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How Long Is a Short Essay?

If you’re wondering how long a short essay should be in words or pages, you probably don’t have a specific length requirement. The words “short,” “brief,” “concise,” or “succinct” here can imply two things — based on what you’re supposed to write. It can be a usual essay they give in schools or a supplemental admissions response to a prompt. Let’s discuss the first case — the school assignment.

According to Janet D. Stemwedel, a philosophy professor at San Jose State University, the answer is:

A short essay is 500 words long , which is about two pages with double spacing and one page with single spacing.

That number is based on the assumption that you use Times New Roman font (12pt) with standard margins. Various formatting styles have different requirements for those elements. Hence, always check if you must adhere to a particular set of instructions before writing.

Let’s consider another example. Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences provides some short essay samples that are personal statements and application essays written by students who wanted to apply for various programs. After looking through them (link in the references section), you can see that all of them are pretty much the same — about 500 words. Within that limit, the applicants had to explain why they wanted to pursue their educational careers in that college.

As for a common short essay, it has a traditional structure: an opening (hook, thesis, etc.), a body section, and a conclusion. In 500 words, you can develop and present an idea adequately, which means your paper will consist of 3–5 paragraphs. That’s generally ample to give background information, incorporate one central point, and wrap it up with a conclusion.

5-Paragraph Short Essay

Usually, five paragraphs are an unspoken minimum for a short essay to accomplish its objectives. This number of sections allows you to introduce your topic or claim, discuss or prove it, and provide the reader with a rational conclusion.

Note: To find out more about the five-paragraph structure, see our article — How to Structure an Essay .

20-60-20 is the best ratio for each main element. Your opening and closing paragraphs should be about the same length. And, the largest chunk should be taken by three body paragraphs.

What About a Short Answer Essay?

You will typically have to write this as a brief supplemental essay when applying to college. It should be smaller than a normal brief essay with an average length of 150–250 words.

Often, you won’t find any precise requirements for short answer essays (like a clearly stated word limit). But, if you’re sending it online, the system won’t let you exceed the recommended number — you just won’t be able to submit it.

One paragraph is a standard length for your answer, and whoever is examining it should be able to read it in about sixty seconds. That’s why you need to make the most out of every word. If your answer is lacking in length, it won’t be meaningful, and if it’s longer, they may even skip reading it.

A “short” essay doesn’t imply worse quality or less effort. Conversely, you need to make every word count and pay special attention to grammar, style, punctuation, and tone.

If you’re allowed to write a 250-word answer, it means the school wants to know more about your personality. Be sure to make your writing compelling for that overworked admissions board officer who has already read hundreds of these answers.

What’s the most suitable length for a brief answer essay? Well, aim for 125–150 words if the instructions don’t implicitly say to write more. This range is enough to elaborate on one of the extracurricular activities or your personal experience.

When composing it, don’t overthink what to tell the board about — be yourself. The foremost goal of this small essay is to show who you truly are and what values you have. It’s easy to see when a person is dishonest. A story about volunteering will not necessarily have a stronger effect than a piece about your science fair project.

Differences Between a Short Essay and a Short Answer

The table below summarizes and compares a regular short essay and an application answer to a question.

Final Tips on Succinct Essays

• Don’t overuse extensive quotes. First, such citations will take up lots of space in your essay, so might not have enough words left to write the actual piece. Express opinions of other people using your own words or use short quotes with further analysis.
• If you can pick the topic, don’t choose something that’s too broad — narrow it down so that you can write about adequately within the 500-word limit.
• Beware of plagiarism. Don’t disguise the viewpoints of others as your own. Besides getting a low grade, you also risk failing the entire course and being subjected to administrative penalties.

We hope now you have a better idea about short essays and their length. If you have more questions, try using our navigation or search bar.

A 5-paragraph structure would be the most common one for this word limit. Hence, to write a short essay, you can follow the guide we linked to earlier in the article. It describes in detail every step involved in essay writing, regardless of length.

It depends on your essay type. If you’re writing an admissions essay, they will give you one or several prompts. Otherwise, go for a topic the discussion of which can fit the word count.

When it comes to opinion pieces, the word “short” implies a broader range — somewhere between 200 and 2000 words. Some of the best short non-fiction essays are: “Phoning It In” by Stanley Bing, “Beer Can” by John Updike, “Of Revenge” by Francis Bacon, “Shooting an Elephant” by George Orwell, “Assassins of The Mind” by Christopher Hitchens, “A Dog’s Eye View of Man” by James Thurber.

The list of references

• Short Essay Guidelines — by Professor Stemwedel
• Short Essay Samples — Penn State College of Earth and Mineral Sciences

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How Long Is a Short Essay: How to Write a Short Essay

As a student, you have probably been in a position where you do not know how to write a specific essay given by your professor. Further, it can be pretty hectic if the deadline is fast approaching and you have not yet figured out how long the short essay needs to be.

You’re unsure how many paragraphs the short essay should have, how to write, and how many sentences this essay type has. Luckily we’ve done some research and compiled everything you need to know.  

Here is how long a short essay is, plus other tips to help you create a good piece.

