How important is the word count

[Metaphors]

I'm doing a level 4 diploma - equivalent to the first year of a degree.

I have 5 assignments of 3500 words and one of 6000 words to complete, but I just can't do it within the wordcount. If I give up and submit them about 15-20% long how much will it matter? It does say +/- 10% but I'm over that, around 5-10% over the upper limit IYSWIM.

You'll be surprised at how much you can cut out, my DD reduced her dissertation from 15,500 to 13,500 (the limit), and while it initially seemed impossible when she tried she found lots of words that were superfluous, for instance - she took out nearly 250 that, phrases such as due to the fact that were easily reduced to as or because. You need to be really hard on the waffle - it will be there - as it will never get you a better grade.

It may help to have a friend or relative read it through for proof reading, you could offer to do the same in return for them. Good luck.

Changing passives to actives will save you a few words, too (and make it read better).

But a word of caution - someone said above that footnotes don't count - they do in any system I've ever used!

DD used footnotes in her dissertation cut'n'pasted from main text in a desperate word cull. It was allowed (she checked!) and there was no penalty. I think the Appendix (a sort of glossary) was outside the scope too.

Yes, but the point is that the OP needs to check what her system says.

There is no point in us sharing our experiences of claiming that it's obviously 10% this or three marks that. It varies.

Do footnotes / endnotes count towards you word count? They didn't when I did my MA, and a chap on my course smuggled an extra 10,000 words in to his dissertation in footnotes and got away with with it! Probably not advisable to do it to that extent though....

In my view (and that of my Department) footnotes & endnotes DO count. Of course they do. As do quotations.

As jeanne says, CHECK your Department's requirements. IT's all there. Or as they say in computerland

RTFM

Sorry, UTC, I was responding in a general sense to a comment that footnotes were included in "any system I've ever used" to give an example where they weren't.

But you are right. OP: read your flipping manual for specific detail.

Well yes, I'm just saying it's very unusual, so I certainly wouldn't take for granted that they weren't. It's precisely because they can be a way to bung spare stuff in that you hope will gain you marks that they usually are counted. I'm not saying there couldn't be an assignment anywhere where they weren't counted!

Hope OP has checked this out now, anyway!

Read the guidance for each assignment. The uni I am at have 'recommended word count' assignments, and they also have assignments which have 'required word count'. I once handed in 4000 words for a 2500 word assignment and was not marked down (the requirement was 'recommended' but the usual rule is 10% either way).

If you can't take stuff out without losing context can you put it into appendices?

Sorry, senua, didn't mean to come off as lecturing you.

Coming late to this thread:

Some courses don't count the words in captions or tables, but then advise that clearly attempting to pad out a table with extra words which should be in the body of the essay will be penalised.

I find also, that trying to sum up each paragraph in one sentence is a good discipline - if it can't be done, you can be rambling or padding things out.

As others said - complying with the word count is a good discipline to get into.

Sorry, I wasn't meaning to lecture either.

How did you get on?

No worries Jeanne. No umbrage taken.

OP how did you get on?

In case you are still going - one thing I found useful when I went back to do an MA, was my supervisor suggested I proofread not with "can I find any mistakes" (which leads to "phew, no mistakes there") but instead try "how can I rephrase this" (you may not change it each time, but it often leads to being my succinct)

I saw this on Twitter yesterday and thought it might be useful. It's Steven Pinker's list of 'morbidly obese' phrases alongside 'leaner alternatives'

I had one assignment where I was well over the 10%+ the tutor had said was acceptable. I took my draft to her and she suggested footnotes to cover some points but I understand that some lecturers do not like this so best to ask first!