Twitter’s notoriously short limit of 280 characters is among the harshest hard limits, while Facebook recommends ~250 characters to achieve maximum engagement-though its actual hard character limit extends to tens of thousands of characters.ĭigital Marketers: Content creators make sure their work is found by utilizing metadata, like meta titles and descriptions, to make sure their work ranks for relevant keywords to be found by search engine users. Social Media Users: Most social media platforms have some kind of character limit. Using a word counter tool during the drafting process can help with keeping your writing on track so that, when you begin editing, you aren’t trying to cut an essay in half or add another 1,000 words. It can be hard for students, educators, and researchers to outline a proposed project or describe their experiences and goals when they have to stick to such strict word limits. Students, Educators, and Researchers: Research abstracts are one exception where the word count has a strict maximum that is typically difficult to achieve, since abstracts often need to summarize years of research into ~300 words.Īnother exception where word count maximums are typically used is in grant and scholarship writing. For example, an applicant may be asked to write a 1,500-word report on a case study to show their knowledge of the market. Job Seekers: When crafting cover letters or completing case studies for job applications, it is sometimes required to meet target word count. Those looking to make writing a habit or hone their skills often choose to set a daily word count goal, like Neil Gaiman’s 50-words-per-day habit that, slowly but surely, helped him pen Coraline.

Writers: Daily writing goals are important for the serious writer, even at the hobby level. Because of the large volume of applications each school receives, maximum word count limitations are usually also imposed.įor example, a student may be asked for a ~1,000-word personal statement, but the fine print will note a hard limit of 2,000 words. Students: Often in school or university students will be asked to write a 250-word short answer to a question to show their knowledge or a 2,000-word essay.īesides assignments, students applying for college and graduate school admissions will usually have a target word count for their application essays.

Counting words in word