how long should a book essay be

An Introduction to the Book-Length Essay

Rebecca Hussey

Rebecca holds a PhD in English and is a professor at Norwalk Community College in Connecticut. She teaches courses in composition, literature, and the arts. When she’s not reading or grading papers, she’s hanging out with her husband and son and/or riding her bike and/or buying books. She can't get enough of reading and writing about books, so she writes the bookish newsletter "Reading Indie," focusing on small press books and translations. Newsletter: Reading Indie Twitter: @ofbooksandbikes

View All posts by Rebecca Hussey

You might be wondering, “I didn’t think there was such a thing as the book-length essay! Aren’t essays short pieces, like the kind you wrote in school, or the kind they collect in the Best American Essays series? Aren’t they the nonfiction equivalent of the short story?” The answer is yes, and, of course, no. We do usually think of essays as short pieces that we read in magazines or online and that get gathered together into collections. But the essay as a genre is more expansive than that, and the book-length essay is, indeed, a thing that exists and that is a pleasure to read.

What Is a Book-Length Essay?

It’s easy to say that a book-length essay is simply an essay that goes on for a long time, enough to fit the usual length requirements of a standalone book. What is more complicated is distinguishing the book-length essay from other forms of nonfiction. The question becomes how this form is different from, say, memoir, biography, criticism, history, political science, or sociology.

The essay can incorporate some or all of these genres and more, but it is in itself fundamentally different. Essays, no matter their length, explore ideas, facts, and experiences, with an emphasis on explore . They are not definitive: they aren’t researched journalism or academic scholarship complete with explanatory footnotes. Instead, they attempt to look at problems, address questions, or analyze experiences. Emphasis on attempt !

Essayists write in order to discover what they think. An essay is then a record of a thought process. Part of the pleasure of reading them comes from following the writer’s thinking as it develops: we get to see the twists and turns of the writer’s mind as it works through a problem. Essays are looser than other genres, and weirder. They can flit from idea to idea and can incorporate literally anything. Upon first reading, they sometimes appear to be disorganized (although often an organizational system lies underneath). They can contradict themselves or show the writer changing their mind.

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The essay is a genre that is weirdly anti-genre. It doesn’t want to settle down and fit in anywhere; it refuses categories and rules. I think of essays as nonfiction, but there is even room for elements of fiction.

Book-length essays are the kind of books that make bookstore owners puzzle over where to shelve them, unless they have a section called “Literary Nonfiction” or similar. Sure, these books could go in the essay section, if there is one, but they could also fit in memoir, current events, cultural studies, art, music, philosophy, etc. They fit everywhere and nowhere. They are a delightfully expansive hybrid form.

Six Examples of the Book-Length Essay

Below are some examples of my favorite book-length essays. Check them out and discover some really great books and writers.

Time is the Thing the Body Moves Through by T Fleischmann

This book is personal, intellectual, challenging, and strange. It’s partly about the art of Félix González-Torres, especially a work called  “Untitled” (Placebo – Landscape – for Roni)  with its endless supply of candy in gold wrappers that viewers/participants can freely take. It’s also about being queer and trans, and about friendship, love, sex, and radical politics. Fleischmann interweaves narratives from different times to create a sense of movement and change; there’s a fluidity to the narrative which meanders while maintaining a sense of urgency.

The Face: A Time Code by Ruth Ozeki

This book is part of a series from Restless Books where authors write about their own faces. Ozeki decided to approach this task by spending three hours staring at her face in the mirror and writing about the experience. The three hours were, as it turns out, boring, but the resulting book is wonderful. Ozeki keeps track of the three hours minute by minute, following her thoughts as they wander throughout that time. Descriptions of her feelings about her face are the jumping off point for personal stories and thoughts.

On Immunity by Eula Biss

I wish I could make everyone read this book right now! On Immunity combines memoir, science, medicine, criticism, parenting, and cultural critique to explore what immunity means. Eula Biss examines people’s fear of vaccines and the origin and implications of that fear. She considers what our attitudes toward immunity can tell us about how we understand our selves and our place in community. It’s a short book that is wide-ranging, and, if more people read and pondered it, potentially revolutionary.

This Little Art by Kate Briggs

This Little Art is published by Fitzcarraldo Editions, which has a series of nonfiction books it simply calls “Essays.” Those who want to read more book-length essays will find that series a great resource. This volume examines the art of translation. Kate Briggs translates Roland Barthes, and she writes beautifully about her love for his work. She writes about theories of translation and the ways translation work is gendered. The book contemplates language and writing itself. It’s absorbing, thought-provoking, and gorgeously written.

In Other Words by Jhumpa Lahiri, Translated by Ann Goldstein

In Other Words explores and celebrates Jhumpa Lahiri’s love of the Italian language. This is her first book written in Italian after she moved to Italy to immerse herself in the language and culture. The book examines what it is like to learn a new language with all the accompanying frustrations and joys. Lahiri writes autobiographically, but the book expands into a meditation on language, writing, and what it’s like to think in entirely new ways.

Ongoingness: The End of a Diary by Sarah Manguso

Ongoingness takes up many subjects, including diaries, memory, parenting, and the practice of writing. Manguso kept a lengthy, detailed diary for many years, a text this book circles around but never quotes. Instead, she contemplates what the diary meant to her, why she kept it and why she stopped. She writes about the feelings of early motherhood and how her relationship to writing and memory changed. Manguso writes in short, meditative sections that are both autobiographical and philosophical.

Looking for more essays to read? Check out this list of 100 Must-Read Essay Collections . If you like genre-bending memoirs (which have a lot in common with the book-length essay), check out these recommendations .

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The Best College Essay Length: How Long Should It Be?

College Essays

Figuring out your college essay can be one of the most difficult parts of applying to college. Even once you've read the prompt and picked a topic, you might wonder: if you write too much or too little, will you blow your chance of admission? How long should a college essay be?

Whether you're a terse writer or a loquacious one, we can advise you on college essay length. In this guide, we'll cover what the standard college essay length is, how much word limits matter, and what to do if you aren't sure how long a specific essay should be.

How Long Is a College Essay? First, Check the Word Limit

You might be used to turning in your writing assignments on a page-limit basis (for example, a 10-page paper). While some colleges provide page limits for their college essays, most use a word limit instead. This makes sure there's a standard length for all the essays that a college receives, regardless of formatting or font.

In the simplest terms, your college essay should be pretty close to, but not exceeding, the word limit in length. Think within 50 words as the lower bound, with the word limit as the upper bound. So for a 500-word limit essay, try to get somewhere between 450-500 words. If they give you a range, stay within that range.

College essay prompts usually provide the word limit right in the prompt or in the instructions.

For example, the University of Illinois says :

"You'll answer two to three prompts as part of your application. The questions you'll answer will depend on whether you're applying to a major or to our undeclared program, and if you've selected a second choice. Each response should be approximately 150 words."

As exemplified by the University of Illinois, the shortest word limits for college essays are usually around 150 words (less than half a single-spaced page). Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all!

Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

How Flexible Is the Word Limit?

But how flexible is the word limit? What if your poignant anecdote is just 10 words too long—or 100 too short?

Can I Go Over the Word Limit?

If you are attaching a document and you need one or two extra words, you can probably get away with exceeding the word limit by such a small amount. Some colleges will actually tell you that exceeding the word limit by 1-2 words is fine. However, I advise against exceeding the word limit unless it's explicitly allowed for a few reasons:

First, you might not be able to. If you have to copy-paste it into a text box, your essay might get cut off and you'll have to trim it down anyway.

If you exceed the word limit in a noticeable way, the admissions counselor may just stop reading your essay past that point. This is not good for you.

Following directions is actually a very important part of the college application process. You need to follow directions to get your letters of recommendation, upload your essays, send supplemental materials, get your test scores sent, and so on and so forth. So it's just a good general rule to follow whatever instructions you've been given by the institution. Better safe than sorry!

Can I Go Under the Word Limit?

If you can truly get your point across well beneath the word limit, it's probably fine. Brevity is not necessarily a bad thing in writing just so long as you are clear, cogent, and communicate what you want to.

However, most college essays have pretty tight word limits anyways. So if you're writing 300 words for an essay with a 500-word limit, ask yourself: is there anything more you could say to elaborate on or support your points? Consult with a parent, friend, or teacher on where you could elaborate with more detail or expand your points.

Also, if the college gives you a word range, you absolutely need to at least hit the bottom end of the range. So if you get a range from the institution, like 400-500 words, you need to write at least 400 words. If you write less, it will come across like you have nothing to say, which is not an impression you want to give.

What If There Is No Word Limit?

Some colleges don't give you a word limit for one or more of your essay prompts. This can be a little stressful, but the prompts generally fall into a few categories:

Writing Sample

Some colleges don't provide a hard-and-fast word limit because they want a writing sample from one of your classes. In this case, a word limit would be very limiting to you in terms of which assignments you could select from.

For an example of this kind of prompt, check out essay Option B at Amherst :

"Submit a graded paper from your junior or senior year that best represents your writing skills and analytical abilities. We are particularly interested in your ability to construct a tightly reasoned, persuasive argument that calls upon literary, sociological or historical evidence. You should NOT submit a laboratory report, journal entry, creative writing sample or in-class essay."

