. Canvas). Markers should be aware that electronic word counting tools can count words differently. Markers must ensure that any checked word counts reflect the words to be counted listed in The "words" that should be counted section above. 

Failing to provide a word count or providing an inaccurate word count

Where students fail to provide a word count or are found to have provided an inaccurate word count, St George's reserves the right to invoke the Disciplinary Procedure on the student.

Where a student has clearly abused the spirit of the word limit restriction, the assignment will be treated in the same way as if the word limit in the assignment had been exceeded (see below).

Assignments which are significantly below the word limit

Assignments which are below the word limit set for an assignment will not attract a specific penalty.

Assignments submitted which are significantly below the word limit are unlikely to meet all the assessment requirements or cover all of the points expected by the examiners.  Although a formal penalty is not applied, they are normally self-penalising and this will be reflected in the grade awarded for the assignment.

Where a range has been defined for the word limit for a given assignment (e.g. ‘between 2000 and 3000 words’), it is deemed unlikely that a student will be able to write adequately on the topic of the assignment in less words than the lower end of the stipulated range. As above, such assignments are normally self-penalising and this will be reflected in the grade awarded for the assignment. 

Assignments which exceed the word limit

Students who exceed the prescribed word limit will have their work marked but markers will stop marking when the word count exceeds the maximum word count set for that assignment. Markers will indicate on the text [2] the point at which the limit is reached which is, by definition, where they have stopped marking. Hence, any words written beyond the stipulated limit will not be read by the examiners: no marks will be awarded and no feedback provided for any text beyond the prescribed limit. Although a formal penalty is not applied, a mark will be awarded only for the content up to this point.

Overall responsibility for policy: QAEC.

Operational responsibility for policy: Academic Registrar.

[1] Students should be aware that word counting tools count words differently according to file format and submission package. Students should be clear about the words listed in The "words" that should be counted section above.

[2] The exact nature of this “text” will vary depending on the file format and software package used for assignment submission; the facility used by the marker to indicate where the word limit has been reached in the “text” will vary according to the tools available in the software, e.g using the annotation function in SpeedGrader™. 

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The Best College Essay Length: How Long Should It Be?

College Essays

Figuring out your college essay can be one of the most difficult parts of applying to college. Even once you've read the prompt and picked a topic, you might wonder: if you write too much or too little, will you blow your chance of admission? How long should a college essay be?

Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be.

How Long Is a College Essay? First, Check the Word Limit

You might be used to turning in your writing assignments on a page-limit basis (for example, a 10-page paper). While some colleges provide page limits for their college essays, most use a word limit instead. This makes sure there's a standard length for all the essays that a college receives, regardless of formatting or font.

In the simplest terms, your college essay should be pretty close to, but not exceeding, the word limit in length. Think within 50 words as the lower bound, with the word limit as the upper bound. So for a 500-word limit essay, try to get somewhere between 450-500 words. If they give you a range, stay within that range.

College essay prompts usually provide the word limit right in the prompt or in the instructions.

For example, the University of Illinois says :

"You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program , and if you've selected a second choice . Each response should be approximately 150 words."

As exemplified by the University of Illinois, the shortest word limits for college essays are usually around 150 words (less than half a single-spaced page). Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all!

Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

How Flexible Is the Word Limit?

But how flexible is the word limit? What if your poignant anecdote is just 10 words too long—or 100 too short?

Can I Go Over the Word Limit?

If you are attaching a document and you need one or two extra words, you can probably get away with exceeding the word limit by such a small amount. Some colleges will actually tell you that exceeding the word limit by 1-2 words is fine. However, I advise against exceeding the word limit unless it's explicitly allowed for a few reasons:

First, you might not be able to. If you have to copy-paste it into a text box, your essay might get cut off and you'll have to trim it down anyway.

If you exceed the word limit in a noticeable way, the admissions counselor may just stop reading your essay past that point. This is not good for you.

Following directions is actually a very important part of the college application process. You need to follow directions to get your letters of recommendation, upload your essays, send supplemental materials, get your test scores sent, and so on and so forth. So it's just a good general rule to follow whatever instructions you've been given by the institution. Better safe than sorry!

Can I Go Under the Word Limit?

If you can truly get your point across well beneath the word limit, it's probably fine. Brevity is not necessarily a bad thing in writing just so long as you are clear, cogent, and communicate what you want to.

However, most college essays have pretty tight word limits anyways. So if you're writing 300 words for an essay with a 500-word limit, ask yourself: is there anything more you could say to elaborate on or support your points? Consult with a parent, friend, or teacher on where you could elaborate with more detail or expand your points.

