[NewBeginning]

so you have an assignment thats 1000 words... give or take 10%.... do you think markers actually worry about a little bit more than 10 %...

like 1160 - for example...

i am so finding it hard to reduce my words...

plus i am brain dead from all the computer work today..

[casime]

In our subject they say that direct quotes over five words aren't counted in the word count. That might help.

[Bek+3]

I would try and cut it back personally. I am a bit of a perfectionist though for that kind of thing.

I have one lecturer at the moment who makes an actual point that he will stop reading at XX words and if that's before he gets to the conclusion, or half way through it, it's as though you don't have one. Then again, a uni friend last year handed in a 2000 word essay and she only had something like 1410 words and got a HD.

In our subject they say that direct quotes over five words aren't counted in the word count. That might help.

Yes, this is true. Quotes are not part of the word count.

[NewBeginning]

omg Bek - how are the different responses...

i guess it depends on the marker really...

[feliz6]

I think it depends on individual institutions and markers. On some assignments staying within the word count was a specific marking criterion and not doing so would have jeopardised higher marks. so, hard to answer for your specific situation, but you're not much over so i probably wouldnt worry too much about it.

[Lyra]

I have one lecturer at the moment who makes an actual point that he will stop reading at XX words and if that's before he gets to the conclusion, or half way through it, it's as though you don't have one. :

I had a uni lecturer like this. There was a guy in my course who was notorious for ignoring the word count and going massively over. He got failed by one lecturer who stopped reading at the approx word count amount and failed him because his argument was not developed and didn't have a conclusion

edited for grammar and spelling LOL

This post has been edited by Lyra: 28/04/2012, 03:06 PM

[NewBeginning]

yeah but if you are submitting your assessment by paper, how the heck do they know.. they surely can't count it..

i can understand if its submitted via a document on a computer.. iykwim....

[Velvetta]

I had this problem and asked on here too. I was advised to take out all modifying adjectives and adverbs and any long winded indirect phrases, such as 'it is considered to be....'. Also removed any redundancies and over exemplification.
Taking these out reduced my word count considerably and improved the style.

[futureself]

Yes, this is true. Quotes are not part of the word count.

That's not an official rule though, plus your direct quotes should be minimal with paraphrasing being the desired use of evidence/literature, so shouldn't really alter word counts that much.

OP, for the most part, a marker 'knows' roughly how many paragraphs 1000 words is. One extra paragraph shouldn't cause too much grief but there's no guarantees. You sound like you're at that completely over it point - do you have time to just put it away for today? Stop reading it, do other things and come back tomorrow afternoon with fresh eyes where it may be easier to see where you could more succinct

[Dabri]

it really does depend on the marker - and this is the firstI've ever heard of quotes not counting so wouldn't rely on that either.

Is it paper or electronic submission? If electronic I would get the words down. If paper, adjust the margins or font size very slightly, they will only bother counting words if it looks grossly under or over limit compared to other essays.