While there is usually no word limit per se, colleges sometimes provide a general page guideline for writing samples. In the FAQ for Option B , Amherst clarifies, "There is no hard-and-fast rule for official page limit. Typically, we anticipate a paper of 4-5 pages will provide adequate length to demonstrate your analytical abilities. Somewhat longer papers can also be submitted, but in most cases should not exceed 8-10 pages."

So even though there's no word limit, they'd like somewhere in the 4-10 pages range. High school students are not usually writing papers that are longer than 10 pages anyways, so that isn't very limiting.

Implicit Length Guideline

Sometimes, while there's no word (or even page) limit, there's still an implicit length guideline. What do I mean by this?

See, for example, this Western Washington University prompt :

“Describe one or more activities you have been involved in that have been particularly meaningful. What does your involvement say about the communities, identities or causes that are important to you?”

While there’s no page or word limit listed here, further down on page the ‘essay tips’ section explains that “ most essay responses are about 500 words, ” though “this is only a recommendation, not a firm limit.” This gives you an idea of what’s reasonable. A little longer or shorter than 500 words would be appropriate here. That’s what I mean by an “implicit” word limit—there is a reasonable length you could go to within the boundaries of the prompt.

But what's the proper coffee-to-paragraph ratio?

Treasure Hunt

There is also the classic "treasure hunt" prompt. No, it's not a prompt about a treasure hunt. It's a prompt where there are no length guidelines given, but if you hunt around on the rest of the website you can find length guidelines.

For example, the University of Chicago provides multiple "Extended Essay" prompts . You must write an essay in response to one prompt of your choosing, but nowhere on the page is there any guidance about word count or page limit.

However, many colleges provide additional details about their expectations for application materials, including essays, on FAQ pages, which is true of the University of Chicago. On the school’s admissions Frequently Asked Questions page , they provide the following length guidelines for the supplemental essays: 

“We suggest that you note any word limits for Coalition or Common Application essays; however, there are no strict word limits on the UChicago Supplement essays. For the extended essay (where you choose one of several prompts), we suggest that you aim for around 650 words. While we won't, as a rule, stop reading after 650 words, we're only human and cannot promise that an overly wordy essay will hold our attention indefinitely. For the “Why UChicago?” essay, we suggest about 250-500 words. The ideas in your writing matter more than the exact number of words you use!”

So there you go! You want to be (loosely) in the realm of 650 for the extended essay, and 250-500 words for the “Why UChicago?” essay.

Help! There Really Is No Guidance on Length

If you really can't find any length guidelines anywhere on the admissions website and you're at a loss, I advise calling the admissions office. They may not be able to give you an exact number (in fact, they probably won't), but they will probably at least be able to tell you how long most of the essays they see are. (And keep you from writing a panicked, 20-page dissertation about your relationship with your dog).

In general, 500 words or so is pretty safe for a college essay. It's a fairly standard word limit length, in fact. (And if you're wondering, that's about a page and a half double-spaced.) 500 words is long enough to develop a basic idea while still getting a point across quickly—important when admissions counselors have thousands of essays to read!

"See? It says 500 words right there in tiny font!"

The Final Word: How Long Should a College Essay Be?

The best college essay length is usually pretty straightforward: you want to be right under or at the provided word limit. If you go substantially past the word limit, you risk having your essay cut off by an online application form or having the admissions officer just not finish it. And if you're too far under the word limit, you may not be elaborating enough.

What if there is no word limit? Then how long should a college essay be? In general, around 500 words is a pretty safe approximate word amount for a college essay—it's one of the most common word limits, after all!

Here's guidance for special cases and hunting down word limits:

If it's a writing sample of your graded academic work, the length either doesn't matter or there should be some loose page guidelines.

There also may be implicit length guidelines. For example, if a prompt says to write three paragraphs, you'll know that writing six sentences is definitely too short, and two single-spaced pages is definitely too long.

You might not be able to find length guidelines in the prompt, but you could still hunt them up elsewhere on the website. Try checking FAQs or googling your chosen school name with "admissions essay word limit."

If there really is no word limit, you can call the school to try to get some guidance.

With this advice, you can be sure you've got the right college essay length on lockdown!

Hey, writing about yourself can even be fun!

What's Next?

Need to ask a teacher or friend for help with your essay? See our do's and dont's to getting college essay advice .

If you're lacking in essay inspiration, see our guide to brainstorming college essay ideas . And here's our guide to starting out your essay perfectly!

Looking for college essay examples? See 11 places to find college essay examples and 187 essay examples with analysis !

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Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

Ask a Question Below

Have any questions about this article or other topics? Ask below and we'll reply!

• If you are writing in a new discipline, you should always make sure to ask about conventions and expectations for introductions, just as you would for any other aspect of the essay. For example, while it may be acceptable to write a two-paragraph (or longer) introduction for your papers in some courses, instructors in other disciplines, such as those in some Government courses, may expect a shorter introduction that includes a preview of the argument that will follow.  
• In some disciplines (Government, Economics, and others), it’s common to offer an overview in the introduction of what points you will make in your essay. In other disciplines, you will not be expected to provide this overview in your introduction.  
• Avoid writing a very general opening sentence. While it may be true that “Since the dawn of time, people have been telling love stories,” it won’t help you explain what’s interesting about your topic.  
• Avoid writing a “funnel” introduction in which you begin with a very broad statement about a topic and move to a narrow statement about that topic. Broad generalizations about a topic will not add to your readers’ understanding of your specific essay topic.  
• Avoid beginning with a dictionary definition of a term or concept you will be writing about. If the concept is complicated or unfamiliar to your readers, you will need to define it in detail later in your essay. If it’s not complicated, you can assume your readers already know the definition.  
• Avoid offering too much detail in your introduction that a reader could better understand later in the paper.
• picture_as_pdf Introductions

How to Write an Essay Introduction (with Examples)   

The introduction of an essay plays a critical role in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. It sets the stage for the rest of the essay, establishes the tone and style, and motivates the reader to continue reading. 

Table of Contents

What is an essay introduction , what to include in an essay introduction, how to create an essay structure , step-by-step process for writing an essay introduction , how to write an essay introduction paragraph with paperpal – step -by -step, how to write a hook for your essay , how to include background information , how to write a thesis statement .

• Argumentative Essay Introduction Example: 
• Expository Essay Introduction Example 

Literary Analysis Essay Introduction Example

Check and revise – checklist for essay introduction , key takeaways , frequently asked questions .

An introduction is the opening section of an essay, paper, or other written work. It introduces the topic and provides background information, context, and an overview of what the reader can expect from the rest of the work. 1 The key is to be concise and to the point, providing enough information to engage the reader without delving into excessive detail. 

The essay introduction is crucial as it sets the tone for the entire piece and provides the reader with a roadmap of what to expect. Here are key elements to include in your essay introduction: 

• Hook : Start with an attention-grabbing statement or question to engage the reader. This could be a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or a compelling anecdote. 
• Background information : Provide context and background information to help the reader understand the topic. This can include historical information, definitions of key terms, or an overview of the current state of affairs related to your topic. 
• Thesis statement : Clearly state your main argument or position on the topic. Your thesis should be concise and specific, providing a clear direction for your essay. 

Before we get into how to write an essay introduction, we need to know how it is structured. The structure of an essay is crucial for organizing your thoughts and presenting them clearly and logically. It is divided as follows: 2  

• Introduction:  The introduction should grab the reader’s attention with a hook, provide context, and include a thesis statement that presents the main argument or purpose of the essay.  
• Body:  The body should consist of focused paragraphs that support your thesis statement using evidence and analysis. Each paragraph should concentrate on a single central idea or argument and provide evidence, examples, or analysis to back it up.  
• Conclusion:  The conclusion should summarize the main points and restate the thesis differently. End with a final statement that leaves a lasting impression on the reader. Avoid new information or arguments. 

Here’s a step-by-step guide on how to write an essay introduction: 

• Start with a Hook : Begin your introduction paragraph with an attention-grabbing statement, question, quote, or anecdote related to your topic. The hook should pique the reader’s interest and encourage them to continue reading. 
• Provide Background Information : This helps the reader understand the relevance and importance of the topic. 
• State Your Thesis Statement : The last sentence is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be clear, concise, and directly address the topic of your essay. 
• Preview the Main Points : This gives the reader an idea of what to expect and how you will support your thesis. 
• Keep it Concise and Clear : Avoid going into too much detail or including information not directly relevant to your topic. 
• Revise : Revise your introduction after you’ve written the rest of your essay to ensure it aligns with your final argument. 

Unsure of how to start your essay introduction? Leverage Paperpal’s Generative AI templates to provide a base for your essay introduction. Here’s an example of an essay outline generated by Paperpal.  

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This is one of the key steps in how to write an essay introduction. Crafting a compelling hook is vital because it sets the tone for your entire essay and determines whether your readers will stay interested. A good hook draws the reader in and sets the stage for the rest of your essay.  