Also, if the college gives you a word range, you absolutely need to at least hit the bottom end of the range. So if you get a range from the institution, like 400-500 words, you need to write at least 400 words. If you write less, it will come across like you have nothing to say, which is not an impression you want to give.

What If There Is No Word Limit?

Some colleges don't give you a word limit for one or more of your essay prompts. This can be a little stressful, but the prompts generally fall into a few categories:

Writing Sample

Some colleges don't provide a hard-and-fast word limit because they want a writing sample from one of your classes. In this case, a word limit would be very limiting to you in terms of which assignments you could select from.

For an example of this kind of prompt, check out essay Option B at Amherst :

"Submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay."

While there is usually no word limit per se, colleges sometimes provide a general page guideline for writing samples. In the FAQ for Option B , Amherst clarifies, "There is no hard-and-fast rule for official page limit. Typically, we anticipate a paper of 4-5 pages will provide adequate length to demonstrate your analytical abilities. Somewhat longer papers can also be submitted, but in most cases should not exceed 8-10 pages."

So even though there's no word limit, they'd like somewhere in the 4-10 pages range. High school students are not usually writing papers that are longer than 10 pages anyways, so that isn't very limiting.

Implicit Length Guideline

Sometimes, while there's no word (or even page) limit, there's still an implicit length guideline. What do I mean by this?

See, for example, this Western Washington University prompt :

“Describe one or more activities you have been involved in that have been particularly meaningful. What does your involvement say about the communities, identities or causes that are important to you?”

While there’s no page or word limit listed here, further down on page the ‘essay tips’ section explains that “ most essay responses are about 500 words, ” though “this is only a recommendation, not a firm limit.” This gives you an idea of what’s reasonable. A little longer or shorter than 500 words would be appropriate here. That’s what I mean by an “implicit” word limit—there is a reasonable length you could go to within the boundaries of the prompt.

But what's the proper coffee-to-paragraph ratio?

Treasure Hunt

There is also the classic "treasure hunt" prompt. No, it's not a prompt about a treasure hunt. It's a prompt where there are no length guidelines given, but if you hunt around on the rest of the website you can find length guidelines.

For example, the University of Chicago provides seven "Extended Essay" prompts . You must write an essay in response to one prompt of your choosing, but nowhere on the page is there any guidance about word count or page limit.

However, many colleges provide additional details about their expectations for application materials, including essays, on FAQ pages, which is true of the University of Chicago. On the school’s admissions Frequently Asked Questions page , they provide the following length guidelines for the supplemental essays: 

“We suggest that you note any word limits for Coalition or Common Application essays; however, there are no strict word limits on the UChicago Supplement essays. For the extended essay (where you choose one of several prompts), we suggest that you aim for around 650 words. While we won't, as a rule, stop reading after 650 words, we're only human and cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention indefinitely. For the “Why UChicago?” essay, we suggest about 250-500 words. The ideas in your writing matter more than the exact number of words you use!”

So there you go! You want to be (loosely) in the realm of 650 for the extended essay, and 250-500 words for the “Why UChicago?” essay.

Help! There Really Is No Guidance on Length

If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. (And keep you from writing a panicked, 20-page dissertation about your relationship with your dog).

In general, 500 words or so is pretty safe for a college essay. It's a fairly standard word limit length, in fact. (And if you're wondering, that's about a page and a half double-spaced.) 500 words is long enough to develop a basic idea while still getting a point across quickly—important when admissions counselors have thousands of essays to read!

"See? It says 500 words right there in tiny font!"

The Final Word: How Long Should a College Essay Be?

The best college essay length is usually pretty straightforward: you want to be right under or at the provided word limit. If you go substantially past the word limit, you risk having your essay cut off by an online application form or having the admissions officer just not finish it. And if you're too far under the word limit, you may not be elaborating enough.

What if there is no word limit? Then how long should a college essay be? In general, around 500 words is a pretty safe approximate word amount for a college essay—it's one of the most common word limits, after all!

Here's guidance for special cases and hunting down word limits:

If it's a writing sample of your graded academic work, the length either doesn't matter or there should be some loose page guidelines.

There also may be implicit length guidelines. For example, if a prompt says to write three paragraphs, you'll know that writing six sentences is definitely too short, and two single-spaced pages is definitely too long.

You might not be able to find length guidelines in the prompt, but you could still hunt them up elsewhere on the website. Try checking FAQs or googling your chosen school name with "admissions essay word limit."

If there really is no word limit, you can call the school to try to get some guidance.

With this advice, you can be sure you've got the right college essay length on lockdown!

Hey, writing about yourself can even be fun!

What's Next?

Need to ask a teacher or friend for help with your essay? See our do's and dont's to getting college essay advice .

