Frequently Asked Questions (Courses)

• Why do you use a word limit?
• How do you score a word limit?

Why do you use a word limit?

For most written assignments, I include a word limit in the rubric, like "about 500-750 words." I do this for several reasons.

At the low end, I expect a minimum amount of effort. I design an assignment for you to demonstrate certain knowledge, skills, and dispositions. When I choose a word limit, I try to provide just enough space for you to demonstrate these things: no more, no less. If you haven't reached the word limit, you probably haven't adequately demonstrated what I'm looking for. If you have trouble reaching the limit, I'm happy to offer suggestions for further writing.

At the high end, I believe constraints improve writing. I teach courses for novice and practicing educators and wellness professionals. In most contexts for professional writing, there are artificial and pragmatic word limits. For example, professional journals typically limit the length of submissions, and editors regularly require authors to shorten submissions before accepting them. In less formal writing, the many stresses and obligations of a typical work day limit how much time we can spend on a given text. For example, I may have to turn in an incident report or send an email to parent/guardian before I leave for the day. Also, we're busy people and our time is valuable, so as readers we often prefer short and informative texts. We owe it to our colleagues (and our instructors) to write such texts.

More broadly, as a writer and a writing instructor, I believe word limits improve a writer's focus. It's hard to cut and condense, but it usually produces better writing. Word limits are especially valuable for keeping a writer focused on big ideas, and minimizing less relevant details and filler.

Finally, a grade is my course is part of your professional credentials. It partly reflects your qualifications. For better or worse, a grade can be used to compare your qualifications to someone else, who may have gottten a higher or lower grade or GPA. A word limit improves the fairness of that possible comparison. It also frees my students from worrying that their peers might be turning in much longer texts without a penalty.

How do you score a word limit?

I use the "Word Count" feature in Microsoft Word. I strongly recommend using this feature before you turn in an assignment.

If my rubric has a single limit (e.g., "about 500 words"), I may only take off points if you're significantly under or over (e.g., under or over by more than 50 words). If my rubric has a range (e.g., "about 500-750 word"), I may take off points if you're under or over by more than a few words.

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