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Currently doing an assignment for psychology, due in at midday. Just a small essay, but it's worth 20%, so it's fairly important.

Although they say "word count to be 1500-2000 words", are they really that strict? I'm currently looking at 3000 here, with nowhere that can be cut!

So do they really mind as long as it isn't Bullsh*t? Or are they actually that strict whereby they say "automatically lose 10% due to not keeping within the limit!"

I'm worried I've done too much!

Not normal I assure you...normally it's the other way around!

At my uni I think the rule was about 10% either way. It depended on the tutor how strict they were with this, though

Agree with the above - my Diploma assignments were 4000 words + / - 10%

If I went over by more the top mark I could get would be a C

both my college and uni were really strict on this too, they'd allow 10% either way but anymore than that and you'd start to loose marks.

I second these comments re: 10%, and from memory I think something like 1% was deducted for something like 100 words above the 10% buffer, depending on your course. I personally gambled and was willing to accept a 1% deduction to make extra points. Rewording / rephrasing can cut off about a third if you beaver away, without losing any points you make if like me you always seem to double the word limit. Having said this my advice is poor as I once answered only 2 questions out of 3. I still narrowly missed out on a 2:1 (60%) on that exam though, so I was pretty chuffed as really I only did 66% of the paper.

One of the most annoying things about coursework is every 30 seconds clicking on "Word Count" - whilst getting up to the word limit and when exceeding it. It really brings out the OCD in me! Just don't procrastinate Beard...

Also, if you find yourself running up the stairs to hand it in on time and happen to be in that long queue of students outside the office who are doing the same thing, I think you do lose quite a lot of marks. Just looking at the initial post it says midday so I'd close your Talk Magic page and focus on the task at hand! Best of luck.

If you look purely at the language, you'll probably find that you can cut 1,000 in unnecesary words.

I worked as a freelance writer for ten years, and always found that I overshot my word target, but was alble to bring it down to an exact figure by examining the words themselves.

If you need any help with this, drop me a PM and I'll be happy to go through some examples of what I mean.

Cheers,

Pete

The first thing a writer learns is: EVERYTHING can be cut. (And journalists learn it even faster!)

The reason there's an upper limit is not just to make the prof's job easier, but to keep you strictly on track. If they reckon you can do a decent essay on the subject in 2000 words, then it must be possible. Could you be casting your net too wide?

It's unlikely that anyone's going to run a strict word count on the finished product. It goes more on feel -- basically how many pages. So the odd paragraph more or less won't make much difference.

It's already after midday when I'm posting this, so it won't make any difference to this essay, but maybe it'll help with the next one.

haha - what a day!

I ste my alarm for 10! unfortunately I set it for 10pm...

I woke up at 12.15!

I ran and ran and ran. They accepted the essay, as I was flattering them up.

Phew!

3000 words when you had a limit of 1500-2000....




Proof, if proof be needed, that you talk far too much!

Gordon Ramsey wouldn't have this problem would he?

"bell rings. dogs salivate. done"

I haven't a clue if you can find it now, but long ago there was a grammar program that would allow you to translate your drafts to key grade levels of comprehension. We used this a good deal in the Marketing world in that we had to compose project outlines at a 6th grade Reading level so that the college educated executives could understand it (bearing in mind that most of them got some kind of sports scholarship vs. genuine intellectual capacities).

I do know that one aspect of this software would help you restructure a presentation by offering you suggestions on rewording as well as editing out redundancies. In other words, it allowed you to reduce word count while still holding to key cohesion and comprehension levels.

Bear in mind this was done on a Mac/Apple twenty some years ago and I'm not positive what exists now days that would be similar but I'm certain it exists; it was too practical a tool for the industry and yes, there are word count limits in the real world that must be held too if you want to get past the starting block with clients, so this is something in which practice proves a good thing

Reminds me of my days at Uni when we had our final year essay.
In my opinion ,they were very generous with the word count - it had to be 10 000 - 15 000 words long - plenty of leeway.

So what did one of the swatty gits go and do ..... hand in an essay that was approx 55 000 words (I kid you not ) .... she was lucky that they handed it her back and told her to condense it, otherwise she may not have got her 1st class honours degree .

Lawrence wrote:Gordon Ramsey wouldn't have this problem would he?

"bell rings. dogs salivate. done"

That's hilarious!

Glad you got it in on time Blapse, but when you say they "accepted" it, does that mean they agreed not to penalise you for it? They'd probably "accept" a dead fish if that's what you choose to give them as your work - whether you'll get a good mark for it is a different matter!

General university ruling is 10% either way, but it's always worth checking - in the medicine department they sometimes allow 10% and sometimes say "if I wanted 2200, I'd ask for 2200. Keep it under 2000 or else."

Blapsing_Beard wrote:Although they say "word count to be 1500-2000 words", are they really that strict? I'm currently looking at 3000 here, with nowhere that can be cut!

That's already a wide margin, and you're 50% over the lower limit. I know it sounds supercilious, but you can always cut for length. Even contractions are a cut. I've only just seen this thread, but for future use, try re-phrasing your work in a more succinct way and use the active voice (it tends to use fewer words, and to my mind, reads better). And to further plagiarise my beloved Orwell[1], never use a long word where a short one will do, never use a metaphor, simile or other figure of speech you're used to seeing in print, and if it's at all possible to cut a word, cut it. And never, ever, on any account sell burgers for McDonalds when you write or speak unless you're getting paid for it (you're not "lovin' it", you "love it").

[1] From "Politics and the English Language" available to read online at: http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/orwell46.htm The advice to writers is at the bottom.

I disagree sir - it's a word count, not a character count - use as many long words as you can!

On the subject, "verbose" is one of my favourite words as it is the opposite to what it means.

I'm sorry, I'm drinking port.