If you're lacking in essay inspiration, see our guide to brainstorming college essay ideas . And here's our guide to starting out your essay perfectly!

Looking for college essay examples? See 11 places to find college essay examples and 145 essay examples with analysis !

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Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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Word Count Reducer

Have you exceeded your assignment word limit and now wonder how to cut your essay length? Try our word count decreaser! It will shorten your paper while preserving its meaning.

Create a summary of any academic text with this summarizing software! It will generate a synopsis for you in 3 simple steps:

How often do you exceed the word count by more than 10%? How often do you lack the required amount of words? In many cases, writing a text of the exact size is difficult. However, teachers assess your ability to squeeze all required content into a particular volume, especially in admission essays.

Use our handy free online tool – a word decreaser – if you’re clueless about what to cut out from your writing.

• ✂️ How to Use the Word Decreaser?

✅ Word Cutter: the Benefits

• 🕰️ When to Use the Tool?
• ✍️ How to Cut Words?
• 🤩 Why Choose This Tool?
• 🔗 References

✂️ Word Count Decreaser Guidelines

When you realize that your text requires reduction, you may follow two paths – edit it on your own or take advantage of modern technology. Our smart word count decreaser will do the job for you! The entire process is automated and lets you submit an essay with an exact word count without losing the important content.

Here’s how you can use the decrease word count tool:

• Paste your text into the first window;
• Select the number of sentences you want the summary to have;
• Choose to see the keywords of the text;
• Press “Decrease” and review the result.

The best about our tool is that you won’t spend hours editing your writing masterpiece. You can quickly decrease word count online and experiment with several word combinations to find the best match.

🕰️ Word Cutter – When to Use It?

Let’s discuss the propriety of using the decrease word count generator and explain the cases when you’ll find it useful.

Exceeding the Word Count (Essay, Research Paper, Thesis)

Each academic assignment has a specific word count based on the contents and depth of the research.

• A standard essay usually ranges from 500 to 2000 words;
• A research paper is rarely smaller than 2,500-3,000 words;
• Theses and dissertations have more extended word counts, from 10,000 to 25,000.

So, if you’ve hopelessly run out of the required word count and still need to cover some vital sections, turn to our word count reducer. The tool will cut words from the essay or dissertation to let you meet the word limit. You can stipulate the number of sentences it should contain and highlight the keywords to preserve the core content.

Making a Book Review

A book review is a detailed yet concise analysis of the book’s contents, main plot twists, and characters. Students of humanities departments, especially Literature, often need to make book reviews and reports based on the studied material. But do you have time to read all the books and then write reviews? If not, our word count reducer can help you receive a short, manageable summary in a few seconds. Read it, get the book’s content, and write a review in one go without spending several days on full-size book reading.

Writing an Abstract

You may often need to complete an abstract for an essay, dissertation, or other academic manuscripts , which should not exceed 200-250 words. Producing such a concise summary is often challenging, as your work is large and contains many valuable facts you might want to cover. Our word reducer will do the job for you. Just instruct it on what to focus on, and the tool will generate a brief, informative abstract, keeping the data you need.

Paraphrasing

Students often have to read, process, and synthesize dozens of scholarly works when writing academic papers, like essays or coursework. The challenge here is to refer to sources in a non-plagiarized way , so you should dedicate enough time and effort to paraphrasing. Though our keyword reducer will not make the summarized content unique (paraphraser will), it will identify the key facts and points for further paraphrasing .

In this section, you’ll find the key advantages of this word reducer.

✍️ How to Reduce Word Count?

Many students ask, “how can I reduce my word count?” This task requires careful editing and content review so the process may take hours. We’ve compiled some handy tips to guide you in this process and hone your word-count-reduction skills.

🤩 Why Choose This Reduce-Word-Count Generator?

As you can see, reducing the word count can be a tedious task. Our free online tool can do the job for you by speeding up the process of word cutting.

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• You can compare the original text’s word/character/sentence count with in the output section.
• You can see keywords for a quick review of the core content.
• You are able to copy the result with one click.

What’s more, the tool comes with a detailed, user-friendly interface that will make your experience a breeze. It’s free to use, and you can enjoy it without limitations for any academic challenge.

Updated: Sep 13th, 2024

📎 References

• How to Reduce Your Essay Word Count – Word Counter Blog
• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count – the University of Adelaide
• Paraphrasing – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University
• Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper; The Writing Center; UW–Madison
• Research Paper Structure

Ask Us: Academic Skills Team

What is included in the word count, before you start to write up your assignment you should  check the information provided in your module handbook or assignment brief on the required word count, or ask your tutor for guidance..

