Why do professors care about word count?

Not only does a word count encourage more succinct writing and limit marking load, there are further reasons for why they exist and are enforced. First of all it is hard to mark consistently when papers have widely divergent lengths (the amount of depth you can go in to differs).

Why do teachers care about word count?

Without a word limit, students might not put in as much effort and could get away with writing too little. While writing more does not necessarily mean they write better, it's evident that word counts encourage more time strategizing how to appropriately explain a concept.

How strict are professors on word count?

Most professors would give an minimum of say 250 words and leave it at that. That does mean the answer/essay would need to be exactly 250 words, but you are allowed to go over. Try not to exceed it by too much, because there is a reason why the professor originally came up with the number selected.

Do universities care about word count?

This is equally important because most universities have strict guidelines. Your essays may also get rejected because of not writing within the word limit given to you. Every university has its own rules and therefore you must check whether they are that much strict with the word limit or not.

Why is word count so important?

Why is word count important? Word count is important because it helps you select your readers. For example, if you write a novel and it is long, about 100,000 words long, then naturally there will be some readers to whom it is not suitable (just because of the word count).

Do professors actually check word count?

Is it OK to be under word count?

You've got the people who always go over the word count, and the people who can't get anywhere near it. Many universities apply a kind of 'penalty' if either of these happens. A pretty common one is your mark will be reduced by 10% if you're 10% over or under the word limit.

Does word count really matter?

They matter if you've been asked to write a piece of a maximum number of words. word count matters depending on your audience and the topic you are trying to put across. your readers don't have the whole day of reading your article, therefore, it should not be too long or too short.

How strict are uni word counts?

Setting a word count limit

clearly state a maximum word count beyond which nothing will be marked. This maximum will include any margin for tolerance which has been set (i.e. a word count with +10% tolerances), if your module guide does not state that 10% tolerance will be given then it does not exist for that module.

What happens if you go over word count uni?

Word limit penalties

Overlong essays will be penalised according to the following rule: 1% of the maximum obtainable mark will be deducted for every 100 words, or part thereof, over the word limit.

Does Turnitin count words in tables?

We've learned that Turnitin counts words, but not always in tables or graphs. If the text can be highlighted, Turnitin will check it for matches. Remember that copying tables as images might hide plagiarism from Turnitin, but teachers can still spot it.

Is 900 words a lot?

900 words is 1.8 pages single-spaced or 3.6 pages double-spaced. Documents that typically contain 900 words are high school and college essays, short blog posts, and news articles. It will take approximately 3 minutes to read 900 words.

What is a realistic word count per day?

Don't expect anastronomical dailyword count

In fact, we suggest you aim for a thousand words each day – after we have agreed your story plan and made sure you're well prepared. Otherwise, British novelist Graham Greene found he could knock out a novel every 9 months this way at 500 a day.

Is 400 words too short for a college essay?

If your institution doesn't provide a specific word count, it's best to keep your essay between the length established by the longer college admissions essay format: 250 to 650 words.

Do professors actually check word count reddit?

Yes they read them. I actually had a professor who told me I was just below the word count on a final paper. I once had a seminar class with my department head. Class size was about 20 people, and the majority of the grade was a 12 page paper and an academic presentation on your paper.

How important is word count in university essays?

Essays are given specified word counts for a reason. They prevent us from going too far in our research, thereby losing a sustained argument, and they prevent us from keeping our scope too narrow. However, cutting word counts is not always easy, especially in a piece of writing you have written yourself.

Does word count matter for college essays?

While you don't have to hit the count exactly, you should aim to stay within a 10% difference of the upper limit—without including fluff or filler. For example, if the school requests 500 words, try to ensure that your essay is between 450 and 500 words.

Is it OK to exceed word limit in essay?

It can affect their credibility. However, there are instances where exceeding the word count can be acceptable. For example, in scholarship essays. Students may need to exceed the word count to provide sufficient details about themselves or their goals.

Are you allowed 10% on word count?

No more than 10% above the required word count is acceptable. For example, a written assignment of 1,000 words can be as long as 1,100 words without affecting a student's grade.

Is it bad to go over word count on essays?

We recommend your essays stay within 20-30 words of the limit if you're over in draft form, but it's fine to play with the extra space while drafting. Paying strict attention to your word count while writing can limit your creativity, but you should be tangentially aware of it.

How far off word count is acceptable?

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).

How to reduce word count?

Is it better to be under or over the word count?

My general rule of thumb is you're OK if you turn in an article with 5 percent fewer words to 5 percent more words than assigned. For a 500-word story, that would be 475 words to 525 words. For a 1,000-word story, that would be 950 words to 1,050 words. For a 3,000-word article, it would be 2,850 to 3, 150 words.

Is 20 000 words enough for a book?

If you're writing your first novel, the general rule of thumb for novel writing is a word count in the 80,000 to 100,000 range. While anything over 40,000 words can fall into the novel category, 50,000 is considered the minimum novel length.

Is 60 000 words too short for a novel?

For example, while 55,000 words could technically constitute a novel, it would be rare to find one that comes in below 60,000 – which could even be considered too short by modern standards.

Is 50 000 words too short for a novel?

Generally, a story that is over 40k words is considered a novel, but it'll be on the much shorter side since the average length of the novel is around 50k-70k words. But there is also another important thing to consider; whether the word count is sufficient for the novel depends on its genre.