How many words are your essays? (1 Viewer)

[swifty13]

Hey guys,
I was wondering how long your essays were and what your teachers expect of you? At my school we are suggested to do 200 word intro, about 300 words for each text (so four in total, 2 core and 2 related, meaning 1200) along with a 200 word conclusion. That adds up to 1600 words. In my first exam I think I wrote about 1300 in the hour, so I definitely need to work on writing faster.

My tutor on the other hand, was shocked that I was only given 300 words for each body paragraph and suggested essays of about 1800-2000 words.

What do u think?

 

[ellie95]

Hey guys,
I was wondering how long your essays were and what your teachers expect of you? At my school we are suggested to do 200 word intro, about 300 words for each text (so four in total, 2 core and 2 related, meaning 1200) along with a 200 word conclusion. That adds up to 1600 words. In my first exam I think I wrote about 1300 in the hour, so I definitely need to work on writing faster.

My tutor on the other hand, was shocked that I was only given 300 words for each body paragraph and suggested essays of about 1800-2000 words.

What do u think?

I know a tip to write faster, it works. Before your exams, attach a battery to your pen with an elastic band and write with that pen all the time. During your exam take the battery off, it will feel really light and you will write so much faster it will flow.

 

[iSplicer]

Hey guys,
I was wondering how long your essays were and what your teachers expect of you? At my school we are suggested to do 200 word intro, about 300 words for each text (so four in total, 2 core and 2 related, meaning 1200) along with a 200 word conclusion. That adds up to 1600 words. In my first exam I think I wrote about 1300 in the hour, so I definitely need to work on writing faster.

My tutor on the other hand, was shocked that I was only given 300 words for each body paragraph and suggested essays of about 1800-2000 words.

What do u think?

I did no more than 940 for each essay. You need time to answer and think about the question. It's tragic how many students kill themselves over 1100 essays and completely ignore the question.

 

[iSplicer]

I know a tip to write faster, it works. Before your exams, attach a battery to your pen with an elastic band and write with that pen all the time. During your exam take the battery off, it will feel really light and you will write so much faster it will flow.

And yeah, I remember doing this =]

 

[academical]

I know this is an old thread, but only 940 words?

I write 1,300 words in 40 mins for advanced...1,950 on average for extension (1 hour).

Am I doing something wrong?

I understand quality over quantity...but should there really be that much of a difference?

 

[nifkeh]

I know this is an old thread, but only 940 words?

I write 1,300 words in 40 mins for advanced...1,950 on average for extension (1 hour).

Am I doing something wrong?

I understand quality over quantity...but should there really be that much of a difference?

wow that is a lot o: wish I had a fast mind like you.

i thought I heard 1500 words for EE1 was ideal but 1200 would be okay..? not too sure

 

[academical]

Thanks nifkeh

I honestly didn't realize that what I wrote was considered a lot...must be all that hand muscle training I do! haha Like my teacher has always been pleased, but never said anything more than that they were happy with the amount that I wrote...

I guess I'll just make full use of that gift then

 

[sinawi]

No less than 1500 words for Extension 1.

You are given 1 entire hour for this essay. Let's also assume (which should definitely be the case) your creative takes 40-45 minutes to write with sufficient stimulus inclusion. That actually leaves you 1 hour and 15/20 minutes for this essay. No less than 1500, no more than 2100 because then it becomes waffle. An hour and 20 minutes is plenty of time to squeeze in 1800-2000 words while answering the question directly. It is what is expected in a response that dictates sufficient analysis of all 4 texts equally, as well as a prolific conclusion.

Recommended length for the story would be approximately 1400-500 words and no more if you are to meet this quota.

 

[sinawi]

I write 1,300 words in 40 mins for advanced...1,950 on average for extension (1 hour).

Am I doing something wrong?

I understand quality over quantity...but should there really be that much of a difference?

You write at the same speed I do for adv and ext. Unless you are not answering the question and including stimulus in both advanced and extension in a profound way, the quantity is perfect assuming your quality is on the right track. Really, if it's quality writing, there should be depth and length anyway.

TLDR; no you aren't doing anything wrong.

 

[hayabusaboston]

1000-1200 words is absolutely fine as far as I know?

 

[Riaa]

I did no more than 940 for each essay. You need time to answer and think about the question. It's tragic how many students kill themselves over 1100 essays and completely ignore the question.

+1
My essays were always in the range of 950-1000 words.
This is due to the fact that I want them to be flexible enough to suit any given question.

 

[LoveHateSchool]

The difference in length between Adv and EE1 is quite different as in EE1 you are often expected to deal with four texts and have an hour to compose the essay.

Adv English: around 1000 (I used to write 1200-1300)
Ext 1 English: around 1500 (I think I did about 1700)

 

[Ustritsa]

From my own personal experience, as Sinawi mentioned the creative does require less time hence less words. In my opinion 1200-1500 for the creative may cut it and 1600-1900 for the essay would be acceptable. The minimum and maximum I have specified are linked, so the less you write for the creative the more for the essay etc.

My HSC exam ended up being around 1500 for the creative and 1800 for the essay. HSC Mark (48). It worked for me so that would be my recommendation although a bit less or a bit more would also work well. Not exactly sure what the people who mentioned 950-1000 word essays for EngX1 are talking about? If they were successful by writing that little then they are most definitely the EXCEPTION and not the rule...


Word count is always debatable so my advice would be to take recommendations from those whose marks you know for what they wrote. Good luck

 

[hope14]

My Advanced essays are about 900 to 1000 words. Haven't written a real Ext one yet so not entirely sure but 1800 sounds huge. I was under the impression that 1200 was okay... Ok, so now I am worried!

 

[WeaselPowa]

I honestly do not think 1600 words on an essay is necessary. You either have too many techniques, or have been summarising your texts too much. But if you really feel it is necessary, then go ahead and attach batteries to your pen and practise.

It sounds like a huge waste of time to me though :L

Ps: My essays for Advanced English papers range from 1000-1200 words. Never needed any more then that.

 

[Intech]

Around 1000 words is appropriate.

 

[Ace95]

Our assessment task in two weeks is on two prescribed texts and one related, and our teacher is expecting ~ 1500 words, since we have an entire hour rather than the typical 45 minutes

 

[andahmays]

I personally find it hard to write 8 paragraphs with only 300 words for each, cause I think it lacks depth. Would it be okay if we spoke about:

PRESCRIBE1 and ORT1 linked +
PRESCRIBE2 and ORT2 linked

?

 

[procrastinator2]

I do adv. eng. and I always manage to go over the word count but at our school it is suggested to keep it at 800 min 1000 max then it becomes a struggle to see what to cut out.

My teacher says keep it as a nice simple intro: thesis, introduce texts and how they relate
My tutor says fluff it up a bit for the intro: quote, thesis, introduce texts, add context, show relationship between the texts

then i do 3 - 4 paragraphs with both texts in each (so pretty much 6 - 8) because it is safer to integrate texts (teachers say if you run out of time at least you've spoken about both)

and yeah

I always struggle to remember my essays so keeping it at a minimum is very important to me that way I can write up a quick scaffold before I start writing so I can remember.