Generally speaking, the word count will include the following:

• All titles or headings that form part of the actual text.
• All words that form the essay (the main body of text).
• All words forming the titles for figures, tables and boxes, are included but this does not include boxes or tables or figures themselves
• All in-text (that is bracketed) citations
• All directly quoted material

It will not include:

• All words that form the title page
• All words that form the reference list
• Captions added to visual material (i.e. diagrams, tables, maps, and/or images)

• Academic Writing
• My assignment
• Last Updated 12 Apr, 2024
• Views 32108
• Answered By Academic Skills team

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What counts as a word when dealing with a word limit?

I am trying to determine if it will be feasible to revise a manuscript for a journal that has a 6500 word limit. Currently, the manuscript is between 7500 and 8000 words long, depending on how I count words. However, it is not clear which of the following words will count toward my word count (in decreasing order of word count):

• Figure and table legends
• Math equations
• Section headings

Which of these uses count toward a word limit? Are there general rules for which words count toward a word limit?

Bonus: how strict are editors with word limits?

• technical-writing
• scientific-publishing

First of all, you should check and see if they have any guidelines posted that will help you to be certain that you stay within their listed range. If they don't have anything listed, then you could send them an inquiry to try to find out.

• Generally, the word count would not include the title page, if you have one.
• Words used in tables or graphs, including the legends, would not normnally be included.
• If you use abstracts as part of the body of your material, then they would be included.
• Citations, on the other hand, would not.
• If the math equations constitute any portion of your overall content, then they would be included.
• Section headings should be included.
• When you mention numbers, I assume you mean numbers that are used as part of your formulas or equations, in which case they would be included.

If you make use of an appendix or a table of contents, then neither of those would be included in your word count. I would recommend creating a second copy of your document and removing the items that would NOT be included and see what your word processor comes up with for the word count. That would probably put you pretty close to where you need to be.

As far as editors,it just depends. Some may be flexible, especially if the content warrants it. Others, however, set limits as a hard and fast rule and are not willing to concede and additional space at all.

• thank you for the advice. I wanted to ask here first before bothering the editor with a naive question. The numbers I was curious about are in the text. –  David LeBauer Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 18:00
• In that case, your numbers would inded count. –  Steven Drennon Commented Sep 6, 2011 at 18:08

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How to Include a Word Count in Your Essay: A Step-by-Step Guide

Including a word count in your essay may seem like a small detail, but it’s an important part of meeting your assignment’s requirements. Luckily, it’s a simple process that can be accomplished in just a few steps. By the end of this article, you’ll know exactly how to add that word count with ease.

Step by Step Tutorial: Including a Word Count in an Essay

Before we dive into the steps, let’s talk about why you might need to include a word count in your essay. Sometimes, your teacher or professor will ask for this to make sure you’re meeting the length requirements for the assignment. Plus, it shows that you’re following directions and paying attention to detail.

Step 1: Finish Writing Your Essay

Complete your essay before you worry about the word count.

After you’ve finished writing your essay, you’ll have the final word count that you need to include. This is important because if you add the word count before you’re done, you might end up with the wrong number.

Step 2: Use a Word Processor’s Word Count Feature

Locate and use the word count tool in your word processor to find out the total number of words in your essay.

Most word processors, like Microsoft Word or Google Docs, have a built-in feature that automatically counts the words in your document. This is the easiest and most accurate way to find your word count.

Step 3: Place the Word Count at the End of Your Essay

Type out the word count at the end of your essay, usually after the conclusion.

Once you have your word count, you’ll need to decide where to place it in your essay. The standard practice is to include it at the end of your document, typically after the conclusion section.

After completing these steps, your essay will have the required word count clearly displayed. This not only meets the assignment’s guidelines but also gives a professional touch to your work.

Tips for Including a Word Count in an Essay

• Always double-check the word count to ensure accuracy.
• Include the word count on the same page as your essay, not on a separate page.
• If your teacher has specific instructions on where to place the word count, follow them.
• Don’t include the title page, headers, footers, or bibliography in your word count unless instructed.
• Use the word count feature periodically as you write to keep track of your essay’s length.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do i include the word count in the header or footer.

No, the word count should be included in the main body of your essay, typically at the end.

Including the word count in the main body makes it easily visible to the reader and ensures it’s seen as part of the essay’s content.

Should the word count be bolded or in a different font?

The word count does not need to be bolded or in a different font, but it should be clear and easy to find.

Keeping the word count in the same font as your essay maintains consistency and prevents it from being distracting.

What if my essay is under or over the word count?

If your essay does not meet the required word count, you may need to add more content or edit for brevity.

Always aim to meet the word count requirements as closely as possible, as this is often a key component of the assignment.

