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Assignment length requirements are usually given in terms of numbers of words.

Unless the lecturer tells you that these limits are strict, it is normally acceptable to be 10% above or below this word limit (so, for example, a 2000 word assignment should be between 1800 and 2200 words). If the assignment uses the words “up to” (as in “up to 2500 words”) that usually means that you cannot go above the limit.

Use the tool below to calculate the acceptable range for an assignment (based on +/- 10%).

Unless the lecturer tells you otherwise, the word limit does not include ‘administrative’ sections of the assignment: the cover or title page, table of contents, table of figures, reference list, list of works cited, bibliography, or any appendices.

The word limit that you are given reflects the level of detail required . This means that if your assignment is too long, you're either taking too many words to explain your point or giving too many / too detailed examples. If your assignment is too short, either there is more to the answer than you have written or the assignment has not gone into enough detail about the answer.

• Don't try to remove single words from your assignment. It is unlikely to reduce the assignment's length significantly, but it may confuse your argument . Instead, aim to remove or condense whole sections of your assignment.
• You should not include something just because it is a fact, or just because it is included in your course materials. Include something only if it is relevant to your argument.
• Be direct. State your point rather than writing many paragraphs to ‘lead up’ to it.
• Go back to the question . Which sections relate to the point and which are secondary?
• Go back to the plan . Which paragraphs fit in the overall structure? Which paragraphs overlap and can be combined?
• Remove sections where you
• Over-explain your point
• Over-specify your point
• Repeat yourself
• Write off-topic or ramble
• Remove multiple examples where one or two are sufficient.
• Remove hedging language that adds little to the argument (e.g., it would seem that, it is possible that).

If you are often over the word count you should look at your writing style. See writing concisely for more.

Explain your argument fully

• Make sure every argument in your head and in your plan is on the page.
• Would a general (i.e., non-specialist) reader understand your point? Have someone else read over your assignment and ask you questions about it. What do they think is missing?
• Are there gaps in your argument?
• Does each point logically follow the last one, or do you jump over important points?

Look for the ‘hidden’ answer

• What theories do you think the marker expects?
• How does this relate to the materials from lectures and study guides? Use the course information in your answer to the assignment question.
• Are there complications or contradictions in the argument or in your research? Explain them and explore them.

Flesh it out

• Define any special terminology you've used that a general reader would not be familiar with.
• Illustrate with more examples and/or quotations.
• Contextualise and explain the quotations you use. How do they relate to your argument?

Page authorised by Director - Centre for Learner Success Last updated on 12 December, 2018

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• Writing Tips

The Word Limit in Academic Writing (and How to Stick to It)

• 3-minute read
• 24th September 2016

Even the phrase “word limit” can cause panic among students . For some it’s the challenge of writing enough, while others find it hard to stick within the limit given. In either case, it can lead to spending more time worrying about the length of your paper than the content!

But why do college papers come with set word limits? And what should you do to ensure you don’t write too much or too little?

Why Have a Word Limit?

There are two main reasons that academic papers usually come with a word limit:

• Fairness It’s impossible to grade two papers of vastly different lengths (e.g., 20,000 compared to 2,000 words) on the same scale. The word limit makes sure that everyone taking the same class knows what is expected of them.
• Communication Skills As well as testing your knowledge, college papers are about communicating clearly and concisely. Setting a word limit forces you to consider what you’re saying more carefully, helping you to develop your writing skills.

Sticking to the word limit is, therefore, part of being a good academic, since being a long way over or under could suggest you’ve misjudged the scope of the essay topic or that you’re having trouble communicating your ideas.

How to Stick to the Word Limit

Although many colleges give you roughly 10% leeway on the word limit, you should aim for your finished paper to be as close to the suggested word count as possible. If you find yourself writing too much, you can reduce the word count by:

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• Editing out repetition, redundant words and padding phrases
• Cutting down long or unnecessary quotations
• Reducing the number of examples or case studies used (if you’ve included several)
• Using the active voice instead of the passive voice

More generally, you should re-read your work and eliminate anything that isn’t directly related to the question you’re answering. As well as helping you stick to the word limit, this will make your work more focused, which could boost your grades.

How to Increase Your Word Count

If you’re struggling to write enough, the temptation might be to add padding phrases like “in my opinion” or long block quotations until you hit the minimum word count. But this will simply detract from the clarity of your writing.

Instead, the answer is usually to go back over your work and look for things that could be improved with a little additional attention. This might involve:

• Addressing anything from your essay question that you’ve overlooked
• Adding illustrative examples to support a point
• Considering different sources and views on the same issue
• Using short quotations as evidence for your arguments

Moreover, whether you’ve written too much or too little, getting someone else to read your work and offer feedback is a fantastic idea (especially if you ask a professional for help). This will help you to identify areas that could be expanded or cut in the next draft, so eventually you should be able to get your essay to the required length.

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Ask Us: Academic Skills Team

What is included in the word count, before you start to write up your assignment you should  check the information provided in your module handbook or assignment brief on the required word count, or ask your tutor for guidance..

Generally speaking, the word count will include the following:

• All titles or headings that form part of the actual text.
• All words that form the essay (the main body of text).
• All words forming the titles for figures, tables and boxes, are included but this does not include boxes or tables or figures themselves
• All in-text (that is bracketed) citations
• All directly quoted material

It will not include:

• All words that form the title page
• All words that form the reference list
• Captions added to visual material (i.e. diagrams, tables, maps, and/or images)

• Academic Writing
• My assignment
• Last Updated 12 Apr, 2024
• Views 31058
• Answered By Academic Skills team

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• 301 Academic Skills Centre
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Academic writing

Strategies and advice on how to communicate your ideas using an appropriate academic register

Introduction to academic writing

Producing written work as part of a university exam, essay, dissertation or another form of assignment requires an approach to organisation, structure, voice and use of language that differs from other forms of writing and communication.

Academic writing is a language that no one is born speaking. Understanding more about the conventions of your discipline and the specific features and conventions of academic writing can help you develop confidence and make improvements to your written work.

Academic writing is part of a complex process of finding, analysing and evaluating information, planning, structuring, editing and proofreading your work, and reflecting on feedback that underpins written assessment at university.

Here we focus on the key principles of academic writing as a way to communicate your ideas using appropriate language, structure and organisation. 

301 Recommends:

Our Academic Writing Essentials workshop will explore the challenges of writing in an academic register and provide a range of strategies that can be used to develop your academic voice. The workshop will cover the use of language, structuring your writing and critical writing to take a holistic view of the writing process from a blank page through to a completed piece of work.

Try out our Academic Writing Interactive Digital Workshop  to explore the key principles of good academic writing.

Our Paraphrasing workshop will explore the roles of paraphrasing, quoting and 'para-quoting' and provide strategies for formulating and referencing paraphrases.

Join our 301 Writing Club sessions which include three 25-minute blocks of silent writing time, plus time to share your writing goals and progress with others. This is not a workshop, please bring an piece of academic writing to work on.

Academic language

Academic writing is defined by conventions rather than rules. This means that they are flexible and adaptable at least some of the time.

The point is not for you and your peers to produce identical pieces of work, but to provide a shared framework of communication that allows specialists within a field to access information, ideas and concepts quickly and easily.

