Do you think word count in academic writing plays any role? Why are word counts emphasised so much in academic writing? Word counts are an essential aspect of academic assignments for various reasons. Firstly, they depict the level of detail required in writing. For instance, essays are brief discussions on a topic so they are generally around 1000 words long. Dissertations on the other hand required in-depth research on a topic so are around 10,000 words long. 

Secondly, word counts help in testing every student’s communication abilities. They need to explain themselves in a limited manner. They have to think and decide which parts are to be highlighted, what examples to be used, and how to write the explanations so that the reader gets intrigued as well as informed. Moreover, as every assignment has a deadline so students have to write a particular number of words in that stipulated time frame to showcase their skills. 

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Reasons why you are unable to meet the word count for your assignment

When it comes to creating lengthy assignments, many students face the issue of not being able to meet the word limit of the task. This could be mainly because of the following:

• Not enough research: You might not have covered all the aspects of the assignment topic during research which is why you do not have much information to share 
• Limited scope: If you have chosen a topic that has a limited scope of discussion, then reaching the desired word count could be tough
• Lack of skills: Some students go out of words easily because they have not planned their assignments properly. 

Assignment help experts always suggest creating a blueprint of the assignment first to make sure that you have enough scope of writing before elaborating the main points. 

How to increase the word count for your lengthy assignment

If you are struggling with any of these issues stated above or for some reason you are unable to meet the word limits of the assignment, here are some suggestions that will help:

• More examples, please!: Read your assignment once again and find places where you can add more examples or the parts of your assignment where you have given no examples at all. This will enhance the understanding of your writing as well as increase the word count. 
• Do some research: Sia, who works as an academic writer with My Assignment Help always suggests students to enhance the scope of their assignment. You may look for additional sources related to your assignment topic for more ideas and information to increase the word count. 
• Various perspectives: You may explain various perspectives of the topic based on research conducted by different people and finally explain how your opinions differ and why. It will give you a chance to explain more and increase the number of words. 

Reasons why you are exceeding the word count for your assignment

Just like some students are unable to meet the word count, some students may exceed the word limit of the assignments. This could be because of the following: 

• Fear of missing out!: Sometimes there are many different aspects of a topic that students feel like explaining everything all together in the assignment. They do not want to miss out on any details which are why they exceed the word limits. 
• Lack of structure: If you have not decided the structure of your assignment before, you might write whatever comes into your mind and hence go out of track and increase the word count of the essay. 
• Writing more than required: Gracious, who offers assignment help Sydney told us that some students have a habit of over-explaining everything. This means a point that could be explained in just 100 words would be written in 200 words hence increasing the total word count of the assignment. 

How to decrease the word count for your lengthy assignment

Written more than required? Worry not, these tips will help you reduce the number of words in your assignment: 

• Increase focus: Go through your assignment and mark the main points under every heading. Focus on these and eliminate all the remaining points to decrease the number of words. 
• Edit well: Make sure to edit your work properly. You may remove all unnecessary sentences, adjectives and adverbs to refine your writing as well as decrease the word count. 
• Best argument wins: You may rank all your arguments in the assignment and see which ones make a better impact. Remove all the weak arguments from the assignment. Enhance the quality of your writing and at the same time reduce the word count. Top-notch, isn’t it? 

Important tips to handle the word count while writing lengthy assignments 

Before I conclude, here are some useful tips regarding the word count of an assignment that will always help you: 

• Never cut complete sections of the assignment just to meet the word limit. Always rank your arguments. Combine the relevant sections and remove the irrelevant ones. 
• Never use contractions like wouldn’t, don’t, won’t and so on to meet the word limit. This is not a part of formal academic writing and you might lose marks. 
• Make sure you write clearly and concisely. Academic writing does not only mean writing complex sentences with heavy adjectives and vocabulary. Use simple words often. 
• Seek help from dissertation writing services while creating lengthy assignments. Their experts will provide you with a better assignment structure and ensure that you create the write-up within the word limits. 

That’s all folks! Hope now you understand why word counts are important in assignment writing, the various reasons why you are not able to meet the word limits of your assignments and some effective ways to make sure you handle the word count of your assignments properly. Do share your academic writing experience with us and how you manage to meet the word limits of your lengthy assignments.