Can I include the word count in the middle of my essay?

It’s best to include the word count at the end of your essay to avoid disrupting the flow of your writing.

Placing the word count at the end maintains the structure of your essay and keeps the focus on the content.

What if my word processor doesn’t have a word count feature?

If your word processor lacks a word count feature, you can use online tools or manually count the words.

Online tools can provide an accurate word count, but if you’re counting manually, be thorough to avoid mistakes.

• Finish writing your essay.
• Use your word processor’s word count feature.
• Place the word count at the end of your essay.

Including a word count in your essay is a breeze once you know the steps. It boils down to finishing your essay, utilizing your word processor’s tool, and placing the count where it’s easily found. This simple act of including a word count not only ensures you’re meeting the requirements but also adds a professional touch to your work. While it might seem like a minor detail, it’s one that can have a big impact on how your essay is received. So, the next time you’re asked to include a word count, you’ll know exactly what to do. Remember, attention to detail can make all the difference in your writing. Now go ahead and hit that word count target like a pro!

Matt Jacobs has been working as an IT consultant for small businesses since receiving his Master’s degree in 2003. While he still does some consulting work, his primary focus now is on creating technology support content for SupportYourTech.com.

His work can be found on many websites and focuses on topics such as Microsoft Office, Apple devices, Android devices, Photoshop, and more.

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Word Counter

Track word and character count, fix grammar, summarize text, extract keywords and more for any text with this advanced free tool.

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How long should my text be? Typical word counts for:

Use cases of word counter.

Word Counter tool helps you with efficiency, precision, and adherence to specific requirements across professional and creative fields.

Academic Assignments : Ensure compliance with word count requirements for essays, research papers, and assignments.

Professional Documents : Maintain clarity and professionalism in reports, proposals, and business documents.

SEO Content : Craft blog posts and articles that meet optimal word lengths for search engine visibility.

Social Media Messaging : Stay within character limits on platforms like Twitter and Instagram for effective communication.

Manuscript Submissions : Submit literary works within specified word count limits for publications.

Freelance Writing Projects : Manage progress and meet client requirements with accurate word counts.

Academic Presentations : Prepare and refine presentations to fit within allocated time constraints.

Email Correspondence : Compose concise and impactful professional emails for effective communication.

Translation Services : Estimate costs and manage workloads efficiently based on word counts in source texts.

Novel Writing : Track progress and ensure adherence to word count goals in novel or fiction projects.

The technology behind Word Counter

Word Counter tool uses a language model that learns patterns, grammar, and vocabulary from large amounts of text data – then uses that knowledge to generate human-like text based on a given prompt or input. The generated text combines both the model's learned information and its understanding of the input.

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Word Count in Word: Why It Matters

Whether you’re a student working on your term paper, an author finishing a novel, or a blogger drafting an article, understanding the concept of word count in Word is important. This article will explore why word count matters, how to find it in Microsoft Word, and how to use it to your advantage.

Table of Contents

Why Word Count in Word Matters

Meeting requirements and objectives.

Word count often stands as a primary requirement for various writing tasks. Teachers, editors, and clients usually request a specific length for these works. Sometimes, you might need to craft a concise 300-word blog post or tackle an extensive 10,000-word dissertation. By monitoring your word count, you can ensure that you meet these specifications, potentially avoiding the need for substantial revisions later.

Enhancing Reader Engagement

Word count can also significantly affect how engaging your content is. For instance, online articles typically perform better when they fall within particular word count ranges—too short, and you may not provide enough information to be useful; too long, and you risk losing reader interest. Understanding your target audience’s reading habits can help you choose an appropriate word count.

Improving Writing Efficiency

Tracking word count can boost your writing efficiency. Make a habit of setting daily or weekly targets for the number o f words you need to write. This habit helps with projects that stretch over time, like writing a book or updating a blog. Monitoring word count allows you to gauge your progress and stay motivated.

How to Find Word Count in Microsoft Word

Using the status bar.

One of the most straightforward ways to find the word count in Word is to use the status bar at the window’s bottom section. Here’s how:

• Open your document in Microsoft Word.
• Look at the bottom left of the window. You’ll see the word count displayed there.

This method gives you a quick overview without having to navigate through menus.

Word Count Dialog Box

For more detailed metrics, you can access the Word Count dialog box. Here are the steps:

• Go to the “Review” tab.
• Click “Word Count.”

A dialog box will appear, providing the word count and additional information like characters (both with and without spaces), paragraphs, and lines.

Keyboard Shortcuts

If you prefer keyboard shortcuts, quickly open the Word Count dialog box by pressing Ctrl + Shift + G (Windows) or Command + Shift + G (Mac).