How Long Is a Short Essay

Generally, a short essay is a piece of writing typically between 300 and 500 words long, although it can go to 750 words. The length of the paper is dependent on the requirements of the assignment and its purpose.

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This means it will be two pages if double-spaced and one page if single-spaced, but all in Times Romans of 12pts font

Despite being short, there are no strict rules for the exact length. However, it should be written in simple language and contain only one main idea or argument developed in detail. It should also include several examples that support or illustrate the main idea and some key references and citations if needed.

Also see: Is it wrong to pay someone to write your essay? 

In addition, it can also be as long as 1,000 words, but it’s unlikely that you’ll be asked to write an essay that long unless you are writing for a class in creative writing. For most college-level courses, you will be required to write shorter articles rather than longer ones. The length of an essay depends on your instructor’s preferences and what they expect from their students.

Overall, your instructor determines the length of your essay. They will ask you to stick with the 500 standard or go lower or exceed it.

How to Write a Short Essay

Short essays are brief, and their lengths are one of the challenges you will face because you have to balance each point, so you do not exceed the word count. However, here are some of the best tips on how to write a short essay;

Researching helps you gather the necessary information about your topic. You can use books, the internet, interviews, newspapers, or journals to get the information and data you need.

brainstorming helps you to refine your information. This is where you look at each piece of information and decide which to use because the essay cannot accommodate everything due to its length.

This step involves deciding how to arrange your essay. Generally, you will have an introduction, the body, and the conclusion.

The writing process involves developing the points into longer information. Depending on the length, each point can go into a separate paragraph so that readers aren’t confused.

The introduction will be a general overview of the piece and your thesis. The body includes every point you discuss, while the conclusion comprises a wrap-up of the entire essay.

As you write, ensure you use examples and evidence to support every claim and make your writing authoritative.

This is the last part of the writing process. It entails going over your writing to correct any mistakes. These errors may be grammatical, structure, and flow.

An important tip is to edit your work a day after writing, but if you are pressed for time, you can give yourself a few minutes before going back to edit your work.

Other tips that will help you in writing include;

• In the introduction, be specific, stay on point, and provide minimal contextual detail
• In the body, stay on topic and deal with points in their order of importance
• Remember to cite your sources where need be.

How Many Paragraphs in a Short Essay

The average length for a short essay is five to seven paragraphs long, comprising an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

In an academic setting, a paragraph is typically five to seven sentences long, but there are no hard rules about length. In general, shorter paragraphs are easier to read than longer ones, so keep them relatively short.

A good rule of thumb is that each paragraph should focus on one idea. This means that a reader will get one point in each paragraph. Following this procedure helps avoid confusing the readers.

How Many Sentences in a Short Essay

A short essay can have varying sentences, but typically it will have three to eight sentences per paragraph, with the entire paragraphs being five to seven.  

However, the number of sentences depends on many factors, including the essay’s purpose and paragraph’s length.

The best way to determine how many sentences to include in your essay is to read other pieces written by experts or published online by reputable sources. This will give you an idea of how long an effective paragraph should be and how many paragraphs are necessary for each topic.  

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How Long Should a College Essay Be? | Word Count Tips

Published on September 29, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on June 1, 2023.

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit. If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

You should aim to stay under the specified limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, if you write too little, it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a thoughtful and developed essay.

Table of contents

Word count guidelines for different application types, how to shorten your essay, how to expand your essay, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Each university has a different suggested or required word count depending on which application portal it uses.

Some application portals will allow you to exceed the word count limit, but admissions officers have limited time and energy to read longer essays. Other application portals have a strict limit and will not allow you to exceed it.

For example, in the Common App , the portal will not allow you to submit more than 650 words. Some colleges using the Common App will allow you to submit less than 250 words, but this is too short for a well-developed essay.

For scholarship essays , diversity essays , and “Why this college?” essays , word count limits vary. Make sure to verify and respect each prompt’s limit.

Don’t worry too much about word count until the revision stage ; focusing on word count while writing may hinder your creativity. Once you have finished a draft, you can start shortening or expanding your essay if necessary.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

On some application portals, you can exceed the word limit, but there are good reasons to stay within it:

• To maintain the admissions officer’s attention
• To show you can follow directions
• To demonstrate you can write concisely

Here are some strategies for shortening your essay.

Stay on the main point

It’s good to use vivid imagery, but only include relevant details. Cut any sentences with tangents or unnecessary information.

My father taught me how to strategically hold the marshmallow pierced by a twig at a safe distance from the flames to make sure it didn’t get burned, ensuring a golden brown exterior.

Typically, my father is glued to his computer since he’s a software engineer at Microsoft. But that night, he was the marshmallow master. We waited together as the pillowy sugary goodness caramelized into gooey delight. Good example: Sticks to the point On our camping trip to Yosemite, my family spent time together, away from technology and routine responsibility.

My favorite part was roasting s’mores around the campfire. My father taught me how to hold the marshmallow at a safe distance from the flames, ensuring a golden brown exterior.

These college essay examples also demonstrate how you can cut your essay down to size.

Eliminate wordiness

Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay. If a word doesn’t add value, cut it.

Here are some common examples of wordiness and how to fix them.