• Avoid Dry Fact : Instead of simply stating a bland fact, try to make it engaging and relevant to your topic. For example, if you’re writing about the benefits of exercise, you could start with a startling statistic like, “Did you know that regular exercise can increase your lifespan by up to seven years?” 
• Avoid Using a Dictionary Definition : While definitions can be informative, they’re not always the most captivating way to start an essay. Instead, try to use a quote, anecdote, or provocative question to pique the reader’s interest. For instance, if you’re writing about freedom, you could begin with a quote from a famous freedom fighter or philosopher. 
• Do Not Just State a Fact That the Reader Already Knows : This ties back to the first point—your hook should surprise or intrigue the reader. For Here’s an introduction paragraph example, if you’re writing about climate change, you could start with a thought-provoking statement like, “Despite overwhelming evidence, many people still refuse to believe in the reality of climate change.” 

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Including background information in the introduction section of your essay is important to provide context and establish the relevance of your topic. When writing the background information, you can follow these steps: 

• Start with a General Statement:  Begin with a general statement about the topic and gradually narrow it down to your specific focus. For example, when discussing the impact of social media, you can begin by making a broad statement about social media and its widespread use in today’s society, as follows: “Social media has become an integral part of modern life, with billions of users worldwide.” 
• Define Key Terms : Define any key terms or concepts that may be unfamiliar to your readers but are essential for understanding your argument. 
• Provide Relevant Statistics:  Use statistics or facts to highlight the significance of the issue you’re discussing. For instance, “According to a report by Statista, the number of social media users is expected to reach 4.41 billion by 2025.” 
• Discuss the Evolution:  Mention previous research or studies that have been conducted on the topic, especially those that are relevant to your argument. Mention key milestones or developments that have shaped its current impact. You can also outline some of the major effects of social media. For example, you can briefly describe how social media has evolved, including positives such as increased connectivity and issues like cyberbullying and privacy concerns. 
• Transition to Your Thesis:  Use the background information to lead into your thesis statement, which should clearly state the main argument or purpose of your essay. For example, “Given its pervasive influence, it is crucial to examine the impact of social media on mental health.” 

A thesis statement is a concise summary of the main point or claim of an essay, research paper, or other type of academic writing. It appears near the end of the introduction. Here’s how to write a thesis statement: 

• Identify the topic:  Start by identifying the topic of your essay. For example, if your essay is about the importance of exercise for overall health, your topic is “exercise.” 
• State your position:  Next, state your position or claim about the topic. This is the main argument or point you want to make. For example, if you believe that regular exercise is crucial for maintaining good health, your position could be: “Regular exercise is essential for maintaining good health.” 
• Support your position:  Provide a brief overview of the reasons or evidence that support your position. These will be the main points of your essay. For example, if you’re writing an essay about the importance of exercise, you could mention the physical health benefits, mental health benefits, and the role of exercise in disease prevention. 
• Make it specific:  Ensure your thesis statement clearly states what you will discuss in your essay. For example, instead of saying, “Exercise is good for you,” you could say, “Regular exercise, including cardiovascular and strength training, can improve overall health and reduce the risk of chronic diseases.” 

Examples of essay introduction 

Here are examples of essay introductions for different types of essays: 

Argumentative Essay Introduction Example:  

Topic: Should the voting age be lowered to 16? 

“The question of whether the voting age should be lowered to 16 has sparked nationwide debate. While some argue that 16-year-olds lack the requisite maturity and knowledge to make informed decisions, others argue that doing so would imbue young people with agency and give them a voice in shaping their future.” 

Expository Essay Introduction Example  

Topic: The benefits of regular exercise 

“In today’s fast-paced world, the importance of regular exercise cannot be overstated. From improving physical health to boosting mental well-being, the benefits of exercise are numerous and far-reaching. This essay will examine the various advantages of regular exercise and provide tips on incorporating it into your daily routine.” 

Text: “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee 

“Harper Lee’s novel, ‘To Kill a Mockingbird,’ is a timeless classic that explores themes of racism, injustice, and morality in the American South. Through the eyes of young Scout Finch, the reader is taken on a journey that challenges societal norms and forces characters to confront their prejudices. This essay will analyze the novel’s use of symbolism, character development, and narrative structure to uncover its deeper meaning and relevance to contemporary society.” 

• Engaging and Relevant First Sentence : The opening sentence captures the reader’s attention and relates directly to the topic. 
• Background Information : Enough background information is introduced to provide context for the thesis statement. 
• Definition of Important Terms : Key terms or concepts that might be unfamiliar to the audience or are central to the argument are defined. 
• Clear Thesis Statement : The thesis statement presents the main point or argument of the essay. 
• Relevance to Main Body : Everything in the introduction directly relates to and sets up the discussion in the main body of the essay. 

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Writing a strong introduction is crucial for setting the tone and context of your essay. Here are the key takeaways for how to write essay introduction: 3  

• Hook the Reader : Start with an engaging hook to grab the reader’s attention. This could be a compelling question, a surprising fact, a relevant quote, or an anecdote. 
• Provide Background : Give a brief overview of the topic, setting the context and stage for the discussion. 
• Thesis Statement : State your thesis, which is the main argument or point of your essay. It should be concise, clear, and specific. 
• Preview the Structure : Outline the main points or arguments to help the reader understand the organization of your essay. 
• Keep it Concise : Avoid including unnecessary details or information not directly related to your thesis. 
• Revise and Edit : Revise your introduction to ensure clarity, coherence, and relevance. Check for grammar and spelling errors. 
• Seek Feedback : Get feedback from peers or instructors to improve your introduction further. 

The purpose of an essay introduction is to give an overview of the topic, context, and main ideas of the essay. It is meant to engage the reader, establish the tone for the rest of the essay, and introduce the thesis statement or central argument.  

An essay introduction typically ranges from 5-10% of the total word count. For example, in a 1,000-word essay, the introduction would be roughly 50-100 words. However, the length can vary depending on the complexity of the topic and the overall length of the essay.

An essay introduction is critical in engaging the reader and providing contextual information about the topic. To ensure its effectiveness, consider incorporating these key elements: a compelling hook, background information, a clear thesis statement, an outline of the essay’s scope, a smooth transition to the body, and optional signposting sentences.  

The process of writing an essay introduction is not necessarily straightforward, but there are several strategies that can be employed to achieve this end. When experiencing difficulty initiating the process, consider the following techniques: begin with an anecdote, a quotation, an image, a question, or a startling fact to pique the reader’s interest. It may also be helpful to consider the five W’s of journalism: who, what, when, where, why, and how.   For instance, an anecdotal opening could be structured as follows: “As I ascended the stage, momentarily blinded by the intense lights, I could sense the weight of a hundred eyes upon me, anticipating my next move. The topic of discussion was climate change, a subject I was passionate about, and it was my first public speaking event. Little did I know , that pivotal moment would not only alter my perspective but also chart my life’s course.” 

Crafting a compelling thesis statement for your introduction paragraph is crucial to grab your reader’s attention. To achieve this, avoid using overused phrases such as “In this paper, I will write about” or “I will focus on” as they lack originality. Instead, strive to engage your reader by substantiating your stance or proposition with a “so what” clause. While writing your thesis statement, aim to be precise, succinct, and clear in conveying your main argument.  

To create an effective essay introduction, ensure it is clear, engaging, relevant, and contains a concise thesis statement. It should transition smoothly into the essay and be long enough to cover necessary points but not become overwhelming. Seek feedback from peers or instructors to assess its effectiveness. 

References  

• Cui, L. (2022). Unit 6 Essay Introduction.  Building Academic Writing Skills . 
• West, H., Malcolm, G., Keywood, S., & Hill, J. (2019). Writing a successful essay.  Journal of Geography in Higher Education ,  43 (4), 609-617. 
• Beavers, M. E., Thoune, D. L., & McBeth, M. (2023). Bibliographic Essay: Reading, Researching, Teaching, and Writing with Hooks: A Queer Literacy Sponsorship. College English, 85(3), 230-242. 

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Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris

Writing about writing. Mostly.

March 18, 2018 By Anne R. Allen 66 Comments

How Long Should A Book Be? Word Count Guidelines by Genre.

Follow word count guidelines to keep from snoozifying your reader. 

by Anne R. Allen

A constant complaint I hear from agents, editors, writing teachers , and reviewers is that they see too many manuscripts with inappropriate word counts.

If you’re getting a lot of form rejections or simply silence from agents, reviewers and editors, this may be why.

Word count guidelines have been trending down in the last decade. Most editors won’t look at a debut manuscript longer than 100K words—a little longer if it’s fantasy or a non-romance historical. They were not so rigid ten years ago.

Now publishers—and many readers—won’t take a chance on any long book by an unproven author.

While readers will happily plunk down the big bux for an 819-page book by George R. R. Martin, they’ll turn up their noses at a book that long—even if it only costs 99c—if it’s written by Who R. R. You.

I know the “accepted wisdom” in the indie world is that if you self-publish, you can write whatever the heck you want and people will buy it. But that’s no longer the case. The wrong word count for your genre red-flags you as an amateur, and most readers don’t have time for amateurs.