Advanced Word Count in Word Features

Selecting specific sections.

Sometimes, you may need the word count for a specific section of your document rather than the entire text. To do this, simply highlight the section you want to count, then check the word count via the status bar or the Word Count dialog box. The count will reflect only the selected text.

Excluding Footnotes, Endnotes, and Text Boxes

The Word Count dialog box in Word lets you choose whether to count footnotes, endnotes, and text boxes. It’s especially handy for academic or professional work, where those parts usually can be outside the main count. To adjust the count to your needs:

• Open the Word Count dialog box.
• Check or uncheck the boxes for “Include footnotes and endnotes” and “Include textboxes, footnotes, and endnotes.”

Using Word Count in Word to Improve Your Writing

Setting goals.

One way to manage your word count is by setting clear writing goals. When working on a big project, break it into smaller, bite-sized pieces. Let’s say you want to write a 50,000-word novel in a month. Aim for a daily target of about 1,667 words. This method keeps you on track and makes you less likely to feel swamped.

Tracking Progress

Many writers monitor their productivity by tracking word counts. For example, spreadsheets or specialized apps are handy for logging daily or weekly word counts. These give clear progress updates that can be motivating, especially when the writing gets tough.

Editing and Proofreading

Once you’ve completed your draft, word count can guide your editing and proofreading process. If your work exceeds the word count, you must trim unnecessary content. Conversely, you may need to expand or elaborate on certain sections if you need more. Remembering word count helps ensure your final draft meets the desired length.

Word Count and SEO

Optimizing blog posts.

Word count is pivotal in SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for online content. Search engines like Google favor comprehensive content that provides value to readers. While there’s no universal rule, most SEO experts suggest aiming for blog posts between 1,000 to 2,000 words. By optimizing your word count, you increase your odds of ranking higher on search engines.

Engaging Audiences

Balancing word count is crucial for maintaining reader engagement. Long-form content ranks better in search engines, but too much text can deter readers. Subheadings, bullet points, and images can break up your content, making it easier to digest while maintaining a high word count.

Measuring Content Performance

Monitoring how your content performs can fine-tune your word count handling. Analytics tools can show you how different word counts impact user engagement, time spent on a page, and bounce rates. Experimenting with various lengths can help you discover the optimal word count for your target audience.

Common Challenges and Solutions

Writer’s block.

One common challenge writers face is hitting a word count target without compromising quality. Writer’s block can be a significant obstacle. When you’re stuck, consider taking breaks, brainstorming ideas, or switching to a different section of your project. Sometimes, stepping away can help you return with a fresh perspective.

Overwriting

Another challenge is overwriting, which involves packing your writing with unnecessary words or redundancy. Focus on clarity and conciseness. Read your work aloud to identify awkward phrases and excess verbiage. Cutting unnecessary words keeps your writing sharp and on point while hitting your word limit.

Balancing Multiple Projects

Many writers juggle multiple writing assignments, each with a word count requirement. Keeping a detailed schedule or using project management tools can help you allocate time and effort effectively, ensuring you meet all your deadlines.

Frequently Asked Questions Related to Word Count In Word

Q. What is the word count in Microsoft Word? A. Word count is the total number of words in a document. Microsoft Word can help you see how many words you have written.

Q. How can I monitor the word count? A. You can check the word count by looking at the status bar at the bottom of the window. If it’s not there, right-click the status bar and select “Word Count.”

Q. Does the word count include everything in the document? A. Yes, the word count includes all text in the document’s main body, footnotes, and endnotes but does not count text in text boxes and comments unless you select them.

Q. Is there a keyboard shortcut to check the word count? A. Yes! You can press “Ctrl + Shift + G” to open the word count dialog box in Microsoft Word.

Q. Can I set a word count goal in Word? A. Microsoft Word has no built-in feature to set word count goals, but you can track your progress by checking the word count regularly.

Q. How do I exclude certain sections from the word count? A. To exclude sections, manually remove that text or create a new document with only the text you want to count.

Q. What if I want to count words in a specific section only? A. You can highlight the text you want to count and then look at the word count in the status bar. It will show you the count for the selected text.

Q. Does the word count feature work in all versions of Word? A. Yes, the word count feature is available in all recent versions of Microsoft Word, including Windows and Mac.

Q. Can I view the character count as well as the word count? A. Yes, when you open the word count dialog box, you can see both the word count and the character count, along with other statistics.

Q. What should I do if the word count seems incorrect? A. If the word count seems off, ensure no hidden text boxes or comments affect the count. You can also try saving the document and reopening it.