Use a paraphrasing tool

If you want to save time, you can make use of a paraphrasing tool . Within the tool you can select the “short” mode to rewrite your essay in less words. Just copy your text in the tool and within 1 click you’ll have shortened your essay.

If you’re significantly under the word count, you’re wasting the opportunity to show depth and authenticity in your essay. Admissions officers may see your short essay as a sign that you’re unable to write a detailed, insightful narrative about yourself.

Here are some strategies for expanding your essay.

Show detailed examples, and don’t tell generic stories

You should include detailed examples that can’t be replicated by another student. Use vivid imagery, the five senses, and specific objects to transport the reader into your story.

Reveal your feelings and insight

If your essay lacks vulnerability or self-reflection, share your feelings and the lessons you’ve learned.

Be creative with how you express your feelings; rather than simply writing “I’m happy,” use memorable images to help the reader clearly visualize your happiness. Similarly, for insight, include the follow-up actions from your lessons learned; instead of claiming “I became a hard worker,” explain what difficult tasks you accomplished as a result of what you learned.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
• Transition words
• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
• How to start an email
• I hope this email finds you well
• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

Most college application portals specify a word count range for your essay, and you should stay within 10% of the upper limit to write a developed and thoughtful essay.

You should aim to stay under the specified word count limit to show you can follow directions and write concisely. However, don’t write too little, as it may seem like you are unwilling or unable to write a detailed and insightful narrative about yourself.

If no word count is specified, we advise keeping your essay between 400 and 600 words.

If you’re struggling to reach the word count for your college essay, add vivid personal stories or share your feelings and insight to give your essay more depth and authenticity.

If your college essay goes over the word count limit , cut any sentences with tangents or irrelevant details. Delete unnecessary words that clutter your essay.

You can speed up this process by shortening and smoothing your writing with a paraphrasing tool . After that, you can use the summarizer to shorten it even more.

There is no set number of paragraphs in a college admissions essay . College admissions essays can diverge from the traditional five-paragraph essay structure that you learned in English class. Just make sure to stay under the specified word count .

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Tips for writing short essays

Short essays usually involve answering a question related to course content and could be anywhere from 200 words to 750 words long, depending on the professor’s guidelines. The most challenging part of writing a short essay is the length, as you need to select the most important information to cover.

Steps 1-5 Introduction Argument Quotations Conclusion Step 6

Steps 1-5 of 6

1. What are you asked to do?

• Consider the question you have to answer/discuss
•  See if it can be broken into parts; make sure to cover each part in your answer

2. Brainstorm the arguments and points you feel would best answer the question

3. Choose two or three of the strongest points; develop a supporting point/example/reference/argument for each

4. Create an outline to structure these points and link them to the supporting information

5. Write a draft

Introduction

• Get straight to the point
• Introduce your thesis (main argument); incorporate the language of the question to frame your thesis
• Include a sentence that previews the points you will discuss
• Keep it short
• Be specific
• Provide minimal contextual detail
• Stay on topic
• Deal with points in the same order as they are listed in your preview sentence
• Use a clear topic sentence at the beginning of each paragraph to introduce and summarize the paragraph’s point
• Ensure that the key words in the topic sentence echo the words used in your preview sentence so that the reader can see where and how your argument is progressing
• Use sentences, not bulleted points
• Choose quotations carefully—only use them if they back up your points, and do not quote too much (5-10% of paper at most)
• Always document your sources, even if they came from class readings
• Briefly sum up your argument and relate it to your thesis

Step 6 - revise and edit your draft:

• Be direct and concise; remove repetition; make every word count
• Stick to your topic: if there is an idea in your paper that does not serve to answer the question, remove it
• Check grammar and punctuation by reading the draft aloud
• Ensure you have documented all sources fully and correctly

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How to write a short essay

Published September 27, 2020. Updated May 17, 2022.

Short Essay Definition

A short essay is an essay that is generally 250–500 words in length. This type of essay is often required for standardized exams, scholarship applications, and personal essays for college admission.

Overview of a Short Essay

Although the word count is low, the stakes are often high, making the writing process a bit stressful for some. There are some useful steps that help craft a strong short essay, such as brainstorming, organizing and creating the first draft, and revising and editing. A strong short essay results in a focused thesis that is supported by a variety of evidence, examples, and commentary from the author. Keeping the ideas condensed, clear, and succinct helps in producing a stellar finished product.

Worried about your writing? Submit your paper for a Chegg Writing essay check , or for an Expert Check proofreading . Both can help you find and fix potential writing issues.

Step 1: Brainstorm

Many writers are tempted to skip this step of the writing process, but it’s extremely beneficial to organize your ideas before writing your first draft. Be sure to take the time to engage in this helpful exercise.

1. If the essay contains a prompt, reread the prompt at least three times

Make sure you understand what is expected of you for this piece of writing.

2. Highlight action words

Action words include words like explain, expound, argue, and other active verbs. Highlighting these words helps you to prepare your thoughts for what action you need to take in this particular essay.

3. Write out at least one potential thesis statement

A thesis statement is the main claim of your piece of writing. This step is crucial; it’s important that you, the writer, know what you’re writing about. The thesis statement will serve as an anchor for your entire paper.

