While it is best to be aware of that limitation from the outset and cut your cloth accordingly, fitting what you need to say about what you have done and found into a word limit can be challenging.

I recall how, having completed an edit, the client suddenly realized she had a word count and that the thesis needed to be two-thirds as long. The complexity of her topic meant the content included was necessary and even essential.

And so began the process of whittling down the report of her research by a third. Here are some of the strategies you might apply if you are faced with the same issue. These range from

• deleting words that do not add meaning to a sentence (superfluous words),
• replacing wordy phrases with a single word that captures the essence of what you mean,
• reconstructing sentences, which might include
  • losing unnecessary prepositions, articles, and determiners,
  • learning how to use the possessive form correctly,
  • avoiding the expletive form or sentences that begin with “It is/there is (are)”,
  • shifting from the singular to the plural, and
  • using more judicious punctuation. 

Remember that when writing for academic and business purposes, you are not writing poetry or prose. Academic writing aims for succinctness of expression. The aim is to convey information as concisely as possible. That means making sure that each word in a sentence counts and is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Consider some examples of the first strategy:

• The reason why I was late is because my car would not start. (13 words)
• The reason I was late is because my car would not start. (12 words)

Reason and why mean the same, so “why” is a superfluous word in this instance.

• I thought that I could settle with a high school diploma, but I see education is everything. (17 words)
• I thought I could settle with a high school diploma, but I see education is everything. (16 words)

The word “that” can often be deleted from a sentence without compromising the meaning of a sentence.

A second strategy is replacing wordy phrases with a single word. Consider the following sentences:

• Themes were distilled further in order to extract the essence of the experience. (13 words)
• Themes were distilled further to extract the essence of the experience. (11 words)

The phase “in order” does not add meaning to the sentence, and in general, it is best not to use two or three words where just one would effectively convey what you mean. Transition word, or those words and phrases used to smooth the links between ideas, like consequently, therefore, ultimately, etc., should be used only if the link would not be obvious to the reader.  

A third set of strategies involves reconstructing sentences. This strategy more work, but it leads to a more refined expression of what you mean.

Consider the following examples:

• Transformational leaders seek to include followers in their decisions, to create a shared vision that can be pursued, and to trust their followers will do what is required. (28 words)
• Transformational leaders include followers in their decisions, create a shared vision that can be pursued, and trust their followers will do what is required. (24 words)

The phrase “seek to” is nice to have rather than essential, and if all the prepositions introducing the list are the same, you only require the first preposition to introduce the list.

• Gathering of the data included employing a social survey to determine how associates of Chimera perceived the brand. (18 words)
• Gathering the data included employing a social survey to determine how Chimera’s associates perceived the brand. (16 words)
• A social survey was used to determine how Chimera’s associates perceived the brand. (13 words)

• The means of execution involved figuring out how associates of Band Brand perceived the brand. (15 words)
• Execution involved figuring out how Band Brand’s associates perceived the brand. (11 words)  

Notice how the first example includes three revisions. First, the “of” is superfluous. Second, using the possessive form lets go of another preposition. In the third case, I have a more direct statement. The second example removes a wordy phrase and uses the possessive form to lose four words.  

• There are teachers who believe that children should be spanked if they disobey instructions. (14 words)
• Some teachers believe children should be spanked if they disobey instructions. (11 words)

• There is a difference between a and b. (8 words)
• A difference exists between a and b. (7 words)
• A and b are different. (5 words)

Avoiding the expletive form not only results in a more active sentence but can also save a great many words. Finally, shifting from the singular to the plural in a sentence removes the need for articles and “him or her” if you are wanting to express yourself in a politically and linguistically correct fashion.

• Each participant was provided with an explanation of what was expected of him or her. (15 words)
• Participants were provided with explanations of what was expected of them. (11 words)

So, let’s look at a passage in which I was asked to reduce a post from 1113 characters to under 1000 characters.   

Until September 2021, I was reviewing in excess of 100 student essays per month for largely an American audience. To get a sense of the American ‘zeitgeist’, I made it my business to read the comments under media reports, both (Blue) and “alternative” (Red). Texas will be challenging in that respect. I would go so far as to suggest that some of the main proponents (amongst ‘we people’, not the career politicians) are obsessed with the idea, for example, that Kamala Harris and Belinda Gates, just about every powerful Blue female, is a born-man who transformed into a woman, based mostly on a strong jaw and broad shoulders. It comes second to the obsession with clones.

It is a real learning edge for the Red. They forget that God experiments—being the Creator—and that biology might not be as simple as just xx and xy.

However, I have noticed a shift from shock and horror to the kind of giggle adolescents give when first learning about sex on the playground (back in my day, anyhow), so maybe there is a shift you can coach forward. One way of doing that, with strong facilitators, would be to connect them with their inner child as they attend the lessons their children will attend and have a debriefing afterward. If they can feel (and I mean feel) the lesson isn’t predatory propaganda, it might calm their fears (and allow them to grow).

Applying the strategies described above, I easily met the requirement:

Until September 2021, I was reviewing some 100 student essays per month for a largely American audience. To get a sense of the American ‘zeitgeist’, I made it my business to read the comments under media reports. Texas will be challenging in that respect. I would go so far as to suggest that some of the main proponents (amongst ‘we people’, not career politicians) are obsessed with the idea, for example, that Kamala Harris, Belinda Gates and Michelle Obama are born-men transformed into women based on strong jaw lines and broad shoulders.

It is a real learning edge. They forget that God experiments—being the Creator—and that biology might not be as simple as just xx and xy.

Lately, I have noticed a shift from shock and horror to the giggle adolescents give when first learning about sex on the playground (back in my day, anyhow). Maybe there is a shift you can coach forward. One option, with strong facilitators, would be to connect parents with their inner child as they attend the lessons their children will attend and include a debriefing afterward. If they can feel (and I mean feel) the lesson isn’t predatory propaganda, it might calm their fears.

In this simple exercise, you can see how I

• Replaced phrases with a single word (in excess of to some)
• Reworked an example to show the same more succinctly
• Sacrificed nice-to-haves rather than essentials
• Used the plural rather than singular to avoid the use of articles.

So, do not despair if you need reduce your word count. Instead, allow your thinking to fully expand, and once you have that documented your thinking, you can contract your documented thinking by applying the strategies above to whittle down your word count.

(© Michelle L. Crowley 30/12/2021)