It goes without saying that academic writing uses a more formal register than everyday communication. The following are four important conventions to follow that will help you to hit the right level of formality in your writing:

Use formal language

Academic writing tends to adopt formal language derived from Latinate, rather than Anglo-Saxon roots. This distinction is particularly evident in the use of verbs in academic language.

In general, phrasal verbs are used when speaking (eg in presentations), whilst Latinate verbs are used in academic writing (eg essays). Phrasal language is more informal, whilst Latinate verbs sound 'posher' and more formal.

Phrasal verbs tend to come in two parts: they use a  verb  together with an  adverb  or preposition.

There is often a one-word equivalent, which usually comes from Latin root, reflecting the origins of formal English among educated Romans and the Church.

Examples include: 

Carry out = perform

Talk about = discuss

Look up to = respect

Why is this useful? Latinate verbs use fewer words, so can help you develop a more concise writing style.

Latinate verbs can also be more specific than their phrasal equivalents, for example, the phrasal verb 'set up' has several Latinate equivalents: 

Set up a room: I’m going to  arrange  the room for the meeting.

Set up an experiment: The experiment was  prepared.

Set up an organisation: The NSPCC was  established  in 1884.

You may wish to use a mixture of phrasal and Latinate verbs in your writing, and to tailor it to your assignment. For example, if writing a more informal blog post, you may want to use more phrasal language.

Some common examples of academic verb use include:

Carry out: Perform "The experiment was carried out/performed..."

Find out:   Investigate "The aim of this project is to find out/investigate…"

Leave out: Omit "Therefore this was left out of/omitted from the analysis..."

Awareness of how and when to use different registers of language can help to improve the level of formality of your writing. 

Avoid contractions and abbreviations

Academic writing tends to avoid the types of contractions and abbreviated language that you might use in other forms of communication.

In some cases, this is obvious, but in other cases, where abbreviations have become commonly used forms of words, it can be more difficult to spot.

For example:

Are not/is not: Aren't/isn't

Quotation: Quote

UK: United Kingdom

However, some commonly used abbreviations or acronyms relating to the discipline will often need to be used to enhance the clarity of your writing and reduce the word count.

In these cases, it is important to use the full form of the abbreviated name or phrase in the first instance, including the abbreviation in parentheses.

A key role has always been played by the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO)...

World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendations state...

The use of an Electrocardiogram (ECG) is recommended...

Certain extremely commonly used acronyms have become part of common usage and do not require further explanation within a text. For example, AIDS, laser, radar, scuba. 

Write objectively

Academic writing tends to strive for an appearance of objectivity.

Although you will no doubt have an informed opinion or theory that you are trying to get across in your writing, it is important to build a compelling objective case for your ideas using evidence and data.

Secondary sources should be used to build a foundation of background thinking, ideas and theories to support your approach.

All secondary sources (books, journals, webpages, conference presentations, films, audio recordings, etc.) should be referenced using the standard system recommended by your department.

A bibliography of all referenced works should be included at the end of your assignment, ordered alphabetically and formatted using the recommended standard system. 

Visit the  library referencing pages  for more information, examples and tutorials.

Primary sources include any information or data that you have found, collected or generated to illustrate your arguments or explore your hypotheses. Primary sources may include texts that you are analysing, survey responses, experimental data, artefacts and much more.

When writing about primary and secondary sources, it is usually better to avoid using the first person ('I' or 'we' forms), as your focus should be on an objective interpretation of that evidence. 

The first person is most commonly used to indicate where you are going beyond an objective analysis to put forward your own informed opinions, for example as part of a discussion section or conclusion. 

Some principles of using the first person include:

Avoid overusing the first person (I) and use passive forms where possible: "the experiment was conducted..."; "evidence suggests..."; "a sample was taken..."

Watch out for adjectives that imply a value judgement: fantastic, brilliant, rubbish, interesting, good, etc.

Avoid using cliched phrases: "a hot topic..."; "the other side of the coin..."; "at the end of the day..."; "the fact of the matter..."; "in the current climate..."

Avoid overstatement. Make cautious use or avoid the following altogether: extremely, very, really, always, never, a lot, the most, the least

Note: always check department guidelines   on the use of first-person forms in your writing.

301 Recommends: Manchester University Academic Phrasebank

The Academic Phrasebank is a repository of the most commonly-used phrases in published academic work, organised according to purpose and function. Explore the Phrasebank for ideas on how to express yourself using established academic language.

Paragraphs and flow

Paragraphs are the building blocks of your written work, and a good essay or assignment will organise the content clearly at a paragraph level.

However, in a piece of academic writing paragraphs can be tricky to structure due to the complexity of ideas that you are likely to be working with.

The following structure is not the only way to write a paragraph, but it is a common model that is used in academic writing to build sources and evidence into your writing in a critical and analytical way. 

Writing good paragraphs: structure

Most paragraphs of academic writing tend to follow a similar organisational structure:

The topic sentence:  States the main idea or area to be covered by the paragraph.

Explanation or definitions (optional):  Can be used to clarify any difficult or uncertain terminology introduced in the topic sentence.

Evidence and examples:  One or more sentences introducing key ideas, sources, quotes, case studies, evidence or data.

Comment:  Explores what the evidence means, how it can be summarised or whether it needs to be challenged.

Concluding sentence:  Relates the paragraph to your overall argument and links forward to the next paragraph.

The final sentence is often the most important part of a paragraph as it clarifies your interpretation of the topic area and identifies how it contributes to your overall argument.

Watch this short  study skills hacks video  for more information. 

Writing good paragraphs: unity

A paragraph will usually discuss only one idea as outlined in the first sentence, the  topic sentence . If you find a paragraph drifting away from this controlling idea, it is time to split it into more than one paragraph:

The opening sentence of paragraph should outline the main idea (topic sentence).

Every supporting sentence should directly explain, refer back to, or build on the main idea using specific evidence and examples where possible.

Use the final sentence(s) to refer back to the topic sentence and lead into the following paragraph.

Writing good paragraphs: flow 

The skill of structuring your writing and building effective connections between paragraphs is one that will allow you to develop and sustain a compelling argument in your written work.

By setting out your ideas and evidence with a natural flow, you will make your work much more readable.

This important technique will help you work towards higher levels of attainment in assignments and help to improve the quality of your everyday writing.

Paraphrasing and quoting

When you are producing a piece of writing at university, you will often want to talk about what someone else has written about the topic.

There are four distinct ways of doing this.

Quoting:  directly including in your work the published words or other data you have found in a source

Paraphrasing:  expressing in your own words the ideas, arguments, words or other material you have found published elsewhere

Para-quoting:  paraphrasing an idea or area but retaining one or more important words and phrases from the original in quotation marks

Summarising:  providing a top-level overview of a single larger area of work or multiple sources

There are many reasons for quoting or paraphrasing in your own work, but essentially these techniques allow you to show your understanding of current knowledge about the topic you are studying and respond to that knowledge in your work.

Remember that you will need to cite and reference all of the sources that have informed your work.

It is a complex linguistic skill to incorporate others’ work smoothly and efficiently into your own by quoting or paraphrasing.

Skilful use of sources and selective quoting and paraphrasing are important elements of the critical writing process, which is in greater detail on the critical thinking pages – see  Legitimation Code Theory  for more ideas.