Not when there’s so much professional-level stuff being self-published.

A decade after the beginning of the “Kindle Revolution,” too many readers have been burned by self-published bloated rough drafts. A reader is not likely to pick up a book that screams “I’ve been writing this in my spare time for the last 8 years and I refuse to rewrite and would never let an editor tamper with my genius.”

So don’t be that guy.

Word Count Guidelines By Genre

Word counts are generally agreed to be the count provided by MS Word’s “Word Count” tool. Some extremely old-school agents prefer that you use the formula of 250 words per page (double spaced, 12 pt. font) and calculate it yourself, which seems a silly waste of time, but always check agent websites for guidelines.

For debut authors, following these rules will seriously improve your chances of traditional publication and/or establishing a readership, no matter how you publish.

In other words, get famous first and break the rules later.

If you are a household name, you can publish a compendium of your shopping lists from the past two decades and your publisher will happily promote it and people will buy it.

Unfortunately, that’s not true for the rest of us.

Here is a summary of current word count guidelines. This is a composite taken from a number of publishing industry websites, so nothing is set in stone. Take these as target word counts.  Some publishers will accept longer or shorter books, so always check the website of an agent or publisher before you submit.

Note I say these are for “debut” fiction. Once you have a loyal fan base, you can break the rules with abandon.

Word Count Guidelines for Debut Fiction

Picture Book s—text: 500-1000 words (32 pages is ideal.)

Middle Grade fiction —20K to 40K. (Yes, we all know about Harry Potter. And when you’re as famous as J.K. Rowling you can write MG tomes, too.) “Upper Middle Grade” can be a bit longer.

Young Adult fiction —25K to 80K.

Chick Lit —60K-75K.

Cozy Mysteries —55K-70K. (BTW, Agatha Christie’s mysteries sometimes came in at 40K words. I think we may be going back in that direction.)

Fantasy —90K-110K. Definitely down from the epic tomes of yore. Self-publishers can get away with more. Fantasy readers like big books and they cannot lie. 🙂

Historical fiction —80K to 110K+. (You can still wax verbitudinous in this genre.)

Literary fiction —65K to 100K, trending away from the higher numbers. “Spare and elegant” is the mark of literary chic these days.

Standard Mysteries and Crime Fiction —70K to 100K.

Romance —55K-75K. For subgenres of romance, check publishers’ guidelines. Word counts for specific romance lines can be very strict. Some historicals can be longer, although Regencies tend to be short.

Science Fiction —75K—100K. When there’s world-building involved a book generally needs to be longer.

Thrillers —80K to 100K.

Urban Fantasy / Paranormal Romance —70K to 90K.

Westerns —50K-80K.

Women’s Fiction —70K-100K. The women’s fiction family saga has gone out of fashion recently, but they’re generally on the longer end.

Around 80K seems to be the magic number for most adult fiction. So if your ms. goes way over that, it may be time to put on your editor hat and get ruthless.

Word Count Guidelines for Nonfiction

Nonfiction books have shrunk drastically in the last decade. A study done last spring showed that the average length of a nonfiction bestseller has dropped 42% in the last seven years.

In 2011, the average length of a best-selling non-fiction book was 467 pages, but that dropped to 273 pages in 2017.

Nonfiction books get queried in the form of book proposals, so you don’t submit a complete manuscript (except for memoir, which you query like a novel.) That’s probably why word count guidelines for nonfiction are so hard to find. I’ve also found wildly different word count suggestions between agencies.

So treat these as word count “guestimates.”

Biography —80K-110K. These can be pretty long. Especially if your credentials are good.

Commentary —40K-60K. Not much info out there about word count guidelines for political and other opinion books. If you have appeared on cable TV news, you can probably get away with more verbiage.

Humor —20K-40K. For humorous memoir, follow memoir guidelines, and for funny novels, follow fiction guidelines, but for books like John Hodgman’s  The Areas of my Expertise , Dave Barry’s Complete Guide to Guys or the classic 1066 and All That , (only 128 pages and still in print after 80 years) keep it to 40K words or less.

Memoir and Narrative Nonfiction —40K-70K. You’ll probably want to prune a memoir if it goes over 70K. Books in this genre tend to get bloated without heavy editing. Remember you can write many memoirs about different aspects of your life.

Self-Help & How-To —20K-50K. In the age of ebooks, these are getting shorter all the time. My publisher had me cut my book The Author Blog down from 40K.  (And these days some ebook how-to’s are only 3500 words long.)

Travel and Nature —40K-70K A lot of these books blur boundaries with memoir.

What if Your Ms. Doesn’t Fit Word Count Guidelines? 

With both fiction and nonfiction, it’s best to err on the side of brevity these days. To quote Chuck Sambuchino, editor of the Guide to Literary Agents :

“Agents have so many queries that they are looking for reasons to say no. They are looking for mistakes, chinks in the armor, to cut their query stack down by one. And if you adopt the mentality that your book has to be long, then you are giving them ammunition to reject you.”

If your word count goes over the limit:

• Consider splitting it into two books.
• Or a trilogy. You’ll triple your income. 🙂
• Are the extra words in there for world-building? Consider cutting some details and putting them on your blog.
• Do some ruthless editing. Are you repeating yourself? Can you say something with one word instead of ten?
• Can you condense some of those conversations with indirect dialogue ?

If your word count is under the limit:

• For literary fiction: Flesh out characters.
• Thrillers: Weave in another subplot.
• Crime fiction: Kill off a few more victims.
• Or…maybe you’ve got a novella.

Novellas are hot.

Yes, old-school Big Five publishers (and Bookbub) still aren’t much interested in novellas, and some agents will reject on low word count alone.

But readers love them! Jane Austen fan fiction authors have been practically minting money with 140-page or less “Pride and Prejudice variation” Regency novellas in the last few years.

And forward-looking agencies like Fuse Literary offer “assisted self-publishing” for their authors to write novellas in between big novel releases. Their Short Fuse Publishing produces digital-first novellas in a number of genres.

For more on the popularity of the novella, check out Paul Alan Fahey’s post for us on the subject. Next June we’ll have a post from actress and bestselling author Mara Purl on the difference between writing a novel and a novella.

by Anne R. Allen @annerallen March 18, 2018. Photo by Sage Ross.

What about you, scriveners? Do you have a problem keeping to word count guidelines? Do you tend to write over or under the standard word count? Have you ever turned a long book into two or three? 

On March 19th, Anne will be visiting Romance University, where she’ll be talking about the many benefits of having an author blog.

BOOK OF THE WEEK

SALE EXTENDED until March 25th!

The first three books in THE CAMILLA RANDALL MYSTERIES series :  Ghostwriters in the Sky, Sherwood, Ltd . and  The Best Revenge . Three hilarious rom-com mysteries for less than a dollar!!

99c at All the Amazons   and NOOK , until March 24th

OPPORTUNITY ALERTS

Wergle Flomp Humorous Poetry Contest   NO FEE.  The First prize is $1,000 and there’s a second prize of $250. Also 10 Honorable Mentions will receive $100 each. The top 12 entries get published online. Judge: Jendi Reiter, assisted by Lauren Singer. Length limit: 250 lines. And there are no restrictions on age or country. DEADLINE APRIL 1st

Chautauqua’s Annual Editors’ Prize. $3 FEE .  $1000 prize for winning story, essay or poem, plus publication in Chautauqua’s annual journal.  The theme is “Moxie”. Using the online submission system, submit 3 poems totaling no more than 8 pages or up to 7,000 words of prose. Deadline April 15th. 

Sixfold  Poetry and Short Story Awards.  $5 entry FEE. Two prizes of $1,000 each and publication in  Sixfold  are given quarterly for a group of poems and a short story. Using the online submission system, submit up to five poems totaling no more than 10 pages or up to 20 pages of prose. Deadline April 23 .

Red Hen Press annual Nonfiction Contest.    $25 entry FEE. $1,000 prize and publication by the prestigious Red Hen Press. They’re looking for an essay collection, memoir, or book of narrative nonfiction. Florencia Ramirez will judge. Using the online submission system, submit a manuscript of at least 150 pages.  Deadline April 30

CRAFT Literary Short Story contest. $20 FEE .  Short fiction up to 6000 words. $2000 first prize; the two runners-up will receive $500 and $300, respectively. plus publication in CRAFT  Literary Magazine. Deadline April 30th.

13 Imprints of Big 5 publishers who take unagented submissions. From the good people at Authors Publish Magazine.

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About Anne R. Allen

Anne writes funny mysteries and how-to-books for writers. She also writes poetry and short stories on occasion. Oh, yes, and she blogs. She's a contributor to Writer's Digest and the Novel and Short Story Writer's Market.

Her bestselling Camilla Randall Mystery RomCom Series features perennially down-on-her-luck former socialite Camilla Randall—who is a magnet for murder, mayhem and Mr. Wrong, but always solves the mystery in her quirky, but oh-so-polite way.

Anne lives on the Central Coast of California, near San Luis Obispo, the town Oprah called "The Happiest City in America."

March 18, 2018 at 10:06 am

Helpful information — once again. Thanks heaps. And I think I just may have to start submitting under the moniker Who R. R. You.