Word Count in Word—Final Thoughts

Word count in Word is more than just a metric—it’s a valuable tool that can help you meet writing requirements, enhance reader engagement, improve productivity, and optimize for SEO. By mastering the art of word count management, you’ll notice a big improvement in your writing’s impact and quality. Whether drafting a novel, crafting a blog post, or writing an academic paper, keeping an eye on your word count is crucial for success.

Always remember that word count should serve your content, not vice versa. Strive for clarity, precision, and value in your writing; the numbers will care for themselves. Happy writing!

About the Author

CJ grew up admiring books. His family owned a small bookstore throughout his early childhood, and he would spend weekends flipping through book after book, always sure to read the ones that looked the most interesting. Not much has changed since then, except now some of those interesting books he picks off the shelf were designed by his company!

Automatic Word Count Reducer

Summarize any writing piece with this word count reducer in 3 steps:

• Add the passage you want to cut.
• Choose the desired number of sentences to keep in the passage.
• Click "Reduce" and enjoy the result.

Number of sentences in results:

Original ratio

100 % in your summary

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Why may you need to use an automatic online word count shortener?

The need to preserve a specific word count is called the essay's " scope " – an extent of analysis a student should not exceed in a particular assignment. In these cases, a paraphrasing generator that can remove redundant words and help you keep within the assigned word count.

• 🔢 What Is Essay Word Count?

✍️ Word Count for Various Essays

• ✂️ Tips to Shorten an Essay

🔗 References

🔢 what is essay word count & why does it matter.

As you will quickly notice at school, college, or university, every assignment contains specific instructions that cover the word count your home task should include.

Why are they important?

This is done primarily to minimize your effort and help you plan the working schedule. For instance, you will understand that you need to reserve 2 days for a 3,000 -word essay and can manage a 500 -word essay in 2 or 3 hours.

Besides, the word count sets the scope for your research; you will surely need to check fewer literary sources for a 500-word essay and visit a library a couple of times to write a large-scale 5,000-word study.

In other words, the word count of your essay task sets the limits for your study effort and gives you hints about the depth of research you need to conduct to meet the professor's requirements.

A practical guide may also help you determine the time and scope of various academic assignments . Here is a comparative table with word counts for assignments at different study levels.

✂️ Tips to Reduce Word Count in an Essay

If you're not ready to use a word count reducer and want to do everything manually, here are a couple of workable techniques for word count optimization.

• Avoid redundant beginnings . It's good practice to start a sentence with a subject. This way, you will avoid extensive "running starts," such as "as a matter of fact," "summing the presented evidence," etc. Your sentences will be simpler to read and free from redundant phrasing.
• Use active voice . Passive-voice phrases always add a couple of redundant words to a sentence. If you don't really need to disguise the doer of the action, you should use active voice only. You'll see how neat and clean your text will sound.
• Remove adjectives and adverbs . Adjectives and adverbs are frequently used in literary language, as they add vivid details and shades of meaning to notional words. However, they often create clutter in academic writing and are fully avoidable in most cases. So, you should consider removing most of them to make the text more readable and shorter.
• Don't exceed 25 words in a sentence . Academic writers are often tempted to sound more scholarly with long, overloaded sentences, including many compounds. In reality, such writing efforts rarely pay off, as they confuse the readers and disguise the core message the writer wanted to deliver. Thus, it's better to divide long sentences into several parts. Using this trick, you can avoid redundant transitions and simplify the content flow.
• One idea at a time . A logical progression of an academic text is a vital criterion of readability. Thus, you should explain relationships between variables or focus on one supporting argument at a time, avoiding a discussion of several factors in one go. This technique will improve your text's comprehension score and free readers from overly complex argumentation, causing a cognitive overload.

In all other cases – a lack of time, no desire to go through the entire text again – welcome to our word reduction tool that will make your editing job a breeze. Try our title maker and paraphraser to write and polish your essay quickly.

❓ Word Count Reducer FAQ

❓ how to count words in an essay.

It's pretty easy to control your word count in an essay. You should activate this function in your Word file, and a small tab at the bottom of your page will update you about the document's current word count as you type the essay's content. You can also click on "Statistics" in the Word menu to learn additional statistics about your text, such as the number of characters with and without spaces and the number of lines, sentences, and paragraphs you currently have.

❓ What is the word count for a college essay?

Word count is a specific number of words (or a range of words) that your professor assigns for writing. For instance, your university tutor may require students to write from 1,000 to 1,500 words in one essay. Thus, you can't compose fewer than 1,000 words (the paper should be at least 1,001 words), and you shouldn't write more than 1,500 words. A standard threshold for exceeding the assigned word count is 10% (so it's okay to submit a 1,650-word essay).