It is also a key skill of academic writing that will help to ensure that your work does not include elements of plagiarism.

For more information on unfair means and plagiarism, including suggestions on how to avoid it, see the following  resource .

As with other aspects of working with sources, it is important to  follow your department's specific guidelines about these skills.

When to quote and when to paraphrase

You should direct quote

if you are referring to a formal definition in which the specific language is important

if you are quoting an opinion (with which you do not necessarily agree)

if you are reporting direct speech, eg the reactions or experience of someone actually involved

if you wish to highlight specific features of the author's writing style

 You should paraphrase

to elaborate on or explain a concept or definition to your reader

to engage critically with an opinion or source and demonstrate that you understand it fully

to summarise the reactions or experience of one or more individual

if the general concept is more important than the specific language used

Writing to a word count

If you find you often go over the word count on an assignment, there are several possible causes and solutions.

In this online resource, we will think about the purpose of the word count, the reasons why we might go over it, and strategies to tackle it.

Why is there a word count?

Word counts are part of the challenge of academic writing for several reasons:

To suggest a level of detail: with one topic, you could write a 100-word summary, 1,000-word essay, 10,000-word dissertation, or a 100,000 word PhD thesis. The word count gives an indication of the level of depth you are expected to go into

To ensure fairness: each student has the same number of words to show the marker what they know. 

To test your communication skills: being able to keep within a word count requires a concise writing style and excellent communication skills – it helps you get straight to the point.

To demonstrate your critical thinking skills: to stay within word counts, you need to focus on what is most important and select the best examples and case studies. It puts critical thinking into practice

As a matter of practicality: markers only have a finite amount of time to mark work.

Why do we go over the word count?

First of all, it is important to remember that being over the word count is better than having a blank page. The ideas are down on the page but might need refining. There are several reasons why you might have exceeded the word count: 

Still developing an effective structure: Do you have a clear plan and have you stuck to it? If not, can you map out an overall structure for your essay and identify areas where you have departed from it?

Fear of missing out on something important: try to be selective with examples and arguments. What is your mission statement or key argument, and how does each section help you make it?

Waffling (using 200 words when 100 will do): work on developing a concise academic writing style. Even if you’re not over the word count, this leaves you more words for your critical analysis and discussion

Writing to a word count involves careful planning and organisation to make sure that you get your main points across. The following points might help you to stay within the parameters that you are aiming for:

• Plan what your key points are, and what percentage of your word count to spend on each. Are any sections disproportionately long?
• Avoid repeating arguments – try reading your work backwards (paragraph by paragraph, not word by word). This can make it easier to spot ideas that are repeated, as you are viewing each paragraph individually rather than your argument as a whole
• Use topic sentences at the start of each paragraph. This can help you (and the marker) to identify what key point you are trying to make. Are there any paragraphs that are making the same point? Can you link them?
• It might be tempting to show all of the reading you have done, but select the most important case studies, and explain why you have chosen them. This can be evidence of critical thinking (eg whilst many studies have examined X, a key paper is Y because…)
• Are you using 200 words where 100 will do? One way of testing this is to calculate your  Fog Index  to find out how clear and concise your writing is.

Remember: Having a more concise academic writing style gives you more words to use on things that are important, eg critical analysis and discussion. It’s not just about cutting the odd word here and there to get you under the word count.

The following are some simple tips to make sure you stay within your word count:

Find out what counts towards your word count (for references, footnotes, abstract, captions, tables, text boxes…)

Consider combining related sections or cutting irrelevant sections.

Focus on condensing your key arguments.

Use a concise academic writing style, eg avoid excessive hedging, remove redundant adjectives.

Lie about your word count.

Cut sections just to meet the word count.

Focus on removing individual words – this will be extremely time consuming and will make little impact on your overall count.

Use contractions to meet the word count (eg isn't, doesn't, shouldn't) – this is not academic.

Useful resources

Internal resources.

University of Sheffield Library –  R esearch and Critical Thinking Resources

Digital Learning - Using Turnitin  (login required)

English Language Teaching Centre (ELTC) –   P araphrasing

External Resources

Manchester University –  Academic phrasebank

UCL Institute of English –  Word count

Gunning Fog Index Calculator –  Online tool

Purdue Online Writing Lab –  Quoting, paraphrasing and summarising

Wisconsin Writing Centre –  Paraphrasing vs. quoting

Using English for academic purposes –  Writing paragraphs

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Planning your assignment

Introduction.

Read our guide on planning your assignment, from understanding and breaking down your question, to useful examples on how to manage your word account.

Understanding the question

Before you start your assignment, it is important that you understand what you have been asked to do.

You do not want to fall into the trap of putting a lot of your effort into your assignment only to find out that you are answering the question incorrectly.

Breaking down your question

One approach that you can use to break down your question is the Topic, Focus & Instruction (TFI)  method:

• Topic - What is the question generally about?
• Focus - What specific aspect do you have to concentrate on?
• Instruction - What are you required to do?

Why should I use the TFI method?

The TFI method allows you to understand the main areas that you should be exploring within your assignment.

• The topic of your question should relate back to the wider content being covered within your module.
• With the focus of your question, you will be able to concentrate your search for literature to help you answer the question.
• The instruction of your question will enable you to distinguish the most appropriate approach to answering the question.

Show me some example questions

Breaking down some example questions:

1. Critically evaluate the social impact of global warming. Topic - Global Warming | Focus - Social Impact | Instruction - Critically Evaluate 2. Identify the factors that determine the distribution of welfare within households. Topic - Distribution of Welfare | Focus - Households | Instruction - Identify 3. Explore the impact of running on mental health. Topic - Mental Health | Focus - Running | Instruction - Explore

Consider a response

Before you begin researching, consider what your response to the question may be. The question that you have been set should link back to some of the concepts that you have explored within your lectures and seminars.

So it is worth taking the time to think about the knowledge that you have acquired through your teachings and how it may be applicable to the assignment.

Make the task more manageable

When you are approaching your assignment, your word count can be quite intimidating. So you might find breaking down your word count a useful way of making your assignment more manageable.

Unless you have been given specific instructions, you can allocate 10% to your introduction, 80% to your main body and 10% to your conclusion.

Show me an example of how you manage the word count

Example: Explore the impact of running on mental health

The total word count is 2000 words, which breaks down to an introduction of 200 words, main body text of 1600 words and a conclusion of 200 words. 

The main body text can be further broken down into:

Theme 1 = Stress Management  (400 words total)

• Paragraph 1: Time to be alone with your thoughts (200 words)
• Paragraph 2: Increase concentrations of norepinephrine (200 words)

Theme 2 = Prevents cognitive decline  (400 words total)

• Paragraph 3: Improve memory (200 words)
• Paragraph 4: Increase in cognitive flexibility (200 words)  

Theme 3 = Improvements to sleep  (400 words total)

• Paragraph 5: Improve sleep quality (200 words)
• Paragraph 6: Increase sleep amount(200 words)

Theme 4 = Improvements in mood  (400 words total)

• Paragraph 7: Builds self-confidence (200 words)
• Paragraph 8: Reduces anxiety (200 words)

Study support

Writing an introduction and conclusion

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How do universities deal with the length of assignment submissions (e.g. word count) in pdf?

