Going over word limit in English? (1 Viewer)

#RoadTo31Atar · Dec 10, 2019

Is there a set amount that I will lose or is it up to the teachers? Even if I go over and lose marks, if I have the perfect essay which is a true 100% and I go over and lose 5-10% or whatever it is that is still a really good mark. The only reason I'm not cutting words out is because my essay is concise and has a lot of solid info, quotes and analysis, I feel like if I cut that stuff out it will lower my mark anyway and maybe more than going over. Also I can take the chance and hand in a printed copy so I might not even get caught with a high word count anyway since if a teacher is marking 100 papers, are they really gonna count everyone's words? Has anyone done this and does it work?

Drdusk · Dec 10, 2019

#RoadTo31Atar said:
Is there a set amount that I will lose or is it up to the teachers? Even if I go over and lose marks, if I have the perfect essay which is a true 100% and I go over and lose 5-10% or whatever it is that is still a really good mark. The only reason I'm not cutting words out is because my essay is concise and has a lot of solid info, quotes and analysis, I feel like if I cut that stuff out it will lower my mark anyway and maybe more than going over. Also I can take the chance and hand in a printed copy so I might not even get caught with a high word count anyway since if a teacher is marking 100 papers, are they really gonna count everyone's words? Has anyone done this and does it work?

I don’t get it. Your going to hand in a printed essay? How does that work?

Secondly obviously they’re not gonna count words but teachers can tell x number of pages = roughly y amount of words, and this varies a bit. So it kind of depends on how over do you think you are as they will be estimating how many words they think you’ve gone over by.

#RoadTo31Atar · Dec 10, 2019

Drdusk said:
I don’t get it. Your going to hand in a printed essay? How does that work?

Secondly obviously they’re not gonna count words but teachers can tell x number of pages = roughly y amount of words, and this varies a bit. So it kind of depends on how over do you think you are as they will be estimating how many words they think you’ve gone over by.

The task is a hand-in so I have the choice to upload or print, the reason I'm considering this is my last few English marks in Y11 have been really bad (50-60) and for me to get my goal ATAR I just need to not do really bad in English assuming I do well in everything else.

Drdusk · Dec 10, 2019

#RoadTo31Atar said:
The task is a hand-in so I have the choice to upload or print, the reason I'm considering this is my last few English marks in Y11 have been really bad (50-60) and for me to get my goal ATAR I just need to not do really bad in English assuming I do well in everything else.

In that case probably take your chance with the printed copy. Use a bit smaller font and also lower the size of the text but make sure that it's actually readable. Another thing is you can decrease the page margins. This means more words fit onto a page and thus giving the illusion that you've written less.

seremify007 · Dec 10, 2019

Isn't the point of word limits to force you to be concise and succinct in your language, and also to keep it realistic as to how much you can write in the budgeted time of the respective section of the exam? It also forces you to use shorter quotes or just focus on the key bits.

Note I did my HSC back in 2005 (yes I'm old) but we always worked to an approximate budget of 1,000 words for each 40 minute component. Sure you could try practicing with pen weights and writing large to make it easier to write quicker but remain legible, but this was more of a rule of thumb than a strict limit since in the actual HSC, as far as I know, there is no word limit - just a time limit.

#RoadTo31Atar · Dec 10, 2019

seremify007 said:
Isn't the point of word limits to force you to be concise and succinct in your language, and also to keep it realistic as to how much you can write in the budgeted time of the respective section of the exam? It also forces you to use shorter quotes or just focus on the key bits.

Note I did my HSC back in 2005 (yes I'm old) but we always worked to an approximate budget of 1,000 words for each 40 minute component. Sure you could try practicing with pen weights and writing large to make it easier to write quicker but remain legible, but this was more of a rule of thumb than a strict limit since in the actual HSC, as far as I know, there is no word limit - just a time limit.

Yes, that sounds right but this is a in-school assessment and there is a limit on how much you can write (1110 I have 1300) since someone could write like 50 pages at home, print it out and get full marks.

Drdusk said:
In that case probably take your chance with the printed copy. Use a bit smaller font and also lower the size of the text but make sure that it's actually readable. Another thing is you can decrease the page margins. This means more words fit onto a page and thus giving the illusion that you've written less.

Thx will do

BLIT2014 · Dec 12, 2019

Depends on the teacher/school.

Often there is a plus or minus 5-10% amount of words you can go under or over by.

studiesofboard · Dec 12, 2019

This is probably the wrong thread but does anyone know by any chance any good cases I could use in my legal studies criminal investigation processes essay that will fit under the Children and young persons (care and protection) Ac 1998(NSW).

pikachu975 · Dec 13, 2019

Drdusk said:
In that case probably take your chance with the printed copy. Use a bit smaller font and also lower the size of the text but make sure that it's actually readable. Another thing is you can decrease the page margins. This means more words fit onto a page and thus giving the illusion that you've written less.

Yeah they’ll probably count the average number of words in one line and multiply by the number of lines so it’s possibly risky either way tbh. Best bet is to cut some words out. More words doesn’t equal better which was what I thought initially. I recall my essays being like 700-800 words approximately (a guess because I memorised quotes not essays) while some people could write like 1000+ words but we still got equal marks. Also the analysis can be simple and language can be simple since I’m pretty sure my language was not as good as others...

Good luck!!

studiesofboard said:
This is probably the wrong thread but does anyone know by any chance any good cases I could use in my legal studies criminal investigation processes essay that will fit under the Children and young persons (care and protection) Ac 1998(NSW).

Heyy if you make a new thread in the legal studies subforum you’ll get more responses

seremify007 · Dec 13, 2019

I'd bet the teacher doesn't care as long as you aren't taking the piss. They're experienced enough to be able to tell if you've gone wildly over.

#RoadTo31Atar · Dec 13, 2019

dumbfuck said:
How many words are you on? And what's the limit?

Most my essays were 1000-1100 and I would get 17-19

The limit is 1110 and I'm on 1350, oddly enough I was under the limit but the teacher gave me feedback and now I'm here :/ Idk I can't remove it if she said I need to add it.

Going over word limit in English? (1 Viewer)

#RoadTo31Atar

Well-Known Member

Drdusk

Moderator

#RoadTo31Atar

Well-Known Member

Drdusk

Moderator

seremify007

Junior Member

#RoadTo31Atar

Well-Known Member

BLIT2014

The pessimistic optimist.

studiesofboard

Well-Known Member

pikachu975

Premium Member

seremify007

Junior Member

#RoadTo31Atar

Well-Known Member

Users Who Are Viewing This Thread (Users: 0, Guests: 1)