Q: Will I be penalized if I go over the word limit?

A: We do not apply any numerical penalties, but if you go too much over the limit, the TA will just stop reading, and your essay will be left without part of its argument, evidence, and conclusion! As an instructor, I do have a rationale for applying word limits on essays; the limit is not arbitrary, but is related to my teaching goals in this course. Here are some of the reasons:

1) The limit tells the student about the size of the assignment. I’m sure there is some scholar out there who could write a whole book on Beckett’s Catastrophe, and likewise, a reviewer of the film might only write 500 words in a newspaper column. Stating a word limit is one way of communicating how much we expect from you.

2) The limit is one way of trying to achieve equity between students: if I were to tell one student that she has only 1,000 words to address the topic, and another student that she has 5,000 words, it would clearly not be fair to assess these essays under the same criteria.

3) The limit encourages students to find economical ways to articulate their arguments. If you are working for a newspaper and being paid by the word, then maybe more words = better. But in general, it is useful to find economical ways of making your point. One of the course goals is to help you improve your writing skills; making your point clearly and economically will be a real selling feature in many post-university careers.

To sum up, we are not going to be all stern and ignore that one paragraph that goes over the limit. But if you find yourself going more than a page over the limit, consider the fact that you are adding 20-25% to the expected length of the paper!

PS: And if you are thinking of shrinking your font or enlarging your margins, just consider the fact that the TA is looking at a stack of 60 papers; your doctored layout becomes pretty obvious!