My university requires all written work (essays, reports and dissertations) to be submitted electronically in Microsoft Word format. At my previous university, PDF was also acceptable (in fact, recommended).

In the UK, where I study, assignment length is determined by the number of words (not pages, as is usual in some countries).

As a LibreOffice user, submitting in Word format regularly results in formatting issues for which I can lose marks. The university has sympathised with this, as well as my ultimate preference of being able to use LaTeX, but insist it is not possible to accept PDF files because they can't easily do a word count.

Looking at other UK universities, it seems that a majority accept PDF submissions either exclusively or in addition to other formats. How do they deal with the issue of assignment length?

• Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat . –  ff524 Commented Jan 17, 2017 at 2:25

2 Answers 2

My only direct experience with this kind of academic word limit has been with my Master's and PhD dissertations. In both cases the official submission was in hard copy. Under those circumstances, I find it vanishingly unlikely that anyone did a word count -- I suspect that at my university, the word-limit rule would only be invoked if someone submits something that's blatantly too long (e.g. a 500-page MSc thesis).

I would guess that other universities deal with the issue of PDF word counts either by not caring much (as in the case of my dissertations), or simply by counting the number of words in the PDF: despite your university's insistence that this is impossible, there are dozens of free tools, both web-based and downloadable, which can accomplish this task. Even without those, Adobe Reader has a "save as text" function which produces an easily word-countable plain text file.

Another possibility is that those universities set the limits in terms of pages, not words.

• 1 @FedericoPoloni I have rewritten my answer to focus on the question as stated. I was more or less assuming an XY problem (X being "How do I persuade my university to accept PDFs?") but perhaps that was presumptuous of me. –  Pont Commented Jan 12, 2017 at 19:11
• It would be nice if I could have convinced them, but I already failed to do that before asking this question. One of my arguments was that other universities seem to manage fine with pdf, to which they responded they can't imagine how. Having resigned to having to acquire and use Word, I really am asking how other universities do it, not how to convince mine. Your experience, by the way, tallies with my experience at my previous university. –  greenglass Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 7:36
• @greenglass When they said they can't imagine how, did you try telling them about the programs available for word-counting PDFs? It would at least be interesting to know whether the supposed word-count problem is their actual reason or just an excuse. –  Pont Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 7:53
• I informed them of being able to use pdftotext, as well as being able to copy and paste the text from the pdf into a word processor to do a word-count. They consider this to be too time-consuming and inaccurate. They are also aware that turnitin provides a wordcount, but it includes the whole document. whereas the regulations exclude appendices, etc. I believe it is their actual reason rather than an excuse. –  greenglass Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 10:38
• @greenglass Ah, the requirement to exclude appendices etc. does make it fiddlier -- you can't just throw the whole PDF into a word-count utility. "It's too time-consuming and inaccurate" is at least more reasonable than the patently false "it's impossible". –  Pont Commented Jan 13, 2017 at 10:55

To answer the titular question, my old UK department asked students to include the word count at the end of the assignment. While assignments had word counts, they were not part of our marking scheme. I don't think we could apply a penalty to short assignment or ignore a portion of a long assignment. Technically, we might have been able to say the assignment failed to meet the stated requirements and there would not be marked. In all my years, it was never an issue so we never need to verify the number of words. If we had to, we would have figured it out.

I think is your real question is how to be allowed to submit a PDF. You need to understand why they will not let you. You say the department

insist it is not possible to accept PDF files because they can't easily do a word count

My old UK department came very close to requiring electronic submissions in Word only. The non technical arguments revolved around word counts, TurnItIn processing of "non-text" PDF, and electronic marking. These all have different solutions. You can offer to include the word count or find a TeX friendly faculty or post grad student to do the count for you. You can show them that TurnItIn works with PDF. In terms of electronic marking, you need to understand there system. This likely means finding a tech savy faculty member and becoming "friends".

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Study Support: Assignment Planning

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Introduction to Planning your Assignment

During your studies you will be required to submit assignments which may include essays, reports and reflective writing. It is important that you spend time planning your assignment before you begin to write your first draft which will help to ensure that you answer the question and meet the assessment criteria.  This section will provide you with information regarding understanding the assignment question, managing your time, searching for relevant academic research and writing an assignment plan.

Your programme will require your assignments to be structured and formatted in a particular way.  You should always follow any instructions or guidance that you have been issued with, if you are unsure, please contact your Personal Tutor or Student Support Officer for advice.

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It is important that you read the assignment question several times to ensure that you fully understand what you are being asked to do and avoid losing valuable marks.

Some students find it helpful to highlight the keywords in the assignment task including any verbs such as Assess and Evaluate.   

The Impact that the use of Electri c C ars has on the  Environment

Also carefully read the assessment criteria, find out what the word count is, the referencing style that you need to use and how the assignment needs to be presented.

If you are unsure about what you are being asked to do you need to speak to your lecturer or tutor.

It is important that you plan when you will be able to work on an assignment to ensure that you make the most of the time available and hand your work in on time. You could use an online calendar to help you manage your time and the assignment writing process can be divided into the following steps:

• Understand the assignment question
• Search for information
• Plan the assignment
• Write the first draft of the assignment
• Edit assignment
• Proofread assignment
• Submit assignment

Further information is also available from the Managing your Time page.

This stage involves searching for print and online sources that will provide you with the information that you need. You could start by thinking about what you already know about the subject.  A useful starting point could be your lecture notes and the module reading list. 

The  Online Library  website provides you with access to different resources that you can search to find both print and online resources.

Further information is available from the Academic Research section.

Assignment Plan

After you have read and made notes on the different sources the next stage is to create an assignment plan. It is important that you check the assessment criteria and the word count which will help you you to identify topics that you may need to research further.  

Most assignments follow the structure displayed in the table below:

• Assignment Plan Template

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7.11 Calculating Your Word Count

You are responsible for including an accurate word-count on the cover sheet for each piece of work you submit. Failure to be honest in this respect will itself be penalized under the University’s cheating and plagiarism regulations.

The word count specified for assessments will include footnotes, quotations and in-line references, but exclude the titles, bibliography and appendices. The exception to this are modules taught within History; please see the History Subject Handbook for their guidelines. 

Some assessment tasks ask for diagrams, tables, maps, and/or visual images which are either placed together in an appendix or placed at appropriate points in the essay. These are normally labelled, for instance as Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc. Such visual material should be clearly captioned; the captions do not count towards the overall word count. Unless module handbooks or departmental guidance explicitly allow otherwise, appendices should not normally contain writing other than captions or writing that is integral to diagrams, etc.: in other words, an appendix is not the place to argue a point. 

Academic staff will check the declared word count on the cover sheet against the word limit specified for that assessment; where the word count exceeds the specified word limit, the appropriate penalty will be applied.

Where academic staff suspect that you have not declared the word count honestly, and that the piece of work is over the specified limit, staff will ask the Humanities Education Team to check the word count in order to determine the appropriate penalty to be administered.

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• You are currently on: Word limits

Word limits

Word limits apply to all written assignments. Refer to the Canvas page for your course for details.

Word limits also apply to supervised research papers and Honours seminar papers (10,000 words), and Honours dissertations (15,000 words).

