WC stands for “word count”. It is used to indicate the number of words in a given text or document. Knowing the word count of a text can be useful for meeting length requirements, estimating reading time, calculating cost for translation or transcription, and various other purposes.
Why is word count important?
Here are some of the main reasons word count matters:
- Meeting length requirements – Many types of writing have specific word count requirements, such as academic essays, blog posts, journalism articles, and books. Knowing the word count ensures the writing meets the necessary length.
- Estimating reading time – Readers are often interested in knowing how long a text will take to read. Word count provides a way to estimate reading time, with the average reader able to read around 200-250 words per minute.
- SEO optimization – Higher word counts tend to rank better in search engines, so aiming for a certain word count target can improve SEO. Keywords can also be repeated more times in longer content.
- Cost estimation – Translators and transcription services typically charge by the word. So word count allows writers to estimate the cost of these services.
- Analyzing writing – Tracking word counts over time can show whether writing is becoming more concise or not.
Overall, word count gives an objective measure of the length and substance of a text. This allows writers, editors, translators, and readers to set targets, estimate effort, and analyze writing style.
How is word count calculated?
Word count tools or features work by automatically scanning a document and tallying up the number of words. Here are some of the rules used for counting words:
- Words are usually defined as strings of characters separated by spaces, tabs, or line breaks.
- Numbers and abbreviations like “10kg” or “Dr.” are generally counted as one word each.
- Hyphenated words like “well-known” are counted as one word.
- Headers, titles, and captions are included in the word count.
- Footnotes, endnotes, and references may or may not be included depending on the purpose.
- Tables, images, graphs, and other non-text elements are excluded.
Some common exceptions and gray areas include:
- Contractions like “don’t” can be counted as one word or two words.
- Citations and bibliographies may or may not be included.
- Repeated identical words are generally each counted as separate words.
- Lists presented as bullet points may or may not have each bullet counted separately.
Therefore, variations in counting rules can lead to slightly different word counts for the same text. But overall, word count gives a standardized method for measuring length.
How to find out the word count of a text
There are several easy ways to get the word count of a document. Here are some of the most common methods:
Word processing software
Most word processing programs like Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and LibreOffice have built-in word count features. These will scan the document and display the total number of words, characters, pages, paragraphs, and other statistics. In Microsoft Word, this can be found under the Review tab.
Online word counters
Many free online word counter tools allow you to instantly get the word count of a text by pasting it or uploading the file. Some examples include WordCounter, WordCountTool, and WriteWords.
Text editors
Coding editors and plain text editors like Sublime Text, Notepad++, Atom, and Visual Studio Code have plugins or built-in features for counting words as you type.
Mobile apps
Apps like World Count on Android and Word Count on iOS can calculate word counts from files or text copied to the clipboard.
Command line tools
On Linux, Mac, and Windows, the built-in command line tools wc and awk can quickly return the character, word, and line count totals for a file.
So whether working locally on a desktop or on mobile devices, there are many convenient options for getting word counts.
Word count conventions for common document types
Here are typical word count standards or expectations for some common document types:
Blog posts
600-1,500 words
News articles
300-700 words
Magazine articles
800-2,000 words
Advertising copy
15-100 words
Academic essays
1,500-5,000 words
Dissertations
10,000-25,000 words
Novels
50,000-100,000 words
Of course, these are general guidelines and specific requirements depend on the context. But being aware of typical word count conventions can help in planning documents and setting length goals.
Tips for checking word count
Here are some tips for effectively using word count tools and meeting word count goals:
- Use word count early and often – Check the word count at the start, periodically during writing, and before submitting a document.
- Aim slightly over the target – It’s easier to cut down than fill in, so aim for 5-10% above the required count.
- Check requirements – If there is flexibility in requirements, decide whether headings, footnotes, and formatting should be included.
- Use text formatting wisely – Formatting like bullet points and tables may impact word count depending on the tool.
- Compare results across tools – Use two different word counters to check for consistency.
Paying attention to word count from the beginning can help streamline the writing and editing process. And consistently using the same word count tool avoids unexpected results.
Limitations of word count
While word count has many uses, it also has some limitations to keep in mind. These include:
- No measure of writing quality – More words does not necessarily mean better writing. Word count does not assess spelling, grammar, structure, or clarity.
- Variation across tools – Because of different counting rules, word count totals can vary slightly between tools for the same text.
- Susceptible to filler words – Writers may be tempted to pad writing with filler words just to increase the word count.
- Counts generated text – Word count tools may include computer-generated text like captions for images which inflate the totals.
So while word count provides a useful numerical indicator of length, it should always be considered alongside more qualitative measures of writing quality. The context and purpose of the text is also key in determining appropriate word counts.
Conclusion
In summary, word count refers to the total number of words in a document. This simple metric has many uses across writing, publishing, academics, translation, and business. Word counts can be obtained through common word processing software, online tools, text editors, and mobile apps. Typical word count conventions provide guidelines for length in different contexts. Checking word counts early allows writers to efficiently plan and edit documents to meet requirements. However, word count has limitations and should not be the only measure of writing quality. With these key points in mind, counting words can be a useful part of any writing workflow.