In the writing exam, the number of words is important
If you don't write enough words, you can lose marks - even if you have written a good answer. Remember the
minimum number:
Task 1: 150 Task 2: 250
Here are some important things to think about:
- If you use the same words as you have in the question, these will be deducted from your word count. For
example, if your first sentence of 15 words is the same as the question, then you have 15 words less in your final
total - this can be a problem!
- You should always try to write 150 words for task 1 and 250 for task 2, but if you are just below this don't
panic. You will probably be OK with 140 for task 1 and 240 for task 2.
- When you are practising, see what 150 and 250 words looks like in your handwriting. Is it a whole page? Or two
pages? This will save time in the exam.
- Don't waste time counting words in the exam. If the examiner thinks your answer is short then he or she will
check even if you write the total number yourself. If you want to count, see how many words you write in one
line on the page and then multiply this by the number of lines.
- Remember: sentences copied from the question don't count.
- These count as one word:
If you don't write enough words, you can lose marks - even if you have written a good answer. Remember the
minimum number:
Task 1: 150 Task 2: 250
Here are some important things to think about:
- If you use the same words as you have in the question, these will be deducted from your word count. For
example, if your first sentence of 15 words is the same as the question, then you have 15 words less in your final
total - this can be a problem!
- You should always try to write 150 words for task 1 and 250 for task 2, but if you are just below this don't
panic. You will probably be OK with 140 for task 1 and 240 for task 2.
- When you are practising, see what 150 and 250 words looks like in your handwriting. Is it a whole page? Or two
pages? This will save time in the exam.
- Don't waste time counting words in the exam. If the examiner thinks your answer is short then he or she will
check even if you write the total number yourself. If you want to count, see how many words you write in one
line on the page and then multiply this by the number of lines.
- Remember: sentences copied from the question don't count.
- These count as one word:
- hypenated words, e.g. state-of-the-art and text-based
numbers
contractions, e.g. don't and can't
words that you have written separately by mistake, e.g. any way, no where.
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