Penalties for exceeding word limits

Word limits are fixed subject to a 5% leeway above the limit, and students will be penalised for exceeding the limits at a rate of 5 marks for every 10% (or part thereof) over the limit. Penalties are strictly applied to ensure fairness across courses and among students. However, no student will fail an assessment because of a penalty for exceeding the word limit.

The 5% leeway is in place so that students are not penalised for accidentally exceeding the limit by a few words. Moreover, often the word limits are an integral part of the assessment requirements. We recommend students err on the side of caution to avoid being penalised by sticking closely to the given limit rather than using all the words up to the 5% leeway.

There is no penalty applied for an assessment falling under the word limit.

How the word count is calculated

Microsoft Word is used to calculate the word count; students must ensure the ‘Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes’ box is ticked for each assignment when calculating their word count.

The following are included in the word count:

• All text in the body of the document, including all titles, the text of the assignment question if included, tables in the text, and headings of sections of the text. (There is often no requirement to put a heading or title in the assignment.)
• Footnotes: a footnote is defined in the OED as ‘A note, reference, or additional piece of information printed at the bottom of a page, used to explain or comment on something in the main body of the text on the same page’.

The following are NOT included in the word count:

• Headers and footers (footers does not include footnotes, which are included in the word count, but does include page numbers)
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgement
• Table of contents
• Table of cases
• An appendix which contains material referred to in the main text

NOTE: Except in the case of Honours dissertations, Honours seminar papers, supervised research papers, or unless specifically instructed to do so by the course director, students should NOT include a bibliography, title page, acknowledgement, table of contents, table of cases, abstract or appendix.

Word limits and academic integrity

Students should not attempt to circumvent the word limit applicable to an assignment through manipulation of the word count by deceptive means—for example, by using invisible hyphens to hyphenate words in the text or footnotes. This kind of practice is detectable through Turnitin. Moreover, the Law Faculty regards it as a breach of academic integrity, which may result in a finding of academic misconduct.

Section 3: Coursework

3.1 about this section.

In this section, you will find information on:

• Submission and preparation of coursework;
• Penalties that may be applied to coursework that is submitted late or incorrectly;
• Academic integrity and academic misconduct.

3.2 Preparation of Coursework

3.2a referencing.

Referencing refers to acknowledging the sources used in producing a piece of work. Referencing correctly allows you to:

• Demonstrate how widely you have researched the topic;
• Show the basis of your arguments and conclusions;
• Acknowledge the work of others;
• Avoid plagiarism.

3.2b Referencing Style

For modules in Leeds University Business School students should use the official University of Leeds version of the Harvard referencing style.

Guidance on how to source citations within the text and how to reference different types of material is available on the referencing pages of the Library website.

Marking of all submitted coursework will be informed by this guidance and will correspond to the style outlined on the Library’s referencing website pages.

3.2c Group Work

If you are working in a group but are expected to submit an individual piece of work, then the coursework you submit must be your own work, even if the group shares the data or ideas obtained as part of a team.

Copying or paraphrasing another student’s work constitutes plagiarism.

Supporting documents for Business school students can be found on the Forms Guidance & Coversheets page of the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide.

3.3 Submission of Coursework

3.3a coursework deadlines.

Deadline times are set to ensure that you can submit your work well within office hours. Your teaching School will avoid, wherever possible, setting deadlines on:

• Fridays, the last day of term and the first day of the formal assessment period.

When you submit your work electronically, the time of submission is automatically logged.

It is your responsibility to ensure that work arrives by the deadline.

The deadline for submitting work is normally by 12 Noon UK time on the specified day.

3.3b Declarations of Academic Integrity

You must complete a Declaration of Academic Integrity for all assessment submissions. The statement reminds you of the University’s definition of academic integrity and the consequences of academic misconduct.

3.3c Submission of Coursework

Students should check the work that they submit carefully and are responsible for ensuring the correct work is submitted. The School will only accept the coursework which is submitted by the deadline, regardless of whether a student accidentally submits the wrong coursework or an incomplete draft.

Students should ensure that their uploaded assignments have the standard front cover sheet, available from the Forms Guidance & Coversheets page of the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide.

Detailed advice about how to submit can also be found on the Leeds University Business School online Student Guide Assessment section

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that they leave sufficient time to complete the online submission process, as upload times can vary. Accessing the submission link before the deadline does not constitute completion of submission. Students must click the ‘ CONFIRM ’ button before 12 noon for the assignment to be classed as submitted on time. If the deadline is not met students must submit to the Late Area and the assignment will be marked as late.

Students must click the download icon to download a digital receipt. Students are advised to save the receipt in a safe place as this is the only accepted proof of submission.

From within the document viewer, click the “Download” icon to download your digital receipt.

Save your receipt in a safe place as this will be the only accepted proof of submission.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure the correct file is uploaded to Minerva, and that it has been uploaded successfully.

3.3d Penalties for Exceeding Word Count

All coursework assignments that contribute to the assessment of a module are subject to a word limit, as specified in the online module assignment brief in the relevant module area of Minerva.

The word limit is an extremely important aspect of good academic practice and must be adhered to.

Unless stated specifically otherwise in the relevant module handbook, the word count includes everything that is included in the main body of the assignment including summaries, subtitles,  tables, and supportive material (whether this is in the form of footnotes or in-text references) It does not include the main title, the reference list and/or bibliography and any appendices.

It is not acceptable to present matters of substance, which should be included in the main body of the text, in the appendices as this is deemed appendix abuse. In addition, it is also not acceptable to attempt to hide words in graphs and diagrams; only text which is strictly necessary should be included in graphs and diagrams.

You are required to adhere to the word limit specified and state an accurate word count on the cover page of your assignment brief. Your declared word count must be accurate and should not mislead.

Making a fraudulent statement concerning your submitted work could be considered as academic malpractice and investigated as such.

If the amount of work submitted is higher than that specified by the word limit or that declared on your word count, this may be reflected in the mark awarded and noted through individual feedback given to you.

3.3e Penalties for Late Submission of Coursework

If you submit your work past the deadline, penalties will be applied.

The penalty is deducted from the mark for the individual piece of work that has been submitted late. For every period of 24 hours or part thereof that your assessment is overdue, you will lose 5% of the total marks available for that assessment component. This includes weekends, Bank Holidays and University closed days. The deduction is applied before any conflation with other marks (i.e. with other assessment components for the module) to give the overall result of the module. If your assessed work is over 14 days late, the submission will be deemed to have failed for non-submission (a day being a single 24-hour period).

Online Time Limited Assessments with a duration of 48 hours or less must be submitted within the time period stated. Late submissions will not be accepted in any circumstances.

If you have not left sufficient time to submit, you may have to submit your work to the Late Area in Minerva and you will incur a late penalty.

If you have not received a receipt for your coursework submission, this may be because your submission has not successfully uploaded. If this is not rectified before the deadline time, you will incur a late penalty. Please see section 3.3c for further information about timely submission and obtaining a receipt.

If you fail to ensure that you have uploaded the correct file to Minerva, it will be deemed that you have not submitted and if this situation is not corrected before the deadline, you will incur a late penalty.

3.3f Penalties for Academic Misconduct

The University takes all forms of academic misconduct very seriously. You may be excluded from the University without award if you present coursework in breach of the University’s rules on academic integrity.

The Academic Misconduct Procedure is available on the Student Cases website page .

