Word/page count guidelines - SOP, Writing Sample

[OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe]

Hello,

I have a question regarding word and page count guidelines. Some Statement of Purpose guidelines say to keep it under 500 words, but people on this forum have indicated that it is not necessary to strictly adhere to these restrictions. Some program websites have also gone out of their way to say it is not a strict cutoff, while others don't specify. The same applies for word/page counts on writing samples. If this is the case, what would you say the limit is? For example, for a 500 limit, is 600 too far over the threshold? 700? 800? 

I typically follow the rules provided, so I automatically don't feel extremely comfortable submitting anything over 500 in this case. My current letter as stands is ~700 words and I am not eager to cut any of it down any further, but I am also hesitant to submit something ~40% larger than requested.

Thanks!

[ExponentialDecay]

Look, they're not going to sit there and count your a's and the's. 500 words is about a page, 2 pages double-spaced. So stay roughly within those boundaries. 700 words is about a page and a half, which is probably too long.

Length guidelines exist to suggest the volume of information that a text should contain, and how that information should be presented. So I would suggest situation your statement within those two perspectives. Maybe you're including stuff that doesn't need to be there (e.g. regurgitating information that is already on your resume, such as "I am a 2015 graduate of Armpit University who majored in Political Science", or stories about your childhood). I would also suggest looking at how your statement is structured. I bet you could rephrase some of it more concisely, lose filler words, streamline the syntax, eliminate any repetition, and so on. See if you can get a second pair of eyes on it.

Edited November 10, 2017 by ExponentialDecay

[deutsch1997bw]

4 minutes ago, ExponentialDecay said:

Look, they're not going to sit there and count your a's and the's. 500 words is about a page, 2 pages double-spaced. So stay roughly within those boundaries. 700 words is about a page and a half, which is probably too long.

Length guidelines exist to suggest the volume of information that a text should contain, and how that information should be presented. So I would suggest situation your statement within those two perspectives. Maybe you're including stuff that doesn't need to be there (e.g. regurgitating information that is already on your resume, such as "I am a 2015 graduate of Armpit University who majored in Political Science", or stories about your childhood). I would also suggest looking at how your statement is structured. I bet you could rephrase some of it more concisely, lose filler words, streamline the syntax, eliminate any repetition, and so on. See if you can get a second pair of eyes on it.

I second this. I started out with a really "fatty" statement of purpose. Thanks to the advice of two trusted professors, I've managed to trim the "fat" significantly, and it is a much better document because of it.

A third of the programs that I'm applying to require a 500 word statement of purpose, while the remaining programs have a strict 1,000 word limit. It's much easier, in my opinion, to write the 1,000 word one first, and then remove what isn't absolutely necessary for the 500 word one.

[Hamb]

When it came to writing papers for classes, I had a professor make a statement that has stayed with me for years. Every word that goes over the limit must have substance behind it and make the paper better. If you repeat yourself or insert unnecessary information in a paper that goes over the limit, then it's a double whammy because not only is it poor writing, but you're ignoring instructions to include poor writing.

I'm just another applicant for this round, and you'd have to ask admission committees to know for sure. My guess is that if everyone else is writing around 500 words, and yours comes across their desk at over 700, then it will be noticeable. Only you can decide whether you feel the it's worth the risk.

[fuzzylogician]

On 11/10/2017 at 2:50 PM, OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe said:

I typically follow the rules provided, so I automatically don't feel extremely comfortable submitting anything over 500 in this case. My current letter as stands is ~700 words and I am not eager to cut any of it down any further, but I am also hesitant to submit something ~40% larger than requested.

I don't know who is telling you that going over the limit is allowed. Academia is full of page and word limits, and you can't just ignore them. If you submit something that's significantly over the limit, readers will notice, and frankly you are not any more special or any more deserving of your readers' time than any other applicants. It may be hard, but suck it up and do it, just like everybody else. 

[OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe]

1 hour ago, fuzzylogician said:

I don't know who is telling you that going over the limit is allowed. Academia is full of page and word limits, and you can't just ignore them. If you submit something that's significantly over the limit, readers will notice, and frankly you are not any more special or any more deserving of your readers' time than any other applicants. It may be hard, but suck it up and do it, just like everybody else. 

Lol you sound like a fun person.

[OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe]

 

1 hour ago, fuzzylogician said:

I don't know who is telling you that going over the limit is allowed. Academia is full of page and word limits, and you can't just ignore them. If you submit something that's significantly over the limit, readers will notice, and frankly you are not any more special or any more deserving of your readers' time than any other applicants. It may be hard, but suck it up and do it, just like everybody else. 

...but, your condescending attitude aside, I do agree and will try to actually cut it down to 500 words.

[fuzzylogician]

1 hour ago, OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe said:

...but, your condescending attitude aside, I do agree and will try to actually cut it down to 500 words.

Tell you what, if you don't like my attitude, don't leave a tip.

I'm always amazed when people get good free advice and still complain about "the service". 

[samman1994]

None of the programs I'm applying to have stated an explicit limit (although one of them did have a section with 500 word limit, but you could upload any word count you'd like), so from other peoples statement, I've basically gone for under 1K. However, I'd state quality over quantity. If your 1k isn't important, don't put it. For me, I cut it down to, previous experience and techniques learned, mental experience gained (troubleshooting and whatnot), the school and faculty itself (who I want join and why I want to go to the school), and an intro and conclusion. 5 paragraphs, combined under 2 pages and under 1 thousand words. 

[OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe]

2 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

Tell you what, if you don't like my attitude, don't leave a tip.

I'm always amazed when people get good free advice and still complain about "the service". 

Next time I will be sure to preface my question with a disclaimer that I only seek advice from people who aren't miserable. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

[fuzzylogician]

27 minutes ago, OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe said:

Next time I will be sure to preface my question with a disclaimer that I only seek advice from people who aren't miserable. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

Yuck. You might want to rethink how you treat people who take time out of their day to help you. Also what you expect academia to be like. Anyway, since you've descended to calling me names and we're not talking substance anymore, I'm done. I don't think there's still a way for me to help you or anyone else reading this thread. I can only hope that a few years from now you're embarrassed at how this conversation reads. 

[GreenEyedTrombonist]

1. I freelance as a writer and word counts are extremely important in this area. In addition, I've worked as a TA and it's very easy to tell when someone has written more or less than the set amount. Yes, my courses have all graded down for something like this. Although no one will probably spend the time counting your words if they print out the document, it's easy enough to search for a word count in a digital document. In addition, even if they don't count the words, it's easy to tell when someone goes more than 50 words over the limit. 5 words is probably something they'd let slide, but if they put a word limit, I'd follow the word limit (save the wiggle room writing for after you get in and can work with a prof to determine if you actually should write more or less). 

2. Be wary of judging someone's tone on the internet. Tone misinterpretation is one of the biggest reasons for arguments (that I've seen) in forums and chat rooms (and I moderate quite a few forums and chat rooms so I've seen a lot). Although if someone is actually attacking you, you should stand up for yourself, context matters. Fuzzy has been around a long time and has a lot of positive cred on this forum (easily seen with the 4.5k+ upvotes and the senior moderator status). They've spent time to give you advice that is probably the safest for an applicant. Please don't discredit the advice because you didn't like the perceived tone or it wasn't what you wanted to hear. 

[OnlyGodandAdComsCanJudgeMe]

9 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

Yuck. You might want to rethink how you treat people who take time out of their day to help you.

You might want to rethink how you treat people who ask honest, harmless questions on a forum meant to help others.

 

9 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

Also what you expect academia to be like. 

Maybe people like you are the problem.

 

9 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

Anyway, since you've descended to calling me names and we're not talking substance anymore, I'm done.

In your very first post, you imply that I'm someone that thinks I'm more important than everyone else. 

 

9 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

I don't think there's still a way for me to help you or anyone else reading this thread.

Everyone else was extremely helpful--you are the only one who hasn't been.

 

9 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

I can only hope that a few years from now you're embarrassed at how this conversation reads. 

Right back at you.

[diter91]

14 hours ago, fuzzylogician said:

I don't know who is telling you that going over the limit is allowed. Academia is full of page and word limits, and you can't just ignore them. If you submit something that's significantly over the limit, readers will notice, and frankly you are not any more special or any more deserving of your readers' time than any other applicants. It may be hard, but suck it up and do it, just like everybody else. 

This.

[ExponentialDecay]

man OP I get how you feel but throwing a hissy fit because somebody on the internet implied that you might be a little entitled is not a good look on anyone.

[jnewcomb08]

insert michael jackson eating popcorn meme about here