❓ How to reduce word count in an essay?

There are many techniques for word count reduction, such as cutting the articles, conjunctions, transition phrases, and running starts from the text. You may also consider changing passive-voice phrases to active voice or replacing some complex, sophisticated phrases with simpler words.

❓ What does a summarizer do?

A free text compressor available on our website can reduce the word count of your essay by removing redundant words that don't hold any vital meaning and can be removed without losing the text's quality. You can reduce the word count and combine several sentences into one automatically to achieve high-quality text reduction.

• How to reduce word count without reducing content
• How to Increase or Decrease Your Paper’s Word Count
• Summarizing - Academic Integrity at MIT
• Summarizing - University of Toronto Writing Advice
• Writer's Manual: Academic Summary - LibGuides UU

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COMMON QUESTIONS

How many pages is 250 words.

Wondering how many pages 250 words takes up? Well, the answer is about one half page single spaced or one page double spaced.

How Many Pages is 800 Words?

How many pages will 800 words yield? Just slightly longer than a more common word count of 750 words, 800 words is about one and three-fifths of a page single spaced, and a little over 3 pages double spaced.

How Many Pages is 2000 Words?

How many pages does 2000 words equal? The answer is around 4 pages single spaced, and 8 pages double spaced.

How Many Pages is 1000 Words?

How many pages is 1000 words? 2 pages single spaced, and 4 pages double spaced.

About Word Counter

Word Counter is an easy to use online tool for counting words, characters, sentences, paragraphs and pages in real time, along with spelling and grammar checking. Get started by typing directly into the text area above or pasting in your content from elsewhere. Word and character counts will display at the top, any writing mistakes will be underlined and your most frequently used keywords will appear to the right.

You can also use Word Counter to track your text length against common web standards like Twitter's tweet character count (140), Google's meta description (300), and Facebook's average post display length (~250). If your text is longer than 360 characters the counter will show you the number of sentences, paragraphs and pages instead; useful metrics for blog posts, articles, papers, essays, dissertations and other long-form content.

How-To Geek

How to check the word count in microsoft word.

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Quick Links

How to check the word count in microsoft word for windows, how to check the word count in microsoft word for mac, key takeaways.

Look in the bottom-left corner of the Microsoft Word window to see the word count of an entire document. To view the word count for a specific section of text, select the text with your cursor, and then look at the bottom-left corner of the window.

Depending on what you're working on, such as an essay for a school assignment, you may have a specific word count you must reach (or not exceed). You can quickly tell what the current word count is in Microsoft Word.

You can get the word count for your entire Word document, or you can get the word count of just a specific section in Word for Windows.

Get the Word Count of an Entire Document

The easiest way to get the word count of your entire Word document is to simply check the status bar, as the word count is displayed by default. You can find the word count to the left of the status bar at the bottom of the window.

If you're not seeing the word count in the status bar, it may have been previously disabled. You can bring the word count back by right-clicking any area of the status bar and then choosing "Word Count" from the context menu.

Alternatively, to get the word count, click the "Review" tab, and then choose "Word Count" in the Proofing group.

The Word Count dialog box will appear. You can find the word count next to Words.

Get the Word Count of a Specific Section of a Document

You can also get the word count of a specific section in a Word document. This is useful if you need to keep the entire word document within a certain word count but you feel you're being too wordy in a specific section.

All you need to do is highlight the section of the document you want to get the word count of by clicking and dragging your mouse over the text. Once highlighted, the selected word count will appear in the status bar in an x of y format--x being the selected word count and y being the total word count of the document.

Or, highlight the text you want to get the word count of, click "Word Count" in the "Review" tab, and then check the number next to Words in the dialog box.

You can also get the word count of an entire Word document (or just a specific section) on Mac. The process is similar to that of Windows.

To get the word count of your entire Word doc, just check the word count to the left of the status bar at the bottom of the window. The word count feature is added here by default.

If you don't see the word count, it may have been previously disabled. You can bring it back by right-clicking anywhere on the status bar and then selecting "Word Count" from the context menu that appears.

You can also get the word count of the document by clicking "Tools" in the header menu and then choosing "Word Count."

The word count is displayed next to Words.

You can also get the word count of a specific section. To do this, highlight the text you want to get the word count of by clicking and dragging your cursor over the text. Once selected, check the word count in the status bar. The first number represents the selected word count.

Or, open the Word Count dialog box (Tools > Word Count) and then check the number next to Words.

Getting the word count isn't the only feature available in Word. You can also get the page, character, paragraph, and line count , and see how long you've been working on a document . If you want, you can even insert the word count of your document into the document itself!

Related: How to Insert a Word Count into Your Word Document

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