3.3g Proofreading

The University policy on proofreading provides definitions of proofreading in the University of Leeds context, and guidance to help avoid contravening the policy, and possible consequences of doing so.

You are required by the University to proofread your own work. Guidance on proofreading is available from the University Library website .

3.4 Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct

Academic integrity is a commitment to good study practices and shared values, which ensures that your work is a true expression of your own understanding and ideas, giving credit to others where their work contributes to yours. This University definition of academic integrity recognises that each individual has a responsibility to contribute honestly within our academic community.

Breaching academic integrity standards can lead to serious penalties.

Guidance on Academic Integrity and Academic Misconduct can be found on the For Students website pages .

Definitions of specific integrity breaches can be found in the Academic Misconduct Procedure on the Student Cases website page.

3.4a Academic Integrity Tutorial and Test

There is a compulsory online academic integrity tutorial and test for all students.

The tutorial comprises a series of short units and an associated end of tutorial test explaining good study habits (e.g. good note taking and referencing) as well as practices that undermine the integrity of academic work (e.g. plagiarism, collusion and third-party authorship).

If you are new to study at the University, you must complete all the units and correctly answer all questions in the associated test. You should complete this within your first few weeks of teaching, following the timetable specified by your School, and before submitting any formative or summative assessed work. Completion will be monitored by your School.

Further details are available on the Minerva Support website page .

3.4b Academic Integrity Education

All taught programmes provide specific advice regarding academic integrity and good practice in writing and, where appropriate, the production of other forms of academic work. You will also be directed to information that explains how and why such forms of behaviour are not consistent with academic integrity, and the consequences of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism, collusion, reliance on others to do your work for you and unauthorised use of artificial intelligence. The compulsory online academic integrity tutorial will provide advice and guidance on these topics. The Library also provides detailed guidance and training materials related to academic integrity in the Academic Skills section of the Library website.

Leeds University Business School has an Academic Integrity Officer who is a nominated member of academic staff responsible for ensuring consistency within the Faculty in relation to the implementation of plagiarism procedures and practice and the investigation of suspected cases of plagiarism.

The role of the Business School’s Academic Integrity Officer is to ensure equity of treatment of all students. The role holder is also responsible for plagiarism education, including raising staff and student awareness of plagiarism issues.

Leeds University Business School takes plagiarism education very seriously. Good academic practice advice is embedded into induction sessions for all students. Students are directed towards the Academic Integrity Tutorial and Test (see 3.4a above) and are directed to the LUBS Referencing & Presentation Guidance information at the start of their programme.

All students have access to study skills sessions directly via skills@library

Guidance on academic referencing is integrated into selected modules on every taught programme.

Further information about referencing can be found on the Skills@Library referencing pages .

3.4c Re-using Your Own Work

Submitting or re-submitting the same work or part of the same work, in exactly the same form, to satisfy the requirements of more than one assessment is considered misconduct, even if the work is for a different module or qualification. This is because it is unfair to reward the same work twice.

This includes work that you may have completed at school, college, or at another University before coming to Leeds. There may, however, be exceptions to this rule where an initial submission is intended to help you to develop a second, usually larger, piece of work. You will receive specific instructions where this is the case.

If there are other instances where you feel that a further exception is justified, you must have specific written permission from the University staff concerned.

34d Advice from Staff

It is your responsibility to work with academic integrity. Where the School agrees that you can submit a draft for initial advice and feedback, if evidence of academic misconduct is found in the draft, staff will advise you on academic integrity, but it is not their responsibility to identify and highlight academic misconduct in draft work.

Whether or not you have submitted a draft, and whether or not the School has identified academic misconduct in the draft, you remain responsible for the submissions you make.

3.4e Draft or Erroneous Submissions

You are responsible for assessment submissions. If, after making a submission, you claim that you mistakenly submitted a draft or the wrong version, your original version will be treated as the submission.

If the School finds that it contains academic misconduct, it will attract penalties.

3.4f Cheating

Cheating in University examinations is taken very seriously by the University. If you are found to have breached the University’s rules governing the conduct of examinations , you are likely to be permanently excluded from the University with no award.

3.4g Artificial Intelligence in Assessments

Content generated by artificial intelligence assistance tools and presented as your own work does not comply with the University’s definition of academic integrity and would be considered an academic misconduct offence. You will be clearly advised when it may be appropriate to make use of artificial intelligence assistance tools and you will need to clearly acknowledge when you have made use of artificial intelligence tools in developing your work.

The latest statement of principles of academic integrity and good study practices is available on the For Students website pages .

3.5 Checking for Academic Misconduct

The School uses a number of ways to check for academic misconduct, including manual checks from the staff marking your work as well as electronic tools.

3.5a Explanation of Turnitin

The University uses an internet-based text-matching service called Turnitin to provide evidence of originality of electronic coursework submissions. The tool compares text submitted with a wide range of electronic material, including journals, websites and student work from current and previous years, from Leeds and other UK universities.

The software highlights if you have submitted the same or similar text as another student, or published material, or if you have submitted the same or similar text for more than one assessment.

3.5b Use of Turnitin

Your School will provide you with an introduction to Turnitin during your first semester of study to support your understanding of academic integrity.In your first year as a Level 1 Undergraduate or Taught Postgraduate you may be allowed one opportunity to see a part of a Turnitin originality report, based on an example assignment. You may also be allowed one opportunity to see an originality report for a draft assignment you have written, as long as this is under academic supervision.

At level 2 and above, you will not be provided with an originality report.

3.5c Turnitin and Academic Misconduct

Whether or not the School has used Turnitin routinely for a particular assessment, if the person marking your work is suspicious of academic misconduct, that piece of work will be submitted to Turnitin.

3.5d Originality Reports

The originality reports created by Turnitin are considered for possible academic misconduct as part of a review of a submission. However, it is your School, and not the software tool, that will decide whether or not academic misconduct has taken place; Turnitin is just one element of the evidence used to make this decision.

Your School will check all originality reports for work submitted electronically through Turnitin for plagiarism, regardless of the percentage match indicated by the similarity index.

Leeds University Business School checks all assessed coursework for plagiarism using the Turnitin software. The Module Leader is generally responsible for undertaking this check. Where this process identifies sufficient concerns about the originality of content within a piece of work, an investigation will be initiated to explore the academic integrity of the work. The mark and feedback will be withheld until the investigation is complete. In cases where the outcome of that investigation is suspicion of plagiarism or academic malpractice, the student will be required to attend a meeting with the Plagiarism Panel.

3.6 completion of Coursework

You are expected to submit all coursework associated with modules, including formative assessment. If you persistently neglect your studies or repeatedly fail to submit coursework within a reasonable time, the School may begin disciplinary proceedings which could result in you being excluded from assessments and/or required to withdraw from the University.

The School will follow the University’s formal procedures for this.

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Assignments

Submitting your assignment.

You should follow assignment submission instructions as they are outlined in your Unit Guide and CloudDeakin . If unsure check with your Unit Chair or Faculty course adviser .

Should you do need to submit a hard copy at a campus and you are permitted to do so, see table below for locations.

* For non-text assignments (eg. creative arts), please see your Unit Guide for submission instructions.

Cover sheets and faculty specific assessment information

The following faculties have some additional information on their websites relating to assignment submission and cover sheets.