March 18, 2018 at 11:22 am

I also fell in love with the pseudonym, CS, it’s perfect for my career at this point.

I was very surprised, Anne, at the lower length of lit-fic these days, I thought that was still immune. But everything else, yeah I’m hearing the same thing from all my colleagues- perfect is 10k short than what you’re looking at now.

I think there’s a lot to be said for drawing out the characters/plot lines etc and making your tale into a series. If you can pull it off without seeming trite, you’ll hit two birds with the same stone because people still love themselves a series, right?

Thanks again for another informative, fun, funny and steal-able post!

March 18, 2018 at 11:30 am

CS and Will–I’m glad you liked the RR joke. I keep thinking I should add another R to my name and be Anne R. R. Allen. Will definitely do it if I decide to write fantasy. 🙂

Will–A series is the way to go for so many reasons. They sell better overall, plus you make more money selling individual titles. Plus you can make the first one free or very cheap to draw people in.

March 18, 2018 at 10:36 am

I second csperryess on both counts: There’s a whole heap of useful, and even interesting, information here. And Who R.R. You is a hoot!

March 18, 2018 at 11:31 am

Tricia–It’s so fun when a joke just appears on the page the way that one did. 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 10:39 am

Anne—Thanks for the useful, up-to-date info on word count! Since attention spans are shorter, seems like books should be, too. Is “bite size” the next trend?

March 18, 2018 at 11:34 am

Ruth–Bite Size is definitely a trend. James Patterson is having huge success with his “Bookshots”–books of 150 pages or less. http://bit.ly/2FR20nY

March 18, 2018 at 10:53 am

This post has it all… well, except a great salsa verde recipe. Thanks Anne. I shared this with my FB group of dead serious writers.

March 18, 2018 at 11:35 am

EJ–I hope the serious writers don’t mind my jokes. 🙂 Sorry about the salsa verde recipe. Maybe next time…

March 18, 2018 at 11:08 am

Thanks for researching and posting, Anne. But, I find this kind of “guideline” to be ineffably discouraging to actual writing, writers, storytellers, researchers and others who write to create rather than to sell, or who wish to do both without sacrificing either.

Arbitrary word counts (which is what every single one of these has to be) offend me and should give us all pause. According to whom? For what reasons? Why should we go along with this?

BTW: with the option of ebooks, publishers can’t even claim cost as the reason to force books to be shorter.

Finally, “fame” is no rationale for “earning” the “right” to have longer books and have them be acceptable. The WRITING is what should convey the meaning, and the value of the writing is what should dictate which books are “too long” or “too short.”

When editors/agents/publishers and authors stand up for each piece’s having the best format and length, acknowledging the uniqueness of each creative effort ,rather than bow to some idiotic idea of what each “genre” should “allow,” THEN we will have a book-lovers’ and book-writers’ realm worth inhabiting.

I write what my books seem to require for the story/characters to be well-presented. Standards of size should no more apply to books than to paintings, sculptures or poems.

Imagine these scenarios: — “Sorry, Michelangelo: even though this painting fits perfectly on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, current standards for ceiling paintings deem yours to be too large. You’ll have to eliminate some ceiling tiles. Try making God’s and Adam’s arms shorter.” Or, — “Sorry, Auguste Rodin: We like ‘The Thinker,’ but this year’s outdoor sculptures are not to exceed these dimensions: 6′ x 3′ x 4′ , by city of Paris decree, but your sculpture’s are 6′ 2″ x 3′ 3″ x 4′ 7″. Oh, you made it ‘life-sized’? Well, use a smaller model. Scrape some bronze off, all right?” Or, — “Sorry, Judy Chicago, but the Brooklyn Museum curators have decided that you’re only allowed to have 33 place settings for ‘The Dinner Party.’ Oh, you have 39? Well, you’ll have to disinvite some guests.”

Sure. That all makes perfect sense…about as much as allowing insurance companies to dictate eligible medical procedures and treatments.

Best to you,

Sally Ember, Ed.D. author, “The Spanners Series” (utopian sci-fi/romance in which each Volume is over 120 words) http://www.sallyember.com/Spanners

March 18, 2018 at 8:28 pm

Sally–Thanks for your input. I don’t know if you noticed that I said these are guidelines to help improve your chances of publication.

Of course you can translate the Epic of Gilgamesh into Klingon and write it in Wingdings and you could have the next Pride and Prejudice and Zombies on your hands.

But I would be lying if I didn’t point out the odds would be against you.

You need to know the rules before you can break them.

As I said these are only “guestimates” and that authors should always “check agents’ websites.”

Also, “if you’re famous (like Michelangelo, Rodin, and Judy Chicago) you can break rules with abandon.”

This is simply a list of the current standards of the business and meant to be helpful guidelines for writers who are interested in becoming professional authors. If you’re writing as a hobby, or for your own therapeutic needs, you can happily ignore it all!. 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 11:21 am

Thanks for posting this. I’ve been curious. At least I know I’m doing something right now.

March 18, 2018 at 11:37 am

Ryan–It’s always good to know you’re in line with standards in the industry, even if you’re working on your own.

I have to disagree on what to do if the book is too short. That’s the most common advice, and if you’re at 50K and have to get to 90K, you ain’t getting there by slapping in a subplot. If you’re going for indie, a novella is fine, but if you’re going for traditional publishing, you’re pretty much screwed. This was a weakness i spent years trying to fix, and beating myself over it, thinking my writing was flaws. I had trouble even getting one subplot into the story.

A better option first is to add setting and five senses into every scene. If it’s from the opinions of the character, it’s going to add characterization and keep the reader immersed. Many places don’t recommend doing it because writers do it badly, instead of trying to figure out how to do it right. I read Michael Connelly all the time, and he pulls me in with this no matter where I am in the book.

Also, a better understanding of what secondary plotlines are. Craft books generally do not describe them very well, and I suspect those writers may not understand them very well either. I just took a very eye opening course on it. As a result, I’ve come up with at least six secondary plots in my story, including two I would not have thought of as such.

March 18, 2018 at 11:45 am

Linda–I did suggest for literary books, fleshing out characters is the best way to expand a book. I’m not sure that adding a bunch of description will work for a thriller, but it can help with a literary novel.

But good subplots are the best way to flesh out a book. I do wish there was more info on subplots out there. My problem was always too many subplots. The course you took sounds great.

I think trad pub is going to be downsizing books as well. I read a Canadian writer whose trad publisher publishes her novellas. As I said in my response to Ruth, James Patterson is having a huge success with books under 150 pages. So if you’re querying right now, yes, you have to get over 50K for most genres but I think that will change.

March 18, 2018 at 11:40 am

Linda, that’s an interesting point about secondary plot lines. Maybe we can talk Anne or Ruth into writing a post about it–or maybe they’ll invite you to guest post it! I’d love to learn more about the subject.

March 18, 2018 at 1:09 pm

Tricia–We’ll have to look into that. 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 12:30 pm

I’m one of your readers who errs on the side of brevity, Anne, as you know. I adhere to Elmore Leonard’s response: “I leave out the parts I think readers will skip.” If you are going to do that, you need a LOT of plot to get to 80,000 words. More plot points, not just more description (in my opinion, and Leonard’s – grin). I think a lot of crime writers pad their novels these days. If you look at many good movies – the Great Gatsby comes to mind – they were sourced from novellas.

March 18, 2018 at 1:14 pm

Melodie–I love your short books. (I like the longer fantasy ones too) but I think your latest Goddaughter book is the future of books. It’s novella-length and just the right size to stick i a pocket and read on the bus. (In a font that is big enough to actually read.) Your publisher seems to be in the vanguard of publishing shorter books, and I’m sure the Big Five will follow eventually, especially with the huge success James Patterson is having with them.

And you’re right that it’s not just short-attention span syndrome that’s pushing this. The film industry is too. The novella is the perfect size to convert to a screenplay.

March 18, 2018 at 1:35 pm

Thanks for the kind words, Anne! I think you’ve said a bundle in the last line of your comment. We should probably all be writing screenplays if we want to be part of the future of ‘story’. 44 pages for one hour television show. 120 pages for 2 hour full length picture. Wish I had gone this route when I was a young thing 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 1:08 pm

This is so helpful! And for picture books I’ve heard they’re shying away even from 1000. I’ve heard under 500 is even better. But I’m particularly interested in this list of non-fiction. I’ve never seen word counts for nonfic before, and this is so helpful!

March 18, 2018 at 1:16 pm

Sarah–I think everything is downsizing, so those top numbers may not apply much longer for any genre.

The nonfic numbers really surprised me. I started looking when my publisher told me my ms. was too long for my Author Blog book. I had feared it was too short.

March 18, 2018 at 1:23 pm

Thank you, Anne, this is great information. I’m kind of okay with books getting a bit shorter–at least as a reader. And after having written my first novella, I find I like writing that length and plan to do more of it.

March 18, 2018 at 1:44 pm

Eve–I feel the same way as a reader. I like ones I can read in a few sittings. Congrats on your novella! I haven’t done one yet, but I want to.

