Expert Guide: Do Word Counts Help or Hurt Assignments?

Why Is Word Count Significant?

Every assignment has some guidelines that students need to follow. Students might face trouble while following those stringent restrictions as academic writing is critical.

The assignment guidelines mention the restrictions, rules, or methodology the student must follow while drafting the solutions. In addition, it includes the structure, procedure, and word count, word count being of the most significant factors that affect the assignments largely. 

What If You Exceed the Word Count?

Exceeding the word could also result in penalties in many cases. Academic writing requires precision, and you need to keep in mind the total word count within which you have to finish your answer. Do not make it too long as it might divert the readers' minds; they might deny reading it further. Add only relevant points with proper explanation; do not drag the concept unnecessarily. 

You have to keep in mind what the professor is asking you in the questions. Creating an outline would prove to be advantageous. Proceed with the best strategies and try to write accurate answers. If your assignment solution exceeds the word count, you need to work on it to balance it. 

Tips To Cut Word Counts in An Assignment

If the assignment is lengthy, it might be due to irrelevant content, and you have to cut them off to make it perfect. Here are some tips to reduce the word count in your assignment solution:

1. Get rid of introductory text:

Sometimes, introductory statements increase your word count and do not show any relevance as per the context. You can convert 4-5 sentences in the introduction and divide them into 4-5 catchy words. It would be more impressive from the reader's point of view.

2. Remove similarity and repetition:

Sometimes, you write the same thing multiple times in different ways. Try to remove those lines if you want to cut out the irrelevant part. Check the whole solution to analyze each sentence and try to relate it as per the context. Delete the parts that are not necessary and eliminate the fluff. 

3. Make use of hyphens and forward slashes:

It is one of the most widely used techniques to get rid of excessive word count. Let us understand this through some examples:

1. She has a concealed weapons permit. – 6 words

She has a concealed weapons permit. – 5 words

1. Our interview and selection process will take a week. -9 words

Our interview/selection process will take a week. -7 words

4. Remove the adjectives and adverbs:

The adjectives or adverbs used in the sentence improve the writing style, emphasize the main point, and enhance clarity. Removing this word will not affect the meaning and main idea of the sentence. Instead, it makes your writing better and influential but also increases the word count.

5. Remove reductant words:

Let us understand this with some instances:

1. In order to - replace this with 'too.'
2. To make sure - replace this with 'ensure.'
3. As well as replace this with 'and.'

Sometimes, words like successfully, completely, entirely are used in the sentences. Deleting these words will not change the meaning yet help in reducing the word count. 

What If You Have Not Reached Up to The Minimum Word Count?

Usually, when students submit their writing piece that fails to meet the word count, the evaluation team would overlook it. Therefore, your work should meet the minimum word count and should not exceed the limit. Try to reach the number of words required while answering the assignment questions. You can use various tactics to make your writing more impactful. 

Try to explain the concept in detail; it will increase the word count. Please assume that the readers are entirely unfamiliar with the idea and try to explain it nicely. It is significant to make sure that your assignment reaches the minimum word count. 

Tips To Increase the Word Count

If your answer is not meeting the minimum number of words mentioned in the guidelines, follow the below-mentioned tips to push your word count.

1. Clarify your sentences:

Add more sentences to clarify the terms you have introduced in your answer. Work on it in detail to increase the number of words in your response. Do not add unnecessary text that could seem to be irrelevant. It would make your piece of writing ineffective. Do not break the flow; add the sentences that link with the previous one. 

2. Use supporting quotations: 

Add few justifying quotations to make your content valid. You can find supportive quotes online from the top-rated authors; it will highlight your writing and increase the word count. You can also add few lines after the quotation to explain it. 

3. Add examples:

Adding proper instances to clarifying the statements or explaining them better is the most used technique to push the word count up. You can add multiple examples to increase the word count and also to help readers understand better. Illustrations can make your point clear and understandable to the readers.

4. Insert tables, flowchart, diagrams:

Insert diagrams and charts tables to make your writing piece impressive and attractive. Adding the relevant items to the content or inserting relevant data will help you increase the word count.

5. Expand your introduction or conclusion:

Work on the introduction and conclusion part; you will find something missing here that you can add to make your word count reach the intended goal. Again, use catchy and attractive phrases in these parts. Adding words could make the section more impactful and emphasizing. 

Wrapping Up

Word count is a significant factor that students have to adhere to while writing an assignment solution. Whether you exceed the maximum word limit or fail to reach the minimum word count, both are critical conditions.

Use the tips mentioned above to work on the problems you face on meeting the assignments' word count. Adhering to the count of words as prescribed in the guidelines from the university is mandatory for the students. A professional Assignment Help could assist you in delivering the necessary requirements.