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Over the Word Limit...

Discussion in 'Chit Chat' started by clarkec1, May 13, 2013.

  1. clarkec1

    clarkec1 Guest

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    Before I start, this has got nothing to do with love or relationships etc, but I didn't know where else to turn to.

    I have just completed my 3 hour English (I'm not sure whether it's language or literature) GCSE controlled Assessment, but the word limit was 1200 words and I, er, wrote 1800 words.

    Aahhhhhh!!!!! What do I do?

    When I had finished and counted my words, I told some of the people on my table ("How naughty of you in a GCSE!"), and they said that I should tell my teacher. So I asked her how many words we are allowed over the limit, and she said 10%, and I worked that out at approximately 1320 words altogether, but I wrote 50% over, at 1800 words.

    She asked me if it was noticeable and I didn't really know what to say, so I just said "erm... yeah.". Then she asked if I had finished, which I had. And then she said that it was fine, but I'm still really scared, as I have been tolled by a couple of people, that going too far over the word limit can lose you marks.

    I know that there's nothing I can do about it now, but I'm just so scared that I'll end up getting a rubbish grade from it. And I know that my teacher said that it was "fine", but I'm still scared about it.

    Please keep in mind that this is a GCSE Controlled Assessment, not Exam, and that in England, with AQA as the exam board, our teachers mark and grade our controlled assessments, not examiners. So I am slightly assured by that, and if my teacher said that i should be fine, and she knows that she will be marking and grading it herself, then she must know what she's talking about. And that this is not a college or university assignment or essay or whatever, so I would have thought that they would not be too strict concerning the word limits.

    And also, this is not a spam or time wasting thread, I seriously did write 600 words over the limit.

    Any advice and feedback would be much, much appreciated!

    Sorry for the length.
     
  2. Hefiel

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    I'd normally say "just relax", but it seems that advice only works with me so I won't tell you to relax.

    I'll say this however: "What's done is done" or "Whatever happens, happens". Start planning for what's next.
     
  3. Jordz

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    I always thought the word limit was something to aim for so that people write at least that much and not well under the word limit. I'm sure it will be fine, I doubt you can lose marks just for writing extra. What counts is the content not the amount of words wrote
     
  4. Kerze

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    Here's a little secret about GCSEs - They mean absolutely jack shit.
    I have not been asked about or for my results (which were pretty bloody good results though I say so myself) once since I completed them - universities don't ask for them, 6th form didn't ask for them, the jobs that I've applied for (and got) asked for predicted/completed A-Level grades with no mention of GCSE.
    Work hard, don't stress about them, try your best, and they'll be fine.
     
  5. clarkec1

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    Thanks, I hope I'll be fine.
     
  6. Joe54321

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    Don't worry about it, if you do too badly then you have the option of re-taking it in year 11, my teacher said if you go over the word limit they just don't mark parts of your work so theoreticaly you can still get a good grade.
     
  7. nonotreally

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    Yeah best just forget about it now. I did something similar a few weeks ago, I handed in a 4800 word essay, thinking the limit was 4500, which would have been fine with the 10% rule, but turns out it was only supposed to be 4000. Yikes. My lecturer said not to worry about it though. I also have been known to lie about the word count. It's not as if they're going to sit there and count it and no one's going to notice a 100-200 word difference.
     
  8. Candace

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    I don't like word limits. It's saying to me "try, but not TOO much". You went beyond what was expected, which any GOOD employer will tell you. No one should be angry with you because you did more than the bare minimum.
     
  9. Hefiel

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    I see it more as a "Please, don't make my job harder". (Perspective of the teacher)
     
  10. nonotreally

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    Ja you can't really expect a teacher to read a thesis when they were expecting 5 pages. Plus it's not really fair because it demands more time than the others get.
     
  11. Cotillion

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    Further, the ability to convey ideas with some measure of conciseness is an important skill to have. It's not the end of the world if you tend a bit towards verbosity (I do), but being able to communicate information efficiently and clearly is incredibly useful, and in some cases, absolutely necessary.
     
  12. Adarya

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    Rather have more rather then little, so from my perspective you shouldn't worry about it too much.

    But if you really don't like going over word limit I'd suggest using more contractions and taking out what isn't completely and utterly important to the point of your essay/article/ect.
    Most of the time writings are over word limit because it's too wordy (that is what I find, anyway) so reword and rewrite some sections, or delete them entirely if they aren't absolutely essential to your assignment. With assignments with word limits it's best to get straight to the point, without all the extra words.