4. Look back at the prompt

Do you need to include examples? How about a personal story? Research and evidence? Jot down some ideas that you can use to support your thesis. If needed, take some time to find relevant research from a variety of sources (online, books, textbooks, your journal, etc.).

5. Review your brainstorm results

Does everything you want to include relate back to your main point? If not, you need to either (a) reword your thesis statement so that it relates to all of your ideas or (b) eliminate the ideas that do not align with your thesis statement.

Step 2: Organize and Create Your First Draft

Now that you have all of your ideas planned out, make sure that your ideas build on each other as you construct your paragraphs. (Short essays are often one to four paragraphs in length.)

1. The first sentence in your short essay should be a hook

Here are some possible ideas for a hook:

• a statistic
• a controversial statement
• an overview of what you’ll discuss
• an anecdote
• an “imagine if” statement

Avoid using dictionary definitions as your hook because these tend to be overdone.

If you feel stuck: It’s often much easier to write the hook after you’ve written the rest of the essay. Oftentimes, writers begin to anchor their essay around their hook rather than the thesis statement, which can cause a lot of frustration.

2. The second sentence should be your thesis statement

In most other essays, this sentence might come later, but in a short essay you need to get to your point quickly.

3. Next, include the components that the prompt asks you to include

Look back at the highlighted action words in the prompt. The most important aspect is to make sure that you use transitions to help your reader see the correlation between your ideas. (Common transitions are words/phrases such as: additionally, conversely, therefore, however, and on the other hand.) Make sure to add your own ideas, commentary, etc.; do not simply add in evidence or examples without providing your thoughts on them.

4. Be sure to cite any sources you use in your paper

Introduce the evidence by mentioning either the person or source where the information came from. Don’t copy and paste URLs into your essay as they make it look messy; however, if you refer to a lot of outside sources, consider adding a works cited or references page.

5. Craft your conclusion sentences

Avoid summarizing what your essay is about. Instead, devise a “mic drop” sentence that challenges your readers. This last sentence could call readers to action, ask them to ponder or reimagine something, push them to see connections between your writing and their own life, etc.

6. If you haven’t yet written your hook, re-read your essay

Then, craft an opening line that introduces all of the components mentioned in your piece.

Step 3: Revise and Edit

It can be difficult for writers to complete this stage. Often, by this point writers find it tedious to read their work yet again. Even more daunting is the thought that they might have to delete or rearrange their ideas; however, it’s important to complete this part of the writing process.

The best way to avoid burnout at this stage is to start writing your essay a few days before the deadline; that way you don’t have to complete the whole writing process in just a few hours.

Revise means to look at your paper holistically (big ideas, organization) whereas edit means to look at each sentence (spelling errors, word choice, punctuation, etc.).

Do this step first; there’s no need to correct each sentence if you’re going to make big changes anyway.

Things to consider during revision:

• Does my hook introduce what will be discussed in my essay?
• Does every example/piece of evidence/explanation support my thesis?
• Is every example/piece of evidence/explanation in the best place?
• Could I rearrange any of the sentences so that my ideas build on each other in a clearer way?
• Does my conclusion sentence relate to my thesis?
• Does my conclusion avoid summarizing what I talked about in my essay?
• Should I keep my essay in one paragraph or should it be split up into a few paragraphs? (This might be introduction, body, and conclusion paragraphs or perhaps introduction, first idea, second idea, and conclusion paragraphs.)

Depending on your answers to these questions, you may need to add, delete, or rearrange your ideas to strengthen the final draft of your essay.

After revising your writing, read over each sentence.

Things to consider during editing:

• Is everything spelled correctly?
• Does every sentence end in correct punctuation?
• Are there any run-on sentences? (Look for sentences that could be split into two by inserting a period or separated into parts by a semicolon.)
• Are there any sentence fragments? (Look for sentences that are incomplete.)

A strong short essay results in a focused thesis that is supported by a variety of evidence, examples, and commentary from the author. Keep your ideas condensed, clear, and succinct, and you’ll produce a fantastic finished product.

Before you turn in that paper, don’t forget to cite your sources in APA format , MLA format , or a style of your choice.

Example Short Essay

By Ashley Ingle. Ashley is earning her master’s degree in English and has been a high school English teacher for eight years. In her free time, she enjoys writing, eating French fries, and re-watching episodes of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.

Common Writing Assignments, Apps & Tests

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How Long Is an Essay? The Ultimate Essay Length Guide

It’s safe to say that most students struggle with the word limit within an essay. Sometimes, it’s hard to find ideas for a text and meet the word requirement for every part of the paper. With so many factors influencing essay length, it’s easy to get confused.

Luckily, our custom-writing team has your back. In this article, our custom-writing experts will answer all your questions regarding essay length. We will also help you write papers with an ideal number of words!

📜 Is Essay Length Important?

📏 essay parts: recommended length.

• 🤔 How to Make Essays Shorter or Longer
• 📑 Essay Length & Formatting
• ❓ Different Academic Levels FAQ
• 📚 Essay Length: Different Types
• ⭐ Other Aspects
• 📝 Essay Examples

🔍 References

Often, the phrase “word limit” causes panic among students. After all, if an essay is too long or too short, your grade will be lowered. However, in reality, there’s nothing to worry about. When it comes to words, limitations are beneficial for both the students and the professors.

