History NEA - Word Limit

Hi I’m currently doing my history nea with OCR. We have a word count of 3K-4K and I’m on significantly more (I’m talking 6K and yet to finish a section and do a conclusion). i have some time before my final submission so I’ve stopped writing and I’m gonna see what I can take out before writing more. How strict are OCR with the world limit? I know AQA deduct 5 marks but not too sure about OCR. I’ve heard some people say that people submit 15K essays and get full marks whereas some get penalised for 5K. Anyone had any experience in a similar situation? Any advice would be greatly appreciated

5K NEA essays here with ocr and no penlties imposed

*for anyone struggling with word counts

- complete the essay so that you have everything on paper that you want included
- keep rereading and editing sentences - think of different vocabulary to use, sometimes rewriting a sentence is necessary.
- identify your fattest paragraphs - if you have something with over 20 lines its more likely you have unnecessary evidence or analyse that isn't tight and focused rather than waffling. make sure it links to your argument and the question, dont go on a tangent
- as you keep reading you will discover if there are sections or sentences that aren't the end of the world if you remove
- even if its one word at a time you can slowly drag that word count down
- if you think you've done as much as you can, ask someone to read it and maybe highlight words you can change or cross out words that can be removed. ask a parent a sibling or a friend, maybe not another history student if you're doing the same question as im not sure that will be allowed nor would i think that would be good or fair for either of you (cheating or if their/your essay is better can be demoralising)
- if you have a sentance that you are unsure about, highlight it and tell them that you aren't sure about it - get their opinion on whether its necessary or needs rewording etc
- make sure that if you do mention historians in your essay, the first time you mention them ,you include their first name, after that surname is fine (i know its very frustrating with word count but thats how history essays like this work)
- ensure that you have key things in each paragraph or section - evidence, primary sources, historians (secondary sources) and analysis - also check how much of each you need overall of each thing with a teacher (eg 10 primary sources (10?)) - therefore take out or add in where relevant

- check with your teacher on what you can do, any advice they have, i doubt they will be able to tell you exactly what you should do in relation with your essay but they might help you in some way

good luck with your coursework and exams!

Managed to get my essay down to 5K…very scared to get my result back but we’ll see what happens!!!

how did u do if u dont mind me asking? 😭 i just submitted my final draft and it was at 5.6k words and im rlly worried its gonna affect the grade or ill get in trouble ☹️