How Long Should be a Typical Essay?

October 2, 2020 in Essay help

All essays have a set word count or several pages. Therefore, you should always get to find out the length of the essay you are required to write. In some cases, the word count is also part of the test. You should be able to express yourself or show your understanding of a given topic within a limited number of words. Otherwise, you may be penalized for either using few or many words to accomplish your assignment.

Different essays come with different word count or page requirements. For instance, a high school essay will be different in terms of length when compared to an undergraduate essay. An essay length can range from 1 page to 20 pages. On average using Times new roman font size 12, essay pages have a word count of 275 words. The essay length can either be given in word count or the number of pages. Therefore, you should be able to get the facts right regardless of the approach taken by your professor.

Meeting Your Essay Length Requirements 

Essay lengths are of different lengths at different levels of study. It is unlikely that a high-school essay will be 20 pages. However, a postgraduate student should expect to write an essay of such a length. In your college application, your essay length may range from 1 to 2 pages. However, it will be important to ask the admission office of the exact essay requirements. It could be slightly longer than that. To perfectly meet the essay length requirements, do the following:

  • Ask for Direction. If you are not sure of the desired essay length, it is always good to enquire from your professor. If not, consult online professionals that are knowledgeable and experienced in writing essays. They will help you do the right thing and achieve the desired essay length. And reviews at RankMyService will help you to pick up a good service among the poor-quality ones.
  • Understand your essay topic. A proper understanding of your essay topic will help you write in brevity or using many words without leaving out important points. When you understand your topic thoroughly, you can write with a lot of freedom since you know what matters to the topic and what is not so important.
  • Write an essay outline. Come up with a list of points to write about for your chosen topic. With these items, you can distribute the word count to all points. If you have five points for a 500-word essay, you can consider using 400 words for the essay body and leave the rest to the introduction and conclusion. That means each point will be about 80 words. The word count can be slightly more than 500 words, say by 20 words but not less than 500 words.

Final Advice

Stick to the given word count for your specific essay. Exceeding the given word count may not add value to your essay. On the contrary, it may get you penalized especially if your professor wanted you to express yourself within that word limit. Therefore, complete your assignment within the given word limit.