Word count

In the marking rubric it states that the word count is 2000 words, excluding the use of references and tables.

Does that mean that paraphrasing does not affect the word the count?

In the marking rubric it states that the word count is 2000 words, excluding the use of references and tables.

Does that mean that paraphrasing does not affect the word the count?

In the marking rubric it states that the word count is 2000 words, excluding the use of references and tables.

Does that mean that paraphrasing does not affect the word the count?

Ummm, no.... Why is 'paraphrasing' part of either references or tables?

Technically it's still a "reference" but you are showing that you understand what is being said.

Technically it's still a "reference" but you are showing that you understand what is being said.

Technically it is certainly not a reference. The reference (the clue is in the name) is the section the reader refers to in order to understand which previous work you referred to in writing your piece. If you quote or paraphrase parts of those works it will be in the main body of the essay, not among the references.

It still requires an in-text citation, so how is it not a reference?

When it says 'excluding the use of references', what it means is that the words which spell out the reference don't contribute to the word count. Taking an inline citation (and presuming that your regulations exempt in-line citations from the word count too) as an example, were you to write: "It's not that complicated, and 'counting words is really easy' (Muddled et al, 2018)", the word count would be ten, because 'Muddled et al, 2018' are part of the reference. Similarly, the full reference for Muddled, found at the end in the References section, would also not be included in the word count.

Words in tables don't contribute to the word count. However, usually where there is excessive use of text contained in tables, it usually does count. This is to prevent students attempting to subvert the word count regulations by 'smuggling' text in.

Remember that someone has to read all of this, so be frugal with your work count. Brevity and concision are virtues.


You could argue that the word count is actually eleven, because "it's" is a contraction of 'it is'. But we'll stick to the above for now.

In the marking rubric it states that the word count is 2000 words, excluding the use of references and tables.

Does that mean that paraphrasing does not affect the word the count?