Let’s see what exactly it means.

Many people believe that the longer an essay is, the better. However, according to Frontiers, research shows that it’s a bias that couldn’t be further from the truth. A perfect-length paper is one that allows students to express their ideas and showcase their knowledge fully while keeping it clean and simple.

What Influences Essay Length

Various factors determine the length of an essay. Here are the most important ones:

Let’s start with the essentials. Usually, assignment length is given as a number of words rather than pages. Unless your supervisor or instructor mentions any specific limitations, it’s acceptable to be 10% below or above the word limit.

It’s also worth knowing the 80/20 rule . According to it, the body should constitute 80% of the text, while the intro and the conclusion take up the remaining 20%.

Keep reading to learn more about the recommended length of each essay part. The main numbers are shown in the table below:

How Long Should an Introduction Be?

An introduction is the first section and the face of your essay. For that reason, it needs to be compelling and well-thought-out. Usually, it consists of 3 to 5 sentences or 50 to 80 words .

An introduction must have a hook, some background information, and a thesis statement. While the attention grabber and the thesis are usually brief, you may need 2 to 3 sentences for the background. To avoid going overboard, try to stay on topic and don’t add any filler.

How Long Is a Body Paragraph in an Essay?

The length of a body paragraph may vary. Sometimes, it can be limited to a single sentence. In other cases, it may take up a whole page. Usually, it’s recommended to have between 80 and 200 words (5-8 sentences) per body paragraph.

Since the paper’s body contains the most information, it’s necessary to explain and support your ideas properly. That’s why it’s no big deal if your body paragraphs go slightly over the word limit.

How Many Body Paragraphs Should Be in an Essay?

Like the word count, the number of paragraphs is determined by the type of paper and its topic. The minimum is 1. Generally, however, the body consists of 3-5 paragraphs , 1 for each argument.

To improve your paper’s structure, ensure that there are as many paragraphs as there are points in your thesis statement. Each one should have a purpose and support your arguments. If there’s any fluff, it’s better to get rid of it.

How Long Should a Conclusion Be?

Like the introduction, the conclusion consists of 50-80 words . It’s essential to keep it simple and only mention the central ideas. A weak concluding sentence may affect the reader’s understanding of the topic and spoil the overall impression of your paper.

🤔 How to Make Essays Shorter or Longer: Best Tips

Undoubtedly the essay’s content is more important than the number of words you use. But there are times when students go more than 10-15% below or over the limit. Is there a solution to this problem?

Yes, there is! In this section, we will share the most useful tips to help you stay on point with your paper’s word count.

How to Make Essays Longer

Since having enough words is essential for a good grade, we’ve collected the best tips that can help you lengthen your essay without teachers noticing:

• Use relevant quotations.  You don’t need to litter your essay with citations, but using them whenever appropriate is a great idea. For instance, if you’re working on a book analysis, referencing a couple of direct quotes from the source text will make your essay more credible and increase the word count.

• Give examples.  Go through the claims in your paper and provide additional evidence where possible. It will make your essay longer and more informative.

• Use transitional expressions.  Adding transition words and phrases is a natural way of increasing the number of words. It will also improve your essay’s readability. 

• Add more references.  Providing references is always a good idea when writing a formal essay. That way, you will increase the number of words and make your paper more credible.

• Work on your descriptions.  If you struggle to develop new ideas, go over what you’ve already written and consider adding some descriptive words. It’s a great idea for creative essays to include more imagery. 

How to Shorten an Essay

Another struggle of academic writing is cutting down the number of words in your essay to meet a set limit. We are here to tell you that it’s not that hard. Writing straightforwardly and keeping your sentences short is a key to concise content. Here are several strategies you may use to tighten a lengthy essay:

• Choose the active voice.  It takes up less space than passive voice. Using it also makes your writing more professional and compelling.

• Remove needless transitions.  Transitions can indeed maintain the flow of the paper. But some transitional phrases can be easily removed.

• Get rid of unnecessary adverbs and adjectives.  Some students tend to overuse adjectives and adverbs. It adds wordiness to their writing.

• Avoid running starts.  Some students like to start their sentences with long phrases like: “there are,” “it is believed,” or “the fact that.” Getting rid of them makes texts much more concise.

• Delete “that.”  In most cases, the word “that” can often be easily removed from texts.

Another cool trick is to use our summarizing tool as essay shortener. Try it out!

📑 How Long Is an Essay Depending on Formatting?

As we mentioned earlier, the essay’s length is usually limited by the number of words. But sometimes, a teacher may ask you to write a specific number of pages. This is trickier because the amount of text you can place on the page depends on the formatting. By using the font size and spacing properly, it’s possible to make the paper visually longer or shorter. Let’s discuss it in more detail.

Essay Spacing: How Does It Affect the Length?

