Word count for assignment

[UndergroundChair]

I am working on an assignment for a course. I have two case studies and I need to answer 3 questions based on them.

It says I have a word count of 1000 +/- 10% so that would be 900 - 1100. This is for all three questions.

It made sense to me for me to start my assignment by giving and overview of the case study and introducing these too characters into my work. I only summarised these case studies.

Then I went into describing their conditions but only briefly.

Then I went onto answering the question one.

I am already reaching the word count for the whole assignment and this is only for question one.

I have two more questions. The questions are quiet detailed too.

Initially I worked out a rough calculation based on the marks that will be provided about words and that would be 500 words for question one. And 250 words for question two and three.

This just seems to me as if it's impossible task to keep to the 1000 word count limit especially when it's applied over three questions.

I was given homework a few weeks that is separate and it was question to answer within 250 words. I kept to that word limit and I was told there wasn't a lot of research or detail in my answer.

I have no idea how I am going to move forward with this.

Do I narrow my work down to bring it more into line with the word count?

Or will I edit my work and edit out the two paragraphs on their conditions and diseases? And just answer the questions I am asked.

But then it made sense to me to write an introduction giving an overview of the case study and to briefly describe their conditions.

The way you've written your op indicates you're quite verbose.
What about bullet point of the argument of each paragraph as a plan, then using Hayot's uneven U structure to write each paragraph?

Too much general material in the introduction can steal space and focus.

Here is a tip that works well for many academics. Write your introduction last.
You'll have much more idea what you need to say.

Fitting a tight, focused analysis into a word count is part of the challenge.

Agree with this. Answer the assignment first. Any words left to use, you write introduction, etc.

Thank you.

Ihave a draft written in a copy book for all the answers. I suspect when they are all type it would be likely I will have no words left for an introduction.

I will do this.

I will copy and paste my current introduction into a new file so I can go back to it later if I need it.

What happens after answering all the questions and I am over the work count?.

Do I leave out the introduction?

That's how I started my work. I made bullet points to answer the questions and turned them into paragraphs.

Also, don't underestimate how many words you can cut just by tidying up each sentence. For example (and I know you weren't trying to be concise so this isn't a criticism):

Initially I worked out a rough calculation based on the marks that will be provided about words and that would be 500 words for question one. And 250 words for question two and three.

This just seems to me as if it's impossible task to keep to the 1000 word count limit especially when it's applied over three questions.

Without losing any information at all, this could become:

From the marking scheme, I calculated that I have 500 words for question 1 and 250 words each for questions 2 and 3. This seems impossible.

Once you start consciously shortening your sentences, you see more and more that can go.

Concise writing is a real gift to your reader. We all have so much to wade through.

Yes. This is really good advice.

Chat GPT has converted your 304 word original post into a 117 word summary without any loss of information.

You’re working on a 1000-word assignment (+/-10%) based on two case studies, answering three detailed questions. You began with an introduction and brief summaries of the cases and their conditions, then answered question one — but this alone has brought you close to the word limit. You’re unsure how to fit detailed answers to all three questions within the limit. You’re considering whether to cut the introductory content or keep it, as it felt necessary for context. You’re also worried because past feedback penalised you for not including enough research or detail in shorter answers, and you’re unsure how to proceed. You’re asking whether to cut back your work or just focus strictly on answering the questions.

this suggests you have space for a lot of pruning without losing information.

ChatGPT can condense a paragraph and reduce the word count. You don't want to breach ethics but a side by side comparison of your version and the condensed version could be helpful.

Try to avoid the temptation to use chatGPT for much of this, though - there's nothing like having to condense and reword your writing to help you test and refine your ideas.

In answer to your question about removing the introduction - it's an excellent idea to keep it in a separate file. I often have draft introductions sitting waiting in separate documents. Don't leave it out. Get the length of your other paragraphs down.

Do you need the introduction and overview? Can you not just answer the questions?

It might be worth asking your tutor if you are expected to summarise and introduce the case studies (do NOT do this if it's very close to the deadline). It seems likely to me that they are working on the assumption that everyone including the marker already knows what the case study is about and they just want you to answer the questions. An introduction would be introducing how you've understood the question and what you're going to do to answer it, not what the case study is that the questions are about.

It is possible you don't need an intro. Is there an assignment brief or sample. Agree if it's not too late I'd send a quick email to your tutor asking, do you expect three stand alone reports or a synthesized report with introduction and overview?

I'm finished typing my first assignment. I edited the introduction and narrowed it down to a small paragraph and I feel good about that now.

I don't know how to feel about the rest of it.

I really feel the word count of 1000 words (+/-10%) has been insanely low especially for the questions that were asked. I was asked to evaluate the needs of two case studies. Then explore addressing their care.

All within 1000 words.

It was just too little.

I have it done now and I went over by 849 words.

