How do I reduce my manuscript word count?

12 Tips to Reduce Manuscript Word Count

1. Tip 1! Add Exact and Specific Actions. This may sound counterproductive.
2. Tip 2! Use Gerunds.
3. Tip 3! Use Abbreviations.
4. Tip 4! Remove “that”
5. Tip 5! Remove “the”
6. Tip 6! Hyphenate.
7. Tip 7! Pluralize.
8. Tip 8! Remove Filler Words.

How do I shorten my essay?

Here are five simple tips for trimming your stories without destroying content.

1. Circle or highlight all adverbs. Take them out.
2. Look for a single word or short phrase followed by a comma.
3. Delete helping verbs.
4. Delete to be verbs.
5. Turn some nouns into verbs: “I concluded” is better than “I came to the conclusion.”

Can you exceed word count in academic writing?

No. You should never exceed the word limit for an essay. You should be able to trim your essay, even if it means writing way less than the word limit. Some people are great at describing anything in a few words and others need more words and are still unable to write anything meaningful.

Does Grammarly reduce word count?

Grammarly’s tautology check helps you cut redundant words and leaves you with stronger, more direct sentences.

How do I reduce word count without reducing content?

Perhaps one day you’ll even find the task of reducing your word count to be an enjoyable challenge!

1. Look for redundancies.
2. Delete the v word.
3. Delete other words that aren’t pulling their weight.
4. Look for the prepositions.
5. Keep an eye out for multi-word phrases.
6. Watch out for the use of what and there as subjects.

How do you reduce the size of a research paper?

10 Tips to reduce the length of your research paper

1. Look out for sentences beginning with “there is a previous study on,” “it has been reported that,” or similar phrases.
2. Sentences carrying product names can be shortened by shifting the product name within parentheses.

What happens if you go over a word count?

You’ve got the people who always go over the word count, and the people who can’t get anywhere near it. Many universities apply a kind of ‘penalty’ if either of these happens. A pretty common one is your mark will be reduced by 10\% if you’re 10\% over or under the word limit.

Do lecturers really check word count?

If written, they will actually count them, looking for repetition. If submitted electronically, they can, among other things look at the properties of the essay, or they can simply highlight the whole document, which will also give you the number of words.

How can I be less wordy?

Together, these changes create a stronger, more concise sentence.

1. Use the Key Noun.
2. Use Active Voice rather than Passive Voice Verbs.
3. Avoid Unnecessary Language.
4. Use Nouns rather than Vague Pronouns as Subjects.
5. Use Verbs rather than Nouns to Express Action.
6. Avoid a String of Prepositional Phrases.

How do I make text less intricate?

How to get rid of “intricate text” warnings in Grammarly. The main reason Grammarly gives an “intricate text” warning is if a single sentence has too many clauses within it. By splitting long sentences into shorter ones, you can both get rid of the error and write a clearer sentence.

How can I reduce the word count of my academic writing?

These are my seven tips to reduce the word count of your academic writing. If you find it hard to delete words, sentences, and paragraphs in your draft, I recommend creating a “recycling document”. You can use this to paste the cut bits into. I have in fact a recycling document for each of my writing projects.

How do I avoid cutting words in my writing?

One of the greatest challenges in writing is cutting words. But there is a simple rule you can follow: make sure the words you use add meaning. If you can remove words without losing the importance of the statement, delete them. Want to learn more ways to reduce your word count?

How do you reduce the number of words in a sentence?

Delete connectives This is another tip that will reduce the flow of the text but is effective in reducing word count. Rather than having longer sentences linked with “and” or “but”, just delete those connectives and have two separate sentences. This will reduce the word count.

How to improve your academic writing skills?

Another habit that a lot of people have in academic writing is to ‘tie off’ each section with a mini-summary and then ‘refresh’ the reader again in the beginning of the next one. This is redundant and wastes a lot of word count. Try to keep section closings extremely concise and short.