• Faculty of Arts and Education
• Faculty of Health
• Faculty of Science, Engineering and Built Environment

The due date of the assignment is the last day on which your assignment must reach your Faculty or be submitted on CloudDeakin (please check the cut-off time for due assignments in your unit guide).

Failure to comply with this requirement may affect the assessment process and your final result for the unit. Late submission may incur a penalty in assessment.

If you are late submitting your assignment, you should contact your Unit Chair for more information.

If circumstances beyond your control will prevent you from attending a test, placement, practicum or similar, or from submitting an assignment by the due date, you should speak to your Unit Chair as soon as you become aware of the problem. Your Unit Chair may allow you to do the task at another time or may give you an extension of up to two weeks.

Assignment Extensions are normally only approved when students apply before the due date. You will need to supply supporting documentation about the difficulties you are facing and the Unit Chair may ask to see the work you have completed so far.

Note that work that is submitted late without an approved extension will be subject to a marking penalty, or may not be marked at all.

The Unit Chair may advise you to apply for special consideration where

• you were unable to apply for an extension before the due date or
• rescheduling is impractical or
• you have requested more than two weeks' extension.

For further information, check your unit guide. 

Check your Unit Guide for word limits and assignment requirements. Speak to your Unit Chair if you need to extend your word count.

Having trouble submitting your assignment?

Don't panic! If you are having trouble with assignment submission, contact your Unit Chair for further instruction.

Has your assignment been received?

If you are unsure if your assignment has been received, you should contact your Faculty or Unit Chair.

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Arts Sciences

Penalties for over-length coursework

Assignment briefs will include clear instructions about word counts, the inclusion of footnotes, diagrams, images, tables, figures and bibliographies etc. and you are expected to adhere to the requirements for each assessment. If you exceed these parameters you may receive a reduction in marks.

When writing essays, you must clarify the rules on word count and referencing style with the lecturer who set the assignment, as there are different rules and guidelines for each department / subject. You can usually find this information on the course Moodle page.

For example, it is common practice across the Faculty of Arts and Humanities that footnotes are included in the word count, but the bibliography is not. Some science departments specify the length they require in terms of pages (and may also specify font and margins) rather than words, because equations, graphs etc. are difficult to count.

The length of coursework for a BASC-coded module will be specified in terms of a word count or number of pages. Assessed work should not exceed the prescribed length. For submitted coursework that has a maximum length specified, the following procedures will apply:

• For written assignments that exceed a specified maximum length by less than 10% the mark will be reduced by five percentage points (i.e. 5 marks), but the penalised mark will not be reduced below the pass mark: marks already at or below the pass mark will not be reduced. For example, if you are taking a module between Levels 4 and 6 and your word limit is 2,000 words and you write between 2,001 and 2,199 words, you will lose 5 marks so a mark of 71% would be reduced to 66%, a mark of 43% would be reduced to 40% but a mark of 39% would not be reduced. If you were taking a Level 7 module, and you submit work between 2,001 and 2,199 words for a 2,000 word assessment, you would lose 5 marks so a mark of 71% would be reduced to 66%, a mark of 53% would be reduced to 50% but a mark of 49% would not be reduced.
• For work that exceeds a specified maximum length by 10% or more the mark will be reduced by ten percentage points (i.e. 10 marks), but the penalised mark will not be reduced below the pass mark: marks already at or below the pass mark will not be reduced. For example, if you are taking a module between Levels 4 and 6 and your word limit is 2,000 words and you submit work that exceeds 2,200 words, you will lose 10 marks so a mark of 71% would be reduced to 61%, a mark of 43% would be reduced to 40% but a mark of 39% would not be reduced. If you were taking a Level 7 module, and you submit work that exceeds 2,200 words for a 2,000 word assessment, you would lose 10 marks so a mark of 71% would be reduced to 61%, a mark of 53% would be reduced to 50% but a mark of 49% would not be reduced.
• Where the maximum word count is exceeded by a small amount, likely to fall within the margin of error of conflicting word counts generated by different software, the BASc E xamination B oard will exercise academic judgement in determining whether the word limit has been exceeded. In all such cases an independent count will be made by the Department and in no case will discretion be exercised where the count exceeds the maximum set for the assignment by more than 2%. Work that is deliberately submitted over-length will be subject to the over-length penalties outlined above.
• In the case of coursework that is submitted late and is also over length, the greater of the two penalties will apply.

Please note: there is no longer a UCL-wide policy on over-length submissions and so the penalties above relate to BASC-coded modules and modules taught by departments (including the School of Slavonic and East European Studies (SSEES) within the Faculties of Arts and Humanities and Social and Historical Sciences only. It is your responsibility to check with each of your teaching departments to determine the over-length penalties for each of the other modules you are taking.

Minimum Length

Please note there is no automatic penalty for under-length essays providing there is sufficient suitable content.

Further information:

• Academic Manual Chapter 4, Section 3: Module Assessment

Essential Links

• Arts and Sciences Student Handbook (UCL username and password are required)
• Online reading lists
• UCL 24/7 Student Support Line

• For students

Word Count Limit Policy for Assignments

This policy applies to all students following programmes of study leading to a St George’s, University of London award. For programmes run through an institutional agreement with another institution, this policy applies to the modules taught and assessed by St George's, Univesity of London.

Word limits in assignments

A maximum word limit is set for most assignments. Students are advised that when a word limit is set, they should ensure any work submitted does not exceed this limit. The maximum word limit is stipulated in module/course handbooks and advised to students at the time the assignment is set.

The significance of adhering to a word limit

Writing to agreed and stipulated word limits is a skill which students are expected to develop and demonstrate. Submitting an academic paper or a funding application requires an adherence to word limits. There are also many non-academic contexts where word limits are applied to permitted submissions. 

The “words” that should be counted

The word count is defined as any and all words included in the text of the assignment  [1] . The word count will include all text, including (but not limited to):

• the main body of text (including headings)
• all citations (both in and out of brackets)
• footnotes and endnotes
• questions set by the Module Leader*

(*Where the assignment has to include specific questions set by the Module Leader, the word limit will have been set to allow for inclusion of the specified questions.)

The “words” that should not be counted

The only words excluded  from the word count will be:

• assignment title
• tables and graphs
• figures and diagrams
• the reference list/bibliography
• appendices (including multimedia)
• headers and footers
• the abstract (if applicable).

Specific guidance for any particular assignment on word count restrictions

For each assignment, specific guidance on restrictions, as required, will be outlined in the relevant module handbook. Students requiring additional clarification should seek this from the Module Leader.

Stating the word count

Students should state the word count in accordance with the instructions issued by the programme.

Examples of instructions which may be issued include (though are not limited to):

(i) Students will be asked to state the word count in the header of any assignment they submit

(ii) Students will be asked to declare the number of words on an assignment cover sheet

(iii) Students will be asked to confirm that they have not exceeded the stipulated word limit for that assignment.

Verifying the word count during the marking process

All submissions will be eligible to have their word count verified. Where there is any concern that a word limit has been exceeded and/or inaccurately declared, the word count of that submission will be checked. Word counts will be verified from the electronic file submitted for marking (the electronic file may be only part of the submission requirement, which may include hard copies).