• Adjusting the spacing between lines.  Try to make the changes as slight as possible. For instance, if you were asked to double-space the paper, use 2.1 or 2.2 spacing instead. Another option is to slightly extend spaces between paragraphs.
• Extending the margin size.  You can increase the right and bottom margins by a quarter to make very subtle changes in length. For example, if the margins are 1 inch , you can set them at 1.25 inches instead. 
• Increasing the spacing between characters.  It is less noticeable than the line spacing. Still, try not to overdo it and keep the numbers between 1.2 and 1.5 . 
• Adjusting the footer.  Add a footer with page numbers to stretch the bottom margin even further.
• Lengthening the header.  You can extend your header by adding your name, e-mail address, or other relevant information. Another option is double-spacing it.

Length of an Essay: Font and Size

• Using the right type of font.  If your instructor didn’t specify which font you should use, go for the bigger ones. We suggest Arial, Bangla Sangam MN, Cambria, or Quicksand. They will make your text look longer without being too on the nose.  
• Using a bigger font size.  This is another technique that can come in handy. However, be careful and don’t increase your font by more than 0.1-0.5 pt.  
• Increasing the size of periods and commas.   This is one of the less noticeable tricks you can use. For instance, if your paper’s font is 12 pt. , increase it to 14 pt. only for punctuation marks. Italicizing periods and commas will also add several lines of length to your essay. 

What to Do if There Are No Length Guidelines

Sometimes a teacher sets no word limit for a written work. What to do in that case? Well, first, you can ask your professor to confirm if they have simply forgotten to mention it. But if that’s not the case, here are a couple of helpful solutions:

• Think of the paragraph number.  Sometimes, you may be given the number of paragraphs instead of words. In that case, you can decide on the number of words depending on how many paragraphs you have. 
• Think about the topic’s complexity.  The length of your paper is also directly dependent on the theme. If the topic is simple, 4-5 paragraphs will be enough. A more complex issue may require an in-depth explanation, so your essay can be 6-8 paragraphs long.

❓ Essay Length for Different Academic Levels FAQ

The length of the elementary school essay is usually short. Usually, a paper needs to have around 3-5 paragraphs, with 4-5 sentences per paragraph. Primary school essays can be 1-2 paragraphs long.

The word limit for a middle school essay is usually between 300 to 1000 words. The most common essay length is 500 words, which is about 5 paragraphs. However, it may differ from school to school.

The length of the high school essay may differ depending on the school and the complexity of the task itself. Usually, however, a paper can be between 300 to 1000 words long.

The length of the undergraduate college essay often falls within the range of 1500 to 2100 words. It translates into roughly 5-7 pages. 5 pages is the most common essay length at this level.

When it comes to the graduate school admission essay, the word limit is usually between 500 and 1000 words. It’s possible to go slightly over or below the set limit; however, it’s best to stick to the requirements as close as possible.

📚 How Long Should an Essay Be: Different Types

Now, let’s talk about different types of essays. How long should they be? Keep reading to learn about the length of college essays, short and extended ones, scholarship essays, and research papers.

How Long Is a College Essay?

When it comes to a college essay, it’s more important to stick to the word limit than with any other paper. Some teachers may refuse to read it unless it meets all the requirements.

The shortest limit for a college essay is about 250 words which is the shortest length of a Common App personal statement. It’s also rare to see a good college essay with over 650 words . So, an average piece usually has between 150 and 650 words ; you can go over or below the limit by 50.

How Long Is a Paragraph in College Essays?

A college essay usually consists of 4-5 paragraphs . One paragraph takes about 1/3 of the page, which is roughly 5 sentences . Each sentence corresponds with one of the following components:

• Topic sentence.
• Explanation.
• Transitions.

College Essay Length Requirements: Top 5 Schools

To understand the requirements for a college application essay even better, take a look at the table below. It showcases the top 5 schools and their length criteria for personal statements. Keep it in mind when writing your college essay:

How Long Is a Short Essay?

A short essay is usually 500 words long. Using 12pt Times New Roman font with standard margins and double spacing should result in about 2 pages of text.

Extended Essay Length

An extended essay is different from a short or a standard one. It requires extensive research and thorough explanation. That’s why the upper limit for this kind of essay is 4000 words . In this case, a typical essay length is 3500 words or 18 paragraphs .

Scholarship Essay Length

Generally, scholarship papers have a limit of 500 words , which is 1 page in length. Most scholarship programs provide additional requirements that indicate the minimum number of words or pages. If there are no set limitations, you can stick to the limit.

How Long Is a Research Paper?

Typically, a research paper is between 4000 and 6000 words long. Sometimes, there are shorter papers, which have around 2000 words, or in-depth ones with over 10000 words.

⭐ Other Aspects of Essay Length

When it comes to essay length, many different aspects come into play. Here, we’ve gathered all the essential information regarding an essay’s number of pages, paragraphs, words, and references.

How Many Paragraphs Are in an Essay?

Sometimes, it is more convenient to count paragraphs rather than words. Let’s now figure out how many paragraphs are in essays of different lengths. You may also check out the examples to see what such an essay looks like:

How to Count Paragraphs in an Essay Based on Word Count

You can also count the number of body paragraphs for your essay using the formula below:

Number of body paragraphs (average) = (TWC – TWC*0.16)/100

• TWC – total word count
• 0.16 – an average percentage of total word count for introduction and conclusion
• 100 – an average number of words per paragraph

How Many Pages Are in an Essay?

