How much is too much over for a uni essay?

[Smurfgirl]

V.boring but am stressing. Have written essay which I am pleased with but word count is 3200 including quotes etc BUT actual limit is 2500 including quotes. EEEEK.

How much can I get away with going over? Its hard because its an essay on short stories and I have done three and that takes LOADS OF WORDS.

(veryyyyyy boring i know)

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I work for the Open University and we allow 10% over - but the essays I mark tend to be shorter so maybe it's a smaller margin for longer essays?

anyway, 10% of 2500 is 250 so that would take you to 2750 words only.

References don't count, by the way

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yep i'ld agree with aimsmum - try to avoid going more than 10% over.

i am doing my degree at the moment and the rules that we have been given are the same as aimsmum said 10% either way. sorry!

250 words over maximum

References do count for some bizarre reason and no footnotes allowed. Stupid uni.

I thought it might only be 10% was being hopeful.

Do you have someone around who can check your essay over for repetition and going off at a tangent?

(sorry if I sound too much like a tutor - you can tell me to go away if you like )

Usually 10% over with no more than 10 % as direct quotes. Check for repitition and ways you can make the point with less words

Hi smurf. Can really sympathise after doing a doctoral thesis with a REALLY strict word limit - 80,000 incl references - and at one stage I had 180,000 . But I got it down to 80,000 in the end!

As the others have advised, check for repetition. Go through and cut, or consider cutting, absolutely everything which is not a) absolutely essential to your argument or b) sparklingly brilliant. See how far that gets you down - that was the way I did it. It might mean having to leave out or abbreviate parts of arguments, but if those parts are 'luxury' and the essentials are there it won't hurt your grade.