Policy on word counts for assessed work

The word count specified for each assessed submission, including coursework and research projects, includes all footnotes or endnotes, references in the main text, quotations, captions, chapter or section headings, content lists, text included as part of diagrams, and other apparatus that forms part of the content of the piece. It does not include the main document title or the bibliography/reference list.

The upper limit is an absolute maximum and must not be exceeded (there is no 10% leeway rule or similar).

Assessors will monitor the word count of submitted essays. You should note that different systems often give slightly different automatic word counts. In the event of any query, the word count we will use is the one produced from the submitted .docx version of your essay by Microsoft Word on a campus PC running the standard student Windows image.

If your submission is over the permitted length, penalties will be imposed as follows:

  • up to and including 5% over the word limit, 10 marks (percentage points) will be deducted
  • each additional 5% (or part thereof) over the word limit, another 10 marks will be deducted
  • if the penalty is equal to or greater than the assessed grading, the work will score zero.

For essays significantly below the indicated length, there is no specific numerical penalty scheme – but bear in mind that the indicated length is a guide to the breadth and depth of coverage required, so shorter essays are likely to score lower according to the mark scheme.
Dissertations and other large research projects can, with the supervisor’s approval, be submitted alongside appendices of primary source material (interviews, survey results, etc) if this is necessary to allow the assessors to judge the work. Such appendices do not count towards the word limit. Appendices must include primary source material only, and cannot be used to elaborate or extend the argument.
All judgments on word length and associated penalties will be made in accordance with the University-level Policy on Marking.