Are you an academic writer? Want to know how to reduce word count while creating non-fiction writing content related to a specific industry or research? Here you go!
Academic writing communicates information, ideas, and research findings to the broader academic community. It focuses on advancing knowledge, presenting it formally, clearly, and concisely in an evidence-based format and according to specific guidelines. The most important part of academic writing is reducing the word count in the draft and ensuring it meets a word, page, or character limit.
If you want to meet the deadline, limiting the word count would be more stressful. In this case, you can try the free word counter online and write clear and concise content. Moreover, being an academic writer, if you want to reduce your word count, focus on the following tips and make up your writing.
Let’s get into the article!
Types of Academic Writing
When it comes to academic writing, there are many types of writing which include:
- Descriptive
- Analytical
- Persuasive
- Critical
It doesn’t matter what type of academic writing you are focusing on, it is more important to limit your word count to make your content short and precise.
Effective Tips to Reduce Word Count in Academic Writing
Excited to know the tips to reduce your word count in academic writing? Here you go!
#1 Write Formally
Academic writing is a more formal way to share your research papers and experiments. You can let your audience understand what you are writing with clear expressions. For that, you have to know your target audience and your page’s purpose. Therefore, you can write content for your target audience and formally communicate your message more effectively.
#2 Create Outline & Ensure What You Are Writing
Before starting to write your content, the best way is to plan and outline it, which helps you clarify what you will write. More precisely, if you want to stay focused on your writing, the idea is to divide the sections of your article into abstract, introduction, tools, methodology, result, and conclusion. Don’t forget to add references to inform the reader about your research papers.
#3 Focus on General Rules
We mostly repeat some unwanted words, which may increase your article’s word count. Here are some tips to limit your word count and provide clarity in your writing. Let’s go on!
- Avoid over usage of ‘The’
- Don’t use ‘That’ often
- Use shorter sentences
- Avoid passive voice and focus on using active voice
- Short lengthy phrase
- Delete unnecessary adverbs and adjectives
- Avoid using conjunctions
- Do needless transitions and more
These are some tips that you have to follow while writing your academic papers or essays.
#4 Eliminate Unnecessary Information
As a writer, you must remember that providing more information is unnecessary. Being concise with your writing and knowing what you have to write and what you should avoid will help to provide clear information to the readers. With more clarification, you can convey your points, which is useful for the readers.
#5 Don’t Use Complicated Sentences or Jargon Words
Whatever you are writing, you have to follow some general rules. One rule is to avoid using complicated sentences, technical words, or jargon words. Because not everyone is able to understand these words. So, while writing, use simple words and make it easy for everyone to access and understand the content. Otherwise, they will leave the content without reading it, so there is no use in publishing your write-ups.
#6 Avoid Repetition of the Same Words
Writers commonly make one mistake, which is the repetition of the same words without knowing. So, as an academic writer, you have to be aware of it to reduce the word count. More importantly, review your content and discover what and all you want to eliminate. For that, proofread and edit as you can to avoid repetition of the same words without listing the same statement.
#7 Well-Structure Your Content
Making your content appealing is more important than ever to engage more readers. For that, you have to work on the free word count checker and determine that each paragraph length is approximately ideal. It is good practice to enhance your content. Next, to make the point more notable, ensure that you write short and use numbers and bulletins wherever necessary.
#8 Keep Your Sentences to 20-25 Words
We have already discussed writing short sentences. Of course, limiting each sentence to 20 to 25 words is a good practice. Remember, if you write a long word, about 40 words, it makes it hard for the readers to find it hard to read it. So, think wisely and break down the long sentences to make your writing more effective.
#9 Use Visuals Effectively
Visuals speak more than words, so for academic writing, adding visual images such as figures, tables, and graphs will effectively convey the information to the readers. So make the practice of using the visuals wherever necessary and help your readers to understand easily.
#10 Proofread and Edit
The final tip is to proofread and edit. Of course, identifying grammatical and spelling errors is the simplest and easiest idea. More than this, you can simplify your writing and avoid unnecessary word usage. It is advisable not to publish the content without proofreading it.
Final TakeawaySo, hope you have effective tips to cut the clutter and clarify your writing. Improve your self-editing skills by using CheckWordCounter and shorten your sentences and paragraphs. Well, better focusing on these ideas, you can effectively communicate your message clearly and engage more readers.