Avoid Going Over an Essay Word Limit
"The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do."
— Thomas Jefferson
Many people have trouble writing enough, but others use more words than necessary, especially when writing quickly and focusing on putting their ideas into words. Keeping an essay under a word limit can sometimes be just as difficult as making a word limit. This guide will help you keep the quality of your essay while still respecting the word limit.
Your goal is to "avoid windy locutions", as Strunk and White famously wrote, and to be concise but readable.
Steps
- Write first and edit later. If you constantly worry about word limits, you will often end up discarding ideas that add to your paper. Alternatively, consider adding bullet-pointed thoughts as they arise, in order to feel like your writing is expanding rather than contracting.
- Replace phrases with single words. There are always opportunities to say more with less. For example:
- Phrasal verbs such as "ask for" or "put up with" can often be replaced with single verbs such as "request" or "tolerate".
- Replace "at the same time" with "simultaneously" and "by the same token" with "similarly".
- The adverb "immediately" can be used in lieu of phrases such as "right now" and "as soon as".
- Replace full clauses such as "It is clear that" and "It should be obvious that" with single adverbs such as "clearly", "obviously" or "evidently".
- A sentence with "the reason why... is that..." can be rewritten with just the conjunction "because". For example: "The reason why ice floats is that..." becomes simply: "Ice floats because..."
- Avoid pleonasms, also known as redundancies.
- For example, "off of" is always non-standard in written English and it's redundant, except when used with a gerund phrasal verb and "off" is part of the phrasal verb. "Off of the floor" and "Get off of me" are wordy, but "off of" is proper when "off" is part of a gerund with the article "the": "the breaking off of rock." This is proper because you would also write, in a different situation, "the breaking of rock."
- Sentences such as "Where is she going to?" and "Where is the house at?" have unnecessary prepositions, since they do not have to be overt if they aren't followed by the object in these constructions.
- Remove repetition. Try to make each of your points just once. Making your point effectively and succinctly the first time eliminates the need to repeat yourself. This takes practice but it's a skill worth honing; you'll appreciate this skill throughout your life.
- Look at the voice of your verbs. Try writing a sentence in the active voice and then in the passive (or vice versa). See which reads better, has the emphasis that you need, and uses fewer words (but see warnings below about passive voice). Do not automatically assume that the active voice is more concise than the passive. Sentences that omit the agent (the “by so-and-so” phrase) usually use the same number words or even save words. In scientific writing, the passive voice can be used to achieve objectivity without adding words to the sentence. For example:
- I administered propylthiouracil to rats in drinking water. (eight words)
- Propylthiouracil was administered to rats in drinking water. (eight words)
When the agent is more than one word long, the passive voice is even more concise than the active. - The doctor diagnosed her with hyperthyroidism yesterday. (seven words)
- She was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism yesterday. (six words)
Verbs of being may be even more concise than passive verbs. - Being verb: She is hyperthyroid. (three words)
- Passive verb: The meeting will be held on Friday. (seven words)
- Being verb: The meeting will be on Friday. (six words)
- Passive verb: The paper is stored in the folder. (seven words)
- Being verb: The paper is in the folder. (six words)
- Avoid excessive hedging. You sometimes have to qualify statements, especially when discussing theories, predictions, allegations or correlations. Avoid using multiple forms of the same hedging in a sentence.
- There is a chance that the man might possibly come today.
- The man might come today.
"I think that" is often an unnecessary form of hedging because your name appears at the top of your page; what you say is clearly your opinion. In a sentence that begins with "I think that," the reason for the person's argument is simply "I think that." Instead of writing, "I think that," give the reason why you think so. - I think that variable A will increase variable B.
- Variable A will likely increase variable B because....
- Avoid words that do not change the meaning of the sentence. Unnecessary words like "Actually", "Really" or "Basically" can be omitted.
- Proofread your essay several times. When you first wrote your essay, you might have used too many words without realizing it. This is where crammers and procrastinators can lose out — leaving your essay until the last minute prevents time to reread it and remove the superfluous words, phrases and ideas. (However, some argue that it is only by leaving things till the last minute that they manage not to be verbose!) However, most people benefit from rereading with a red pen without the added pressure of getting the writing done.
- Have a peer or friend with good word sense check your work and help remove the unnecessary additions. A neutral set of eyes can often prove more helpful in spotting repetition.
- Sleep on it. Time helps you to see errors and repetition. If you complete the essay 24–48 hours before the due time, this gives you time to put it aside and come back to it. In the rereading, you're bound to find redundancy.
- Avoid becoming overly attached to your writing. Knowing what to cut is an important characteristic of good writers. Ask yourself: "Would I want to wade through this? Is it written engagingly and is it to the point?" If you answer no, then you might have discovered that you're not being direct and communicating well with your audience. Keep the ideas somewhere else for another essay or for free writing inspiration.
Tips
- Stay on topic. Anecdotes can increase word count on an essay; removing them can shorten it. Don't follow up side points from an anecdote just because they're interesting. Cut them later if you do this in the rough draft because you're getting everything down to see what you've got to work with. If you simply must keep them, consider spinning them off into a second essay.
- Where possible, place charts, lists, case studies, diagrams, mind maps, drawings etc. in an Attachment at the end of the essay to avoid overwhelming the reader.
- If you are using footnotes, know the Style Manual applicable to your subject and school. Most teachers and professors frown on attempts to hide additional information in footnotes. Footnotes are meant to reference and occasionally bolster points, not to provide additional information that you couldn't cram in anywhere else.
- Many teachers place the word limit as a general guideline, not as an exact rule. If this is the case, then going over a little bit won't be a major problem. What teachers don't want are gigantic papers that they have to sift through (keep in mind that they have about 40–80 students).
- Most advanced word processing programs will permit you to keep track of the number of words in your essay — please utilise this feature. In Microsoft Word, select the "Tools" submenu from the Toolbar and then select "Word Count". In other programs, you may need to look in different places — use your "Help" facility. Alternatively, an online word counting tool will automatically display the number of words and characters.
- Keep the word limit in mind, but only trim your essay after you're done writing. Then trim the excess and you'll have a concise essay.
Warnings
- While passive voice has a place, particularly in the methods sections of scientific papers, you should generally avoid it. Even if it allows you to save a word here or there on the length of your paper, the passive voice tends to make your writing less clear and direct, and your tone more stilted and formal. Use sparingly if your aim is to write with clarity and concision.
Things You'll Need
- Thesaurus
- Pencil
- Paper
- Laptop (optional)