It’s always good to be reminded of these. I read a lot of fantasy and yes, I love those long, long, big, heavy books. LOL

March 18, 2018 at 1:46 pm

Susan–Some agents are still willing to look at those 110K fantasy manuscripts, because they know fantasy readers love long books. But others want a standard 80-90 K for everything because they don’t want to read that much of a debut novel.

March 18, 2018 at 2:39 pm

More kismet in this post! In the past week I’ve had 4 authors, querying me for an edit, ask if their book is too long or not long enough. These are authors with a first book, who expect to self-publish.

I decided to do some research and found contemporary advice was to ‘go shorter’, so urged the 160k authors to start thinking about splitting their book, while telling the 120k authors to wait for an edit, since they just might have heavy-handed material, which could be tightened down by 20k or more.

So — really fun to hear your thoughts on this dilemma.

oyes — have encountered more novellas in the past year than in the 5 years prior, with authors apologetically noting that ‘this was all the story needed’ — and after their edit, I had to agree. Hoping publishers start to wake up to this shorty ‘trend’, cuz I don’t care whether people prefer long or short, just so they read. :O)

Thanks for sharing stuff that seems to always be ‘right in time’. Maria D’Marco

March 18, 2018 at 2:56 pm

Maria–Serendipity indeed! I think you gave them great advice.

It’s silly that novellas have been so out of favor for the past 50 years, so it’s time for them to make a comeback. Especially since they’re so perfect for adapting to film.

March 18, 2018 at 3:00 pm

The majority of my stuff clocks in at roughly 52k, give or take 2k. Very rarely do my stories get into that “rarefied” atmosphere of 70k+ words. Whenever a story of min hits that level, my first thought is “why did I pad out my story so much?”, which of course is a bunch of bull crap, but that is the end result of trying to follow the rules about word count.

I actually have a novel/novella that the reverse needs to be done, in that it clocked in at 52k, but a beta reader told me the chapters were too long, so I’ll have to spend some time turning 8 chapters into at least 15.

As a reader, I definitely balk at reading a 100k+ word tome, no matter what the genre. I’m sorry, but any book that clocks in @ 500+ pages gets the clove of garlic and the cross of silver pens thrown at it.

March 18, 2018 at 3:15 pm

G.B.–I’m reluctant to pick up a big book these days too. I’m not sure I rank them up there with vampires on the scary scale, but I know what you’re talking about. 52K would have been fine for a novel in the 1920s and 30s. I don’t know when things got so rigid about word counts. Probably the 1950s. Conformity ruled. 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 3:05 pm

Thank you, Anne. In this fast paced world, it seems that “less is more.” As for myself my nonfiction picture books all fall under 1000 words, but most fall within 500 to 700 as I am hitting the upper range of that audience. It’s a challenge to say a lot more with fewer words. I must say, however, that I find myself limiting the word length in the historical articles that I write for adults as well.

March 18, 2018 at 3:17 pm

BA–Writing picture books must be like composing a poem. Short word count takes more time.

It’s true that most news articles and features have shrunk considerably. People are on the go, reading on their phones and don’t have time to settle in for a “long read” article. Even the New Yorker has mostly short articles now.

March 18, 2018 at 4:10 pm

GREAT POST AS USUAL, ANNE! I just sent it to a friend who’s writing a self-help/memoir. Looks like she’s right on target for length. I’m looking forward to reading Mara Purl’s post next week. She’s a woman with a ton of talent and an amazing life story.

March 18, 2018 at 4:20 pm

Sandy–Good to see you here! *waves*. Self-help and memoir are much shorter than I realized, so I was glad to find this information on several agent websites.

Mara won’t be here until June. But I’m really looking forward to her post. She’s a lovely person. We got to do some readings together last September and it was great fun.

March 18, 2018 at 4:18 pm

Thanks for the information. The counts have changed down a bit since the last time I checked. My YA novel isn’t 5,000 words short anymore! Yahoo!

Oh and I love the cat sleeping on the hefty book picture!

March 18, 2018 at 4:30 pm

Christine–Yay! Of course not all agents have updated their requirements, so always check their websites before you submit.

I loved that kitty picture too. That cat looks just like my cat Marco I had back in the 80s. 🙂

March 18, 2018 at 5:35 pm

Hi Anne – I thought I’d put my 2 cents in from experience around the crime thriller genre. I’ve got 2 series building, one is crime fiction with the debut tome going out at 115K. Common critique was it was way to long. I did a sequel at 80K and it was better received as for length – content was a different matter 🙂 I also have 3 true crime books at 50K each and they seemed to hit the eBook sweet spot bang-on. But, a few regular readers told me they don’t gauge a book by the word count. As long as it keeps them in the story, then time flies and they’re happy. Now I have a historical non-fiction underway -it’s at 65K and halfway through first draft – not sure how I’m gonna cut it. Maybe I’ll just rewrite history and turn it into fiction. Thanks for the great info, as usual!

March 19, 2018 at 9:35 am

Garry–Definitely 80K is a much more popular length for fiction, as you discovered.. Nonfiction can be shorter. If you have longer nonfiction, you can always cut it into two books.

I think one factor in the change in reading habits is that percentage line at the bottom of your e-reader. If you’ve been reading for hours and that percentage doesn’t budge, you can feel sort of defeated. A big jump in the percentage gives a reader a feeling of accomplishment.

March 19, 2018 at 9:07 am

What a wonderful, helpful post – I’m definitely bookmarking it! Prior to this this, the best idea I had was “50K is a novel, epic fantasy can be longer.”

March 19, 2018 at 9:37 am

Irvin–I wrote this because so many people on Facebook seemed to be confused about lengths. 50K is considered “a novel” by the NaNoWriMo people, but most publishers want something longer for adult fiction.

March 19, 2018 at 10:45 am

Thanks for the update. There are posts with word counts out there but they are old (like 10 or more years). It’s great to have an update especially in this industry. Many of the numbers are the same but some have subtle shifts and trends are always good to know.

March 19, 2018 at 2:21 pm

My novels tend to be on the longish side, between 100 and 120K… they’re suspense, paranormal suspense and historical suspense. I’ve yet to have anyone tell me they’re too long. Personally, I hate the trend to shorter books… I love to wallow in whatever world the writer has created, and, being a fast reader, a shorter book doesn’t give me enough time in that world.

But I did split a fantasy/scifi novel into at least two, probably three volumes, after the first volume got close to 200K words and it wasn’t even half done! Yes, fantasy can handle a longer length, but 200K? No way. So, now I’m working on the third volume of what will be a trilogy… or maybe a quadrilogy… who knows? Only the writing will tell…

March 19, 2018 at 3:33 pm

Susan–Everybody has their own reading habits and of course some people will prefer the big books. My sister does. A trend is just that–a way things are leaning. But that doesn’t mean every book has to be the same. Also, you’re an established author, so these *debut* fiction guidelines don’t apply.

But when you can break that big book into three (or four or five) you not only please more people, but you make more $$. Never a bad thing. 🙂

March 19, 2018 at 9:55 pm

Great post! It’s hard to stick to the limit but sometimes you might find that the book is far better than when you had those extra bits.

March 20, 2018 at 9:18 am

MariaJohn–Yes, very often word count problems can be solved by a good editor. Writers almost always say things with more words than we have to in a first draft.

March 20, 2018 at 8:47 am

Hello Anne, I have one question: What would be the word count for creative non-fiction, Ex: a collection of essays or for a memoir? Thank you!

March 20, 2018 at 9:19 am

Nadia–I haven’t seen any word count info on collections–either of stories or essays. But since your essays form a memoir, I’d go by memoir word count guidelines.

March 20, 2018 at 11:25 am

Anne, you bring some of the most helpful information to the screen! Thank you for this post on word counts. I’ve recently switched from nonfiction/memoir to historical fiction. Found my word count limits and am happy I can write veritudinously. 🙂

March 20, 2018 at 2:21 pm

Sherrey–Good to see you here *waves*. Yes, historical fiction can still be pretty long, so have fun!

March 20, 2018 at 1:46 pm

Anne, thank you very much! I had no idea those word totals had dropped that much! I guess I need to get to work. My paranormal romance is 106,000 words. No wonder I’ve received form rejections from all the agents I’ve contacted. I need to try to cut it down to 90,000 or less. And then I need to decide whether to self publish, or try other avenues. As for your question, I wrote a romance/adult fiction novel that was originally over 300,000 words. I split into two novels and cut about 100,000 words…which really hurt. Thank you again.

March 20, 2018 at 2:25 pm

Fred–That’s the thing–a lot of agents don’t post desired word counts, but they reject if you don’t follow them. So it’s good to know the standards. Many, many agents reject on word count alone. Cutting your romance to 90K would give it a better chance.

It is wrenching to cut a big book into two or three. You always end up having to lose some of your favorite passages. Killing our darlings does hurt.

March 21, 2018 at 7:41 am

I am relieved to know that my books are in the correct word count for their genre. I did do some research on this first though. A useful post.

March 21, 2018 at 9:56 am

Robbie–It’s nice to know you’re doing it right. 🙂

April 10, 2018 at 1:16 pm

Thank you for this oh-so-helpful information!