The number of pages in your essay may vary from subject to subject. But it’s still possible to determine the number of pages based on word count. Check out the numbers below to see the conversions with bonus examples:

You can also use a specialized calculator such as Word Counter to determine a number of pages in your essay.

What Does an Essay Look Like when Typed?

You might be wondering: what do essays of different lengths look like when typed? Well, here’s the table where you can find out the metrics for single- and double-spaced papers.

How Many Pages Are in a Handwritten Essay?

In case you need to turn in a handwritten paper, you should check out the table below.

Counting Words in a Handwritten Essay

If you don’t have enough time to count the words in your handwritten essay one by one, here’s what you can do:

• Count how many words there are in one line. Take the first and last lines and a line in the middle of a page. Let’s say there are 15, 14, and 15 words in them. Then, the average number of words per line is 15.
• Next, count how many lines there are on one page. Let’s say there are 17 lines on a page.
• Take the number of words per line and multiply it by the number of lines per page. In our case, we multiply 15 by 17. So, there are 255 words per page on average.
• Finally, multiply the number of words per page by the number of pages. If your essay has 3 pages, it is approximately 765 words long.

How Long Does it Take to Write an Essay?

It is crucial to know how long writing will take you, especially if you are working on an exam essay or just short on time. Note that you need to consider the time for typing and researching necessary to complete a piece. Research time may vary. Usually, it’s 1-2 hours for 200-250 words .

Below, we’ve gathered the average writing time for average and slower writing speed:

And here are the results in pages:

How Many References Does an Essay Need?

Another essential part of any composition is the reference list. Different academic levels require different references. You’ll find out how many of them should be in your paper in the table below!

📝 Essay Examples: Different Length

Finally, we’ve gathered some excellent sample essays of different lengths. Make sure to check them out!

We also recommend you check out our free essay samples sorted by pages:

• 1-Page Essay Examples
• 2-Page Essay Examples
• 3-Page Essay Examples
• 4-Page Essay Examples
• 5-Page Essay Examples
• 10-Page Essay Examples
• 20-Page Essay Examples
• 30-Page Essay Examples
• 40-Page Essay Examples
• 50-Page Essay Examples

Now you know all about essay length, word limits, and ways to lengthen or shorten your text. If you know other interesting tricks, make sure to share them in a comment! Good luck with your writing assignments!

You may also like:

• How to Write a Process Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline
• How to Write a Precis: Definition, Guide, & Examples 
• How to Write a Critical Analysis Essay: Examples & Guide
• How to Write a Narrative Essay Outline: Template & Examples
• How to Write a Formal Essay: Format, Rules, & Example
• Word Limits and Assignment Length: Massey University
• The Paragraph in the College Essay: California State University, Long Beach
• Introductions & Conclusions: The University of Arizona Global Campus
• How Long Should a Paragraph Be?: Daily Writing Tips
• Paragraphing (Length Consistency): Purdue University
• Hitting the Target Word Count in Your College Admission Essay: Dummies.com
• How Long Should Your College Essay Be? What is the Ideal Length?: College Vine
• Writing Personal Statements Online: Issues of Length and Form: Penn State University
• Pen Admissions: Essays: University of Pennsylvania
• Essay Questions: University of Michigan
• Essay Structure: Harvard University
• Components of a Good Essay: University of Evansville
• Write Your Essay: UNSW Sydney
• College Writing: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• 21 Helpful and Easy Tips to Make an Essay Longer: Seventeen
• How to Make a College Paper Longer: ThoughtCo
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How to Write a Short Essay

Last Updated: January 17, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Christopher Taylor, PhD . Christopher Taylor is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at Austin Community College in Texas. He received his PhD in English Literature and Medieval Studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2014. There are 12 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 115,765 times.

Essay writing is a common assignment in high school or college courses, especially within the humanities. You’ll also be asked to write essays for college admissions and scholarships. In a short essay (250-500 words), you will need to provide an introduction with a thesis, a body, and a conclusion, as you would with a longer essay. Depending on the essay requirements, you may also need to do academic or online research to find sources to back up your claims.

Picking a Topic and Gathering Research

• If you have any questions about the topic, ask your instructor. If your essay doesn't respond to the prompt, you likely won't receive full credit.

• If you're writing an essay for an in-class test or for an application, tailor the essay to the given prompt and topic. Quickly brainstorm a few ideas; for example, think of positive things you can say about yourself for a college-entrance essay.
• For example, the topic “depression in American literature” is far too broad. Narrow down your topic to something like “Willie Loman’s depression in Death of a Salesman .”
• Or, you could write about a narrow topic like “the increase in the USA’s national debt in the 1950s” rather than a broad topic like “the American economy in the 20th century.”

• Depending on the field in which you’re writing the essay—e.g., hard sciences, sociology, humanities, etc.—your instructor will direct you towards appropriate databases. For example, if you’re writing a high-school or college-level essay for your English class, visit online literary databases like JSTOR, LION, and the MLA Bibliography.
• If you're writing the essay for a college or graduate-school application, it's unlikely that you'll need to include any secondary sources.
• If you're writing a timed or in-class essay, you may not be able to find research articles. But, still do draw information from texts and sources you've studied both in and out of class, and build from points made in any provided reading passages.