Markers should check the word count of a submission by downloading the work from the submission package (e.g. Canvas). Markers should be aware that electronic word counting tools can count words differently. Markers must ensure that any checked word counts reflect the words to be counted listed in The "words" that should be counted section above. 

Failing to provide a word count or providing an inaccurate word count

Where students fail to provide a word count or are found to have provided an inaccurate word count, St George's reserves the right to invoke the Disciplinary Procedure on the student.

Where a student has clearly abused the spirit of the word limit restriction, the assignment will be treated in the same way as if the word limit in the assignment had been exceeded (see below).

Assignments which are significantly below the word limit

Assignments which are below the word limit set for an assignment will not attract a specific penalty.

Assignments submitted which are significantly below the word limit are unlikely to meet all the assessment requirements or cover all of the points expected by the examiners.  Although a formal penalty is not applied, they are normally self-penalising and this will be reflected in the grade awarded for the assignment.

Where a range has been defined for the word limit for a given assignment (e.g. ‘between 2000 and 3000 words’), it is deemed unlikely that a student will be able to write adequately on the topic of the assignment in less words than the lower end of the stipulated range. As above, such assignments are normally self-penalising and this will be reflected in the grade awarded for the assignment. 

Assignments which exceed the word limit

Students who exceed the prescribed word limit will have their work marked but markers will stop marking when the word count exceeds the maximum word count set for that assignment. Markers will indicate on the text [2] the point at which the limit is reached which is, by definition, where they have stopped marking. Hence, any words written beyond the stipulated limit will not be read by the examiners: no marks will be awarded and no feedback provided for any text beyond the prescribed limit. Although a formal penalty is not applied, a mark will be awarded only for the content up to this point.

Overall responsibility for policy: QAEC.

Operational responsibility for policy: Academic Registrar.

[1] Students should be aware that word counting tools count words differently according to file format and submission package. Students should be clear about the words listed in The "words" that should be counted section above.

[2] The exact nature of this “text” will vary depending on the file format and software package used for assignment submission; the facility used by the marker to indicate where the word limit has been reached in the “text” will vary according to the tools available in the software, e.g using the annotation function in SpeedGrader™. 

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SBS Handbooks 2016-17 Archive

University of Manchester

Faculty – Assignment Word Count

Assignment Word Count (including the dissertation)

In accordance with the University  Policy on Marking :

Each written assignment has a word limit which you must state at the top of your first page. It is acceptable, without penalty, for you to submit an assignment within a range that is plus 10% of this limit. If you present an assignment with a word limit substantially exceeding the upper banding, the assignment will be marked but 1% will be deducted from this mark for every 100 words over the limit given. In accordance with accepted academic practice, when submitting any written assignment for summative assessment, the notion of a word count includes the following without exception: ·    All titles or headings that form part of the actual text. This does not include the fly page or reference list. ·    All words that form the actual essay. ·    All words forming the titles for figures, tables and boxes, are included but this does not include boxes or tables or figures themselves. ·    All in-text (that is bracketed) references. ·    All directly quoted material.

Certain assessments may require different penalties for word limits to be applied. For example, if part of the requirement for the assessment is conciseness of presentation of facts and arguments. In such cases it may be that no 10% leeway is allowed and penalties applied may be stricter than described above. In such cases the rules for word count limits and the penalties to be applied will be clearly stated in the assessment brief and in the submission details for that assessment.

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Assignment word count

Currently on my last TMA for A111 and it's 2000 words from 1200 on previous ones and i was curious if the word count goes up a lot in later modules? (I'll be moving on to A229 and A233) i don't specifically mean just on those but as a whole

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Breaking news, ex-university of kentucky student who used n-word over 200 times in horrifying caught-on-camera attack pleads guilty.

The ex-University of Kentucky student caught on viral video  attacking a black student while firing off an arsenal of racist slurs — including the N-word more than 200 times — has pleaded guilty to assault charges, according to a report.

Sophia Rosing, 23, pleaded guilty to four counts of fourth-degree assault, one count of disorderly conduct, and one count of public intoxication in Fayette County Circuit Court on Monday, her attorney, Fred Peters, told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Monday.

The guilty plea came after a mediation in which, Peters said, “A lot of things got said, apologies were made and we worked it out.”

“Her life has been on hold for the past 18 to 20 months,” the attorney told the outlet. “She has had a lot of time to think about what she has done, and she wrote a nice letter of apology.”

Rosing had allegedly kicked, punched and bitten 19-year-old student worker Kylah Spring while repeatedly calling her the N-word in a drunken tirade at a campus residence hall on Nov. 6, 2022.

Spring had previously said she tried to check on Rosing, who appeared drunk and in need of assistance, but was instead attacked by the student and pelted with disgusting vitriol, she explained in a  TikTok video of the encounter.

“The girl starts saying things like ‘Do my chores,’ ‘It’s not my fault that you’re black,’ ‘It’s not my fault that you’re ugly,’ and at this point, she’s like singing the N-word,” Spring said following the assault.

The former UK student continued her appalling behavior when police arrived and placed her in handcuffs, when she allegedly kicked and bit the arresting officer during the drunken rampage.

Following her arrest, a judge set her bond at $10,000, which she posted. She was released the following day.

The late-night assault was captured on video and posted online, where it went viral and sparked outrage, prompting students at the university to hold a “March Against Racism” rally on campus.

The intoxicated Rosing was heard saying the N-word more than 200 times during the 10-minute video, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

The University of Kentucky permanently banned Rosing from campus following the racist attack.

In February 2023, Rosing was indicted by a Fayette County grand jury on all six charges she initially faced — including assault and felony assault of a police officer. She pleaded not guilty.

Since the indictment, Rosing’s case has been passed on the docket five times, and during that time, both parties attempted to reach a resolution, Peters told the outlet.

Peters told the outlet that the former business and marketing major faces 12 months in jail, 100 hours of community service and a $25 fine following her guilty plea.

She is set to be sentenced on Oct. 17.

Following Monday’s hearing, Spring, who was in attendance for the guilty plea, spoke with LEX 18 and revealed that she and Rosing had an opportunity to talk during the mediation.

“I told her that she didn’t break my spirit,” Spring told the outlet.

“That was one of the things I said the first time I ever spoke about what happened and that rings true today.”

Peters also told the outlet that his client was “extremely remorseful,” and “She read a very heartfelt apology to Kylah during our mediation.”

Spring, however, wasn’t buying it.

“I feel that a person that is remorseful takes actions that are moving towards proving they are remorseful,” Spring told LEX 18 . “Not just words.”

Spring claimed that Rosing did not mention the racial slurs she used against her during the hearing, which she said may still take her “a bit of maturing and unpacking” to come to terms with.

“I think her admitting at least a piece of what she’s done — admitting the things she said and being able to own up to them, I think it’s going to follow behind,” Spring told the outlet.

“Seeing yourself act in that light is not an easy thing to see, I imagine, so I guess there’s still a bit of maturing and unpacking she needs to do with that. So I’ll give her the space to do that.”

Nevertheless, Spring said she has forgiven Rosing and was raised to “not hold grudges.”

“I forgive her more so for myself,” Spring explained.

“I was raised not to hold grudges, I was raised that we give people forgiveness because God forgave us. It’s a hard thing for me to come to terms with, but in the end, I want to live a life where people can say I was a kind and forgiving person.”

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