And I’m so glad to read that many manuscripts are too long because there’s nothing I hate more than slogging through a wordy non-fiction book that over-explains a concept or idea or repeats itself over and over!

I’m writing my soon-to-be self published debut non-fiction book and have tried to find any information on appropriate word counts. I don’t want it to be too short, and I don’t want to add unnecessary fluff just to make it longer. My rough first draft is at just under 22K words, so it appears I may be right on track in the self-help/ how to genre.

April 10, 2018 at 2:22 pm

Chrysta–This information is hard to find partly because Google isn’t chronological. You get 10 year old information on the top of the SERP and have to go digging to find the current stuff. But nonfiction has shrunk by almost 50% in the last decade, so your 22K words is probably just fine. I agree that nonfic is often bloated by “fluff” and repetition, and it’s great that it’s being cut down to “just the good stuff.”

April 22, 2018 at 7:30 am

Most helpful. Thanks for that. On the subject of splitting a book, I’ve done that on twos accasions. One on my publisher’s advice and one I decided was going to be far too big. (possibly a George R.R. Martin sizes book).

April 22, 2018 at 9:26 am

V. M.–I’m glad it’s helpful. And thanks for the testimony that splitting a book works!

April 24, 2018 at 5:59 am

Thanks for this helpful information, Anne. 🙂 — Suzanne

April 30, 2018 at 9:25 pm

I don’t see my comment!

March 28, 2019 at 1:19 pm

Thank you for helpful information I really enjoyed reading this article even though it wasn’t so satisfying for my Ms. But, as you had written, I’ll just kill off more victims 😉

March 28, 2019 at 2:58 pm

Lenka–I think it’s much easier to make a short book longer than the other way around. In fact, it can be fun. Good luck with it!

March 28, 2019 at 4:42 pm

Lenka—here’s Ruth butting in and politely disagreeing. Please see my post about the power of the delete button and Stephen King’s 10% rule. http://annerallen.com/2019/01/stephen-kings-10-rule/

Hope Anne and I have helped.

March 28, 2019 at 4:51 pm

Ruth–Lenka’s problem is a book that’s too short. That’s why adding another subplot/dead body helps. And it can be fun for the writer. Readers do have expectations about novel length. But that doesn’t mean Lenka can’t publish her book as a novella!

November 2, 2021 at 2:27 pm

In many cases, adding “five senses to each scene” is only going to read like the filler it is. You need “more story”, not “more words”. The story is there to write. Reveal more character with more dialogue, add interesting or amusing incidental action, give interesting information about your setting (within sensible limits), and yes, add some description here and there WHERE it benefits the story, not just a word count.

Plus, add more story. It doesn’t have to be subplots … expand your character’s journey. But it has to serve the story and be interesting, and after all, we’re writers … that’s what we’re supposed to be good at.

November 2, 2021 at 4:12 pm

Brent–Great tips on keeping your word count down. Newbie writers often write more description than necessary because they’ve been taught to add “all the senses” to every scene. But as you say, story trumps everything else. If it gets in the way of the story, cut it.

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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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Narrative Essays

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What is a narrative essay?

When writing a narrative essay, one might think of it as telling a story. These essays are often anecdotal, experiential, and personal—allowing students to express themselves in a creative and, quite often, moving ways.

Here are some guidelines for writing a narrative essay.

• If written as a story, the essay should include all the parts of a story.

This means that you must include an introduction, plot, characters, setting, climax, and conclusion.

• When would a narrative essay not be written as a story?

A good example of this is when an instructor asks a student to write a book report. Obviously, this would not necessarily follow the pattern of a story and would focus on providing an informative narrative for the reader.

• The essay should have a purpose.

Make a point! Think of this as the thesis of your story. If there is no point to what you are narrating, why narrate it at all?

• The essay should be written from a clear point of view.

It is quite common for narrative essays to be written from the standpoint of the author; however, this is not the sole perspective to be considered. Creativity in narrative essays oftentimes manifests itself in the form of authorial perspective.

• Use clear and concise language throughout the essay.

Much like the descriptive essay, narrative essays are effective when the language is carefully, particularly, and artfully chosen. Use specific language to evoke specific emotions and senses in the reader.

• The use of the first person pronoun ‘I’ is welcomed.

Do not abuse this guideline! Though it is welcomed it is not necessary—nor should it be overused for lack of clearer diction.

• As always, be organized!

Have a clear introduction that sets the tone for the remainder of the essay. Do not leave the reader guessing about the purpose of your narrative. Remember, you are in control of the essay, so guide it where you desire (just make sure your audience can follow your lead).

The ideal length for different book types: novels, non-fiction, short stories and more

• by Daniel Cleary
• March 12, 2023

Book length is a common topic of discussion among writers and publishers, as the length of a book can affect its accessibility, appeal, and marketability. But how long should a book be? Here is everything you’ll need to know about each of the book types.

The answer to the book-length question comes down to a few different factors. It will often vary depending on the type of book, its intended audience, and its genre.

The exact length of each piece of writing will always depend on the overall narrative. But here are some guidelines for each of the different types of books: Novels, non-fiction, short stories, comics, and picture books.

How many words for different book types?

Novels are typically the longest type of book, with the average length ranging from 80,000 to 100,000 words. However, there is no strict rule for the length of a novel, as long as the story is well-structured, engaging, and well-developed. Some novels can be as short as 50,000 words, while others can be much longer, reaching up to 200,000 words or more.

For first-time novelists, it’s recommended to aim for a length of 80,000 to 100,000 words, as this length is more manageable for both the writer and the reader. However, some genres, such as epic fantasy and historical fiction, may require a longer word count to fully develop the world and characters.

Short Stories and Novellas

Short stories are typically between 1,500 and 7,500 words, while novellas are between 20,000 and 50,000 words.

These shorter works are often used as stepping stones for writers looking to publish their first work, and they also provide an opportunity for writers to experiment with different styles and genres.

Comic Books/ Graphic novels

Comic books and graphic novels are heavily supplemented with images and illustrations that help tell a story. As pictures and artwork make it easier to shape a narrative, these types of books will require fewer words than the average short stories.

In general, you will want to aim for about 500 to 1,000 words in comic books. Graphic novels will require a bit more writing, about 1,000 to 2,500 words should be a good target for you to follow. If you’re looking for examples, DC and Marvel comics usually set the standard for stories of this length with their superhero books.

Non-Fiction book types

The length of non-fiction books can vary greatly, depending on the topic and intended audience. For example, a self-help book may be between 50,000 and 80,000 words, while a comprehensive history book can be much longer, reaching up to 200,000 words or more.

For non-fiction works, the length should be determined by the depth and breadth of the topic being covered. A comprehensive guide to a specific topic may require a longer word count, while focused work on a single aspect of the topic can be much shorter.

Picture Books

These are typically shorter than other types of books, with average lengths of 100 to 1,000 words. Picture books are meant to be read to young children and are often used to teach early literacy skills, so the focus is on the illustrations and the story’s overall impact, rather than the length.

The length of a book is determined by a variety of factors, including the genre, intended audience, and the story itself. While there is no strict rule for the length of a book, writers and publishers should aim for a length that is manageable for the reader and that accurately reflects the content of the book.

Whether you’re writing a novel, a short story, a non-fiction book, or a picture book, the most important thing is to focus on telling a compelling and engaging story.

If you’re looking for more narrative guides feel free to check out some of our other blog posts.

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• November 7, 2023

How Long Should a Chapter Be? A Complete Guide for Writers

• By Denisa Cerna

You’ve been writing a really intense chapter. The scenes keep piling up, but you’re still not finished, and you’ve already reached eight thousand words.

That’s when a thought occurs to you. How long should a chapter be? Is your chapter too long? Would the reader lose interest at this point? Would they look at how many pages are left and get horrified at the idea of having twenty pages to go?

I know the struggle. In fact, I found myself in this exact same situation a few months ago, which is why I decided to research how long a chapter should be.

Here’s everything I discovered!

What is the purpose of a chapter?

Imagine going for a run. After a few minutes of jogging, you’re out of breath and need to stop for a moment. Then you walk for a bit, only to try sprinting next, and then you take a break again.

Those breaks that allow you to recharge your energy? Those are the pauses between the end of one chapter and the beginning of another one.

The purpose of a chapter is to break down your story into digestible bites that keep the momentum going while letting the reader take a breath from time to time. It’s a bit like having a ten-minute break between the different acts of a theatre play – the audience has a chance to relax before they turn their focus back to the stage.

Not only that but a chapter also serves as an important tool for plot development. Chapters tend to begin and end on different notes, and typically, some kind of a shift occurs in that space – a shift that drives the story forward and keeps the reader engaged.

What’s more, the length of your chapter tends to determine the pacing and flow of the story. Longer chapters evoke a sense of slow-building excitement, while short chapters are more of a “bang-bang-bang” nature – they give the story a quick and thrilling pace.

When it comes to non-fiction, the main point of a chapter is to pass along different chunks of knowledge in different sections. Chapters allow you to build concepts upon one another and create an overarching theme that binds different strings of ideas together.