• If you’re writing about current events or journalism topics, read articles from well-known news sites like CNN or the BBC.
• Avoid citing unreliable websites like blogs or any sites that have a clear bias about the topic they’re reporting on.

Composing the Essay

• If you write the essay without outlining, the essay will be poorly organized.

• This thesis statement is far too weak: “ Death of a Salesman shows the difficulty of living in America after WWII.”
• Instead, hone your thesis to something like: “Arthur Miller uses Death of a Salesman to show that the American Dream is materialist and impractical.”

• So, avoid beginning the paragraph by writing something like, “Since the beginning of time, all people have been consumed with the desire for their father’s approval.”
• Instead, write something like, “In the play Death of a Salesman , Willie Loman’s sons compete for their father’s approval through various masculine displays."
• Then, you can say, "To examine this topic, I will perform a close reading of several key passages of the play and present analyses by noted Arthur Miller scholars."

• In a short essay, the conclusion should do nothing more than briefly restate your main claim and remind readers of the evidence you provided.

• So, take the example about Death of a Salesman . The first body paragraph could discuss the ways in which Willie’s sons try to impress him.
• The second body paragraph could dive into Willie’s hopelessness and despair, and the third paragraph could discuss how Miller uses his characters to show the flaws in their understanding of the American Dream.

• Always cite your sources so you avoid charges of plagiarism. Check with your instructor (or the essay prompt) and find out what citation style you should use.
• For example, if you’re summarizing the inflation of the American dollar during the 1930s, provide 2 or 3 years and inflation-rate percentages. Don’t provide a full-paragraph summary of the economic decline.
• If you're writing an in-class essay and don't have time to perform any research, you don't need to incorporate outside sources. But, it will impress your teacher if you quote from a reading passage or bring up pertinent knowledge you may have gained during the class.

• If no one agrees to read the essay, read over your own first draft and look for errors or spots where you could clarify your meaning. Reading the essay out loud often helps, as you’ll be able to hear sentences that aren’t quite coherent.
• This step does not apply to essays written during a timed or in-class exam, as you won't be able to ask peers to read your work.

• It’s always a mistake to submit an unrevised first draft, whether for a grade, for admissions, or for a scholarship essay.
• However, if you're writing an essay for a timed exam, it's okay if you don't have enough time to combine multiple drafts before the time runs out.

Condensing Your Essay

• So, if you’re writing about Death of a Salesman , an article about symbolism in Arthur Miller’s plays would be useful. But, an article about the average cost of Midwestern hotels in the 1940s would be irrelevant.
• If you’re writing a scholarship essay, double-check the instructions to clarify what types of sources you’re allowed to use.

• A common cliche you might find in an essay is a statement like, "I'm the hardest working student at my school."
• For example, this sentence is too verbose: “I have been a relentlessly stellar student throughout my entire high school career since I am a seriously dedicated reader and thoroughly apply myself to every assignment I receive in class.”
• Shortened, it could read: “I was a stellar student throughout my high school career since I was a dedicated reader and applied myself to every assignment I received.”

• Avoid writing something like, “Willie Loman can be seen as having achieved little through his life because he is not respected by his sons and is not valued by his co-workers.”
• Instead, write, “Arthur Miller shows readers that Willie’s life accomplishments have amounted to little. Willie’s sons do not look up to him, and his co-workers treat him without respect.”

• For example, if you’re trying to prove that WWII pulled the USA out of the Great Depression, focus strictly on an economic argument.
• Avoid bringing in other, less convincing topics. For example, don’t dedicate a paragraph to discussing how much it cost the USA to build fighter jets in 1944.

Short Essay Template and Example

Expert Q&A

• When composing the text of your essay, resist the temptation to pull words from a thesaurus in an attempt to sound academic or intelligent. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0
• If your high school or college has an online or in-person writing center, schedule an appointment. Taking advantage of this type of service can improve your essay and help you recognize structural or grammatical problems you would not have noticed otherwise. Thanks Helpful 1 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/common_writing_assignments/research_papers/choosing_a_topic.html
• ↑ https://monroecollege.libguides.com/c.php?g=589208&p=4072926
• ↑ https://www.utep.edu/extendeduniversity/utepconnect/blog/march-2017/4-ways-to-differentiate-a-good-source-from-a-bad-source.html
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/essay-outline/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/thesis-statements/
• ↑ https://libguides.newcastle.edu.au/how-to-write-an-essay/essay-introduction
• ↑ https://lsa.umich.edu/sweetland/undergraduates/writing-guides/how-do-i-write-an-intro--conclusion----body-paragraph.html
• ↑ https://mlpp.pressbooks.pub/writingsuccess/chapter/8-3-drafting/
• ↑ https://www.trentu.ca/academicskills/how-guides/how-write-university/how-approach-any-assignment/writing-english-essay/using-secondary
• ↑ https://patch.com/michigan/berkley/bp--how-to-shorten-your-college-essay-without-ruining-it
• ↑ https://writing.wisc.edu/handbook/style/ccs_activevoice/
• ↑ https://wordcounter.net/blog/2016/01/26/101025_how-to-reduce-essay-word-count.html

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