over wordcount and under reference limit

I'm a first-year university student, and my essay is due tomorrow. It's 1,900 words, and you're allowed to go under or over by 10% of the word count I've gone over. We need a minimum of 12 references, but I've done 10, and I've gone over the word limit.

I do know that the first year doesn't count towards final grades, but should I just hand it in like it is, or is there any advice/suggestions/solutions that anyone has?

I've looked back through my essay twice now and I don't feel like there's anything I can cut down or out as it meets the marking criteria and everything I've wrote about stuff we must include.

Reply 1

University of Huddersfield

Official Rep

16

Original post by dumb01

I'm a first-year university student, and my essay is due tomorrow. It's 1,900 words, and you're allowed to go under or over by 10% of the word count I've gone over. We need a minimum of 12 references, but I've done 10, and I've gone over the word limit.

I do know that the first year doesn't count towards final grades, but should I just hand it in like it is, or is there any advice/suggestions/solutions that anyone has?

I've looked back through my essay twice now and I don't feel like there's anything I can cut down or out as it meets the marking criteria and everything I've wrote about stuff we must include.

@dumb01

There are some words that are often redundant. For example I could shorten that sentence to: "Some words are often redundant." and it does not change the meaning of the sentence.

Sometimes one word can also convey the meaning of a few words e.g. "There are mix of people with different nationalities in the city of Birmingham" could be changed to " Birmingham is a multicultural city."

There are some words like " that" , " really", "very" which can sometimes be taken out of a sentence quite easily without changing the meaning or which can again be replaced with one word e.g. "really good" = you could just keep as "good" or could change to "marvellous".

If you use a reference more than once and it's long, remember you can abbreviate it the next time e.g. instead of repeatedly writing the "National Health Service" you can use "the NHS" after the first mention.

Finally, the references in your body of writing are included in your word count, but your list of references at the end are not included.

Hope that helps,

Oluwatosin – 3rd year student – University of Huddersfield

Reply 2

cheadle

17

The marker may be required to stop marking once you hit the maximum word count + permited 10%. You will probably lose some marks for being 2 sources under but how much will depend the the quality of your references list as a whole. You've still got time to address the issues, so do what you can to correct them then just hand it in to avoid a late submission on top of everything else.

(edited 4 months ago)

Original post by dumb01

I'm a first-year university student, and my essay is due tomorrow. It's 1,900 words, and you're allowed to go under or over by 10% of the word count I've gone over. We need a minimum of 12 references, but I've done 10, and I've gone over the word limit.

I do know that the first year doesn't count towards final grades, but should I just hand it in like it is, or is there any advice/suggestions/solutions that anyone has?

I've looked back through my essay twice now and I don't feel like there's anything I can cut down or out as it meets the marking criteria and everything I've wrote about stuff we must include.

Hi there,

what is the required word count? I would recommend being as close as possible while keeping your arguments strong, even if that means that you need to remove one argument to go into another argument in more detail (the more detail the better) but mention your other arguments briefly to further demonstrate your understanding.

It is better to be able to go over it than to have no ideas whatsoever and have time to edit it down. This is my understanding so I hope that it is helpful.

All the best,
Jaz - Cardiff student rep

Original post by dumb01

I'm a first-year university student, and my essay is due tomorrow. It's 1,900 words, and you're allowed to go under or over by 10% of the word count I've gone over. We need a minimum of 12 references, but I've done 10, and I've gone over the word limit.

I do know that the first year doesn't count towards final grades, but should I just hand it in like it is, or is there any advice/suggestions/solutions that anyone has?

I've looked back through my essay twice now and I don't feel like there's anything I can cut down or out as it meets the marking criteria and everything I've wrote about stuff we must include.

Hi there

If you have already submitted the assignment then that is okay. But I think that for future assignments, trying to avoid going over or under the word count would be a good idea.

Deducting points from the word count caps your marks, and it would affect the grade you can achieve in the future. I am not sure about the word count, but if your seminar leader advices that it would affect the final grade, I would recommend doing more research so you have more resources to use.

In terms of research, I find journal articles quite useful. You could always research look for articles that support or form counterarguments for your argument. (And in the articles themselves, you can look at what references they include in the footnotes to further your research.)

I hope this helps. Good luck. :smile:

Chloe
University of Kent Student Rep

over wordcount and under reference limit

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