So, without further ado… How long should a chapter be?

RELATED READ:  How to Outline A Novel

How long should a chapter be.

First of all, it’s important to keep in mind that there is no rule for chapter length . There are only averages and recommendations. If 10,000-word chapters perfectly fit the theme and pace of your novel, there’s no reason to break them down further just to fit in with other authors.

On average, though, chapters are anywhere between 2,000 and 5,000 words. This gives you enough space to set the scene, create a new shift, and move the story toward its next chapter. The same applies to non-fiction.

However, chapter-length also differs by genre. Thrillers and mystery novels tend to have shorter chapters – many of them ending on cliffhangers – to keep the suspense going, while literary fiction or fantasy books can afford longer word counts due to the slower pace and build-up.

Again, if your chapters are shorter than 2,000 words or longer than 5,000, it’s not the end of the world.

Have you ever read Harry Potter? Those chapters are long . In fact, Detention with Dolores in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix is over 9,000 words, while the average chapter length in the series is between 5,000 and 6,000 words.

On the opposite side of the spectrum are books like The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab, where chapters can be as short as three pages.

It all depends on what kind of story you’re telling. If you’re making a lot of jumps between different points of view and timelines or if one chapter always equals one scene, writing short chapters makes a lot of sense, and whilst anything below 1,000 words is usually seen as too short, there are authors out there who can make it work.

The same applies the other way around – 8,000 words may seem too long a chapter, but if it includes three different scenes , all of which are packed with action, the reader will blaze through it.

Let’s look at some more examples, shall we?

Chapter Length: Examples

• The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins: around 3,700 words per chapter
• The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood: around 2,100 words per chapter
• Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn: around 2,277 words per chapter
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald: around 5,232 words per chapter

Remember that these are averages – one book doesn’t have to comprise chapters of the same length.

While it’s a good idea to keep your chapters similar in length for pacing purposes, it’s also completely okay to make them longer or shorter based on the plot. For example, a large battle scene will naturally take up more space than a private conversation between two characters.

RELATED READ:  How to start a story: Tips and ideas

What’s the best way to close a chapter.

The endings of chapters aren’t random. Most of the time, a chapter either wraps up its events or invites the reader to keep on reading, for example by creating a cliffhanger or a sense of excitement.

In fact, many chapters manage to do both at the same time. Here’s a very clear example from the first chapter of The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang:

“She had bribed a teacher. She had stolen opium. She has burned herself, lied to her foster parents, abandoned her responsibilities at the store, and broken a marriage deal. And she was going to Sinegard.”

Finally, remember that your chapter length may change throughout the editing process, and whilst it’s important to break your story down into different sequences and have a well-crafted plot, the most vital thing right now is to put the story down on paper.

You can make all the necessary edits later. First, write the whole book. Then feel free to play around with chapter length, and don’t forget that the quality of your story is much more important than word count.

Happy writing!

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• Knowledge Base
• College essay

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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Courault, K. (2023, June 01). How Long Should a College Essay Be? | Word Count Tips. Scribbr. Retrieved September 30, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/college-essay/college-essay-length/

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When to Use Quotation Marks for Titles

Do you know when to use quotation marks for titles? Knowing whether to use italics or quotation marks for titles is one of the most common problems students have, especially when it comes to academic writing where you discuss your sources. Luckily, there are consistent themes that can help you pick the right format for each title, no matter what style guide you’re following. 

Below, we explain exactly when to use quotation marks in titles (and when to use italics instead). We’ll cover the title rules for the three main style guides—APA, MLA, and Chicago—and give you some guidelines for figuring out which kinds of titles use which format. 

How to properly quote a title with quotation marks

Quotation marks (“ ”) are mostly for showing speech or copying passages verbatim from other works, but sometimes they’re used for more than just punctuation . For certain types of works, they’re used to set apart titles. 

The general rule is to use quotation marks for titles of short works such as articles, poems, songs, essays, or short stories. By contrast, use italics for larger works such as books, movies, and the names of periodicals. We provide a complete list below. 

When to use italics or quotation marks for titles

Some types of work italicize titles , and some use quotation marks, but how do you know which is which? Here’s a quick list of what kinds of works use each. 

Works that use quotation marks in titles

• journal articles
• newspaper and magazine articles
• blog and online news articles
• essay titles
• poems (except epic poems)
• short stories
• episode titles of TV shows, podcasts, and other serial works
• page titles for websites
• section or part titles within a larger work
• short-form videos, such as those on YouTube

Examples of titles with quotation marks

“A Policy Framework for the Growing Influence of Private Equity on Health Care Deliver”

( Journal of the American Medical Association )

“Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to consider sewer rate increase”

( The Press Democrat )

“E.U. Approves Microsoft’s $69 Billion Deal for Activision”

( The New York Times )

“A Dream Deferred” 

(Langston Hughes)

Short story:

“Everything that Rises Must Converge”

(Flannery O’Connor)

“A Lonely Coast”

(Annie Proulx)

“ (Sittin ’ On) The Dock of the Bay ”

(Otis Redding)

“Think About Things”

(Daoi Freyr)

“The Wolves”

( The Wild Robot Escapes )

“The First Tee”

( The Match: The Day the Game of Golf Changed Forever )

“The Danger of a Single Story”

(Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie)

“ Creativity in Management ”

(John Cleese)

Podcast episodes:

“The Lives of Others”

( This American Life )

“Alone@Work: Miles To Go Before I’m Me”

( Rough Translation )

“Responsible AI”

(Grammarly.com)

“Volleyball”

(Wikipedia.com)

Works that use italics in titles

• anthologies
• epic poems (not regular poems)
• periodical names (magazines, newspapers, and news websites)
• radio shows
• TV shows (not individual episodes)
• podcasts (not individual episodes)
• music albums
• video games
• operas and long musical compositions
• classic art like paintings and sculptures
• dissertations
• legal cases
• large vehicles such as ships, aircrafts, and spacecrafts

When to use quotation marks for titles for each style guide

While the basics are the same—italics for the titles of long works and quotation marks for the titles of short works—some minor details may vary. Here’s a quick rundown of when to use quotation marks in titles for the APA, MLA, and Chicago styles. 

Quotations marks in titles for APA

The APA format follows the list above: It uses quotation marks for all types of work mentioned. The only particular rule they have about quotation marks in titles is that they are not used in the reference list for articles and chapters.  

In APA, the reference list is the name of the bibliography, like a works cited page . When writing a full citation that mentions an article or book chapter, simply write the title with neither quotation marks nor italics. However, if the same title is written within the text (or in a copyright attribution), use quotation marks. 

Quotations marks in titles for Chicago

In general, Chicago style follows the list above. It does, nevertheless, list a few extra types of works that the other style guides do not. 

Quotation marks for titles:

• fairy tales and nursery rhymes

Italics for titles: 

• serialized cartoons and comic strips

Quotations marks in titles for MLA

The use of quotation marks in titles for MLA format is very straightforward. Simply use the appropriate format for the type of work, as indicated in the large list above. 

When to use single or double quotation marks for titles

There are two types of quotation marks: single quotation marks (‘ ’) and double quotation marks (“ ”). 

In general, American English uses double quotation marks. The only time we use single quotation marks for titles is to replace quotation marks within another pair of quotation marks. 

For example, if you were writing an article about Langston Hughes’s poems—highlighting “Harlem” in particular—the title of your article might be something like this:

“Reflections on ‘Harlem’ and Other Poems” 

Notice how, when we talk about the poem “Harlem” on its own, we use the standard double quotation marks. However, when we mention it within another pair of quotation marks, we use single quotation marks instead. 

This is done simply for the sake of clarity. It would be confusing to use double quotation marks within double quotation marks, so this makes reading a bit easier. Let’s look at another example: 

EPISODE TITLE: “The Winds of Winter” (episode of Game of Thrones )

ESSAY TITLE: “Why ‘The Winds of Winter’ Is the Best Episode of Game of Thrones ”

Keep in mind that if a title in quotation marks is used within an italicized title, double quotation marks are used. For example, look at how we write the title of a full book that collects Roald Dahl’s short stories: 

“The Landlady” and Other Short Stories

It’s also worth noting that this is only the convention in American English. In British English, single quotes and double quotes are switched! That means titles and speech quotes use single quotation marks most of the time and double quotation marks are used only within single quotes. Keep that in mind if you’re ever reading a British piece of writing . 

Quotation marks for titles FAQs

Why use quotation marks for titles.

Quotation marks set apart the titles of short works like articles, poems, songs, essays, or short stories. Longer works like books or movies use italics instead. 

When do you use quotation marks for titles?

Use quotation marks for the titles of articles, essays, poems, short stories, songs, chapters, lectures, pages for websites, episodes of serial works (such as TV shows or podcasts), names of sections or parts in larger works, and short-form videos such as those on YouTube. 

When do you use italics?

Use italics for the titles of books, movies, plays, TV shows, podcasts, video games, apps, classic art (like paintings and sculptures), music albums, legal cases, dissertations, anthologies, reports, periodicals (like magazines or newspapers), operas and long musical compositions, and large vehicles (like ships or aircraft).