I could probably use AI or some other tool to help me condense some of my writing and I did do that in parts. But wouldn't other people have the same idea and then we all run the risk of having similar work perhaps. I am not allowed to use AI by the way to write my work.

I really feel like 2000 would have been more appropriate and I am wondering if there was some sort of a typo mistake in the instructions.

I might check about the typo or just confirm that doing over would be penalized. But another tip, if you can pull it down to within 10% of the word count, is to note your word count at the end of the piece. So, "Wordcount: 1097"

This reminds the marker that you've used pretty much every word you are allowed, so they're not tempted to eyeball the count or to penalise you for non-important omissions.

I went back to edit all my answers and shorten them.

I am still over by about 300 words. If I shorten this any more I will likely be penalised for being too vague and not giving enough information. Which is an impossible task.

I went to Google similar assignments from the past and other word counts fell to 1200 to 1500 words given or take 10%. Which I feel is so much more reasonable.

This is an impossible task what this is.

Lecturer here, it’s not an impossible task. You absolutely can trim 300 words. And everyone else will be expected to do the same, so you won’t be at a disadvantage anyway.

I would recommend giving it to someone else to read and asking them to tell you what they think is unnecessary or could be cut back. Or if you have time before submission, put it away for a day or two and then look at it with fresh eyes.

Do you have a marking scheme so you know how they’ll be marking it? This will give you an idea of what’s important and what isn’t as much. You absolutely must keep the answers to the questions in, but you can probably trim them down. You would be amazed how much you can cut out just rearranging things a bit. Probably what needs to be slimmed a bit is some of the extra stuff, the introduction and conclusion, the description of the case study. You don’t want to cut whole sentences, not necessarily anyway, but you do want to just pack more in.

When my DD was writing her personal statement for her UCAS application it was a study in conciseness! A lot of information needed to be included in a strict word/line count. She initially just wrote out everything she wanted to say, and it was over three times the allotted word count. She edited it and re-edited it until she was within the limit. It was all the better for it.
You do tend to repeat and over explain - @Looksgoodhad an excellent example. Also can you run it by anyone? Often one gets word and sense blind after working on a piece over and over and another pair of eyes can help, even if to say that they understand it!

I looked at it again and cleaned up some more areas.

I was able to shave off another 25 words approx. I am still over 275 words and that's from the +10%.

I really don't think I can narrow this down any more.

You want to keep descriptive content to a minimum as this won't get you the marks. What will get you marks is critical analysis so looking at the importance, significance, offering alternative arguments. Have you been given learning outcomes (LO) ? We advise students to use a different colour highlighter for each LO and go through and highlight where you have addressed each one. Then anything unhighlighted consider if you need it or not - don't delete it just put in to a separate word doc in case you change your mind. Sometimes descriptive content is necessary to provide context but keep to a minimum. I'm guessing you don't need to describe the scenario as the marker will already know what the scenario is but double check with your tutor.

You will probably be automatically penalised for going over the word count.

What I would do, rather than tinkering any more with what you've already written, is go through it and write a bullet-point list of what point you have made in each paragraph. This will help you strip it down to the bare bones of what you're actually saying. Then you can build it back up, and see if any of those individual points could be made more concisely. If any of them seem to be duplicated, or you can't work out the purpose of the paragraph, that will show you what to cut.

I could probably use AI or some other tool to help me condense some of my writing and I did do that in parts. But wouldn't other people have the same idea and then we all run the risk of having similar work perhaps. I am not allowed to use AI by the way to write my work.

Oh and do not copy and paste anything that AI produces. This is academic malpractice. Perhaps you could ask it what to take out instead. But also be aware anything you upload in to AI may be used in future by the software.

I am not using ai per sey. I decided to copy and paste the paragraphs I created and asked AI to shorten them for me. This helped me a lot.

However I am still over a lot of words.

I am just so disappointed.

1000 words is just too little for what I was asked. I am doing social care and I was given two case studies and I was asked to explore all of their physical, emotional, social, psychological and spiritual needs and then explore the care that they need and then explore how you would support them emotionally and socially.

I am answering the questions and not really stating anything else.

I was given learning outcomes and I am using phrases from the course and tiring them into the work.

1000 words is actually just too little for the shit I was asked.

I did have an introduction before going into answering the question but I removed it altogether.

I shaved a paragraph off the work that was approx 120 words.

I am not just 160 words over the upper limit of the assignment.

I think I will leave it for today and come back to it.

I hate this because i spent all day doing this and I am still not finished and I have more work to do too.

But what are you doing with the shortened versions? Are you copying and pasting that because that may still be classed as cheating. Is it changing any of the words?

All that is very difficult to do in 1000 words I agree. It's going to be impossible to address all of the needs in any detail. What you might need to do is very briefly state what the emotional, physical needs are etc.... and concentrate more of your word count on exploring the care they need and how you would support them as this is probably where you would gain the most marks from the analysis of their care needs.