how to reduce words essay

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Word Count Reducer

Have you exceeded your assignment word limit and now wonder how to cut your essay length? Try our word count decreaser! It will shorten your paper while preserving its meaning.

Create a summary of any academic text with this summarizing software! It will generate a synopsis for you in 3 simple steps:

How often do you exceed the word count by more than 10%? How often do you lack the required amount of words? In many cases, writing a text of the exact size is difficult. However, teachers assess your ability to squeeze all required content into a particular volume, especially in admission essays.

Use our handy free online tool – a word decreaser – if you’re clueless about what to cut out from your writing.

• ✂️ How to Use the Word Decreaser?

✅ Word Cutter: the Benefits

• 🕰️ When to Use the Tool?
• ✍️ How to Cut Words?
• 🤩 Why Choose This Tool?
• 🔗 References

✂️ Word Count Decreaser Guidelines

When you realize that your text requires reduction, you may follow two paths – edit it on your own or take advantage of modern technology. Our smart word count decreaser will do the job for you! The entire process is automated and lets you submit an essay with an exact word count without losing the important content.

Here’s how you can use the decrease word count tool:

• Paste your text into the first window;
• Select the number of sentences you want the summary to have;
• Choose to see the keywords of the text;
• Press “Decrease” and review the result.

The best about our tool is that you won’t spend hours editing your writing masterpiece. You can quickly decrease word count online and experiment with several word combinations to find the best match.

🕰️ Word Cutter – When to Use It?

Let’s discuss the propriety of using the decrease word count generator and explain the cases when you’ll find it useful.

Exceeding the Word Count (Essay, Research Paper, Thesis)

Each academic assignment has a specific word count based on the contents and depth of the research.

• A standard essay usually ranges from 500 to 2000 words;
• A research paper is rarely smaller than 2,500-3,000 words;
• Theses and dissertations have more extended word counts, from 10,000 to 25,000.

So, if you’ve hopelessly run out of the required word count and still need to cover some vital sections, turn to our word count reducer. The tool will cut words from the essay or dissertation to let you meet the word limit. You can stipulate the number of sentences it should contain and highlight the keywords to preserve the core content.

Making a Book Review

A book review is a detailed yet concise analysis of the book’s contents, main plot twists, and characters. Students of humanities departments, especially Literature, often need to make book reviews and reports based on the studied material. But do you have time to read all the books and then write reviews? If not, our word count reducer can help you receive a short, manageable summary in a few seconds. Read it, get the book’s content, and write a review in one go without spending several days on full-size book reading.

Writing an Abstract

You may often need to complete an abstract for an essay, dissertation, or other academic manuscripts , which should not exceed 200-250 words. Producing such a concise summary is often challenging, as your work is large and contains many valuable facts you might want to cover. Our word reducer will do the job for you. Just instruct it on what to focus on, and the tool will generate a brief, informative abstract, keeping the data you need.

Paraphrasing

Students often have to read, process, and synthesize dozens of scholarly works when writing academic papers, like essays or coursework. The challenge here is to refer to sources in a non-plagiarized way , so you should dedicate enough time and effort to paraphrasing. Though our keyword reducer will not make the summarized content unique (paraphraser will), it will identify the key facts and points for further paraphrasing .

In this section, you’ll find the key advantages of this word reducer.

✍️ How to Reduce Word Count?

Many students ask, “how can I reduce my word count?” This task requires careful editing and content review so the process may take hours. We’ve compiled some handy tips to guide you in this process and hone your word-count-reduction skills.

🤩 Why Choose This Reduce-Word-Count Generator?

As you can see, reducing the word count can be a tedious task. Our free online tool can do the job for you by speeding up the process of word cutting.

• You can shorten the text without losing its quality and key information.
• You stay in complete control of the word reduction process.
• You can compare the original text’s word/character/sentence count with in the output section.
• You can see keywords for a quick review of the core content.
• You are able to copy the result with one click.

What’s more, the tool comes with a detailed, user-friendly interface that will make your experience a breeze. It’s free to use, and you can enjoy it without limitations for any academic challenge.

Updated: Apr 5th, 2024

📎 References

• How to Reduce Your Essay Word Count – Word Counter Blog
• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count – the University of Adelaide
• Paraphrasing – Purdue OWL® – Purdue University
• Writing an Abstract for Your Research Paper; The Writing Center; UW–Madison
• Research Paper Structure

8 Proven Methods to Reduce Essay Word Count, AI Included

Table of contents

Yona Schnitzer

We all know how hard it is to write long essays with a minimum word count.

But sometimes, we're faced with the opposite challenge - keeping our essays under a maximum count.

How to Reduce Essay Word Count

1. Use an active voice instead of passive 2. Spot the fluff 3. Eliminate redundant words 4. Shorten wordy phrases 5. Stop using "What" and "There" as subjects 6. Drop the conjunctions 7. Forget the running starts 8. Use shorter words

Anyone who has ever tried covering complex topics with a maximum word ceiling can tell you that it can be challenging to reduce the word count without sacrificing the meaning or flow of your piece. 

In this article, I’ll give you 8 easy tips to help you reduce the word count in your essays without compromising the quality of your writing.

Instantly reduce your word count with this FREE AI tool > Instantly reduce your word count with this FREE AI tool >

Get Wordtune for free > Get Wordtune for free >

So, without further ado, here are 8 proven methods to reduce essay word count:

1. use an active voice instead of passive.

Using an active voice makes your writing more direct and concise. Passive voice often adds unnecessary words and can make your writing sound less engaging. For instance:

By switching to the passive voice, we’ve reduced our overall word count, while also making the sentence more engaging. 

Be sure to check out our full guide on how to nail the active voice .

2. Spot the fluff

One of the easiest ways to reduce word count is to identify any unnecessary or redundant information in your piece. Whether it’s drawn out introductions, or repetitive information, there’s always something that you can do without. Some tools, like Wordtune can actually help you identify areas where you can afford to shorten your writing, or even entire paragraphs that you can cut out.

3. Eliminate redundant words

Many sentences contain words that don't add any value to their meaning and can be easily removed. Very, for example, is a very common offender (see what I did there?). Instead of writing It was very cold outside, just write It was cold outside.

Here are some more examples of redundant words to help you get the idea:

4. Shorten wordy phrases

Another way to reduce word count is to identify and shorten wordy phrases. 

For example, instead of writing "due to the fact that, " you can write "because."  

Once you get in the habit of shortening your phrases, it will be like second nature. There are also some tools that can help you with that, like Wordtune's "shorten" feature, which can suggest shorter ways to write a sentence without sacrificing clarity.

5. Stop using "What" and "There" as subjects

Using "What" or "There" as the subject of a sentence will add unnecessary words to your writing. Instead, you can rephrase the sentence to make the subject more specific. 

For example: 

6. Drop the conjunctions

Conjunctions such as "and," "but," and "however" can be used to connect two independent statements, but they also add unnecessary words to your sentence. Instead of creating one, long sentence that is put together by conjunctions, try writing two separate sentences instead. Usually you’ll find that these end up using less words overall. 

For example:

This may seem like a small difference, but over the course of an entire paper, these small changes will really add up.

7. Forget the running starts

In writing, a "running start" refers to a sentence that begins with a word or phrase that does not provide any useful information and can be easily removed without affecting the meaning of the sentence. Common examples of running starts include words like "it," "there," "here," "this," and "that." These words often add unnecessary words to a sentence and can make the writing sound less direct and less engaging. Removing them can help to make your writing more concise and to the point.

Pro Tip: Wordtune's "Shorten" feature is great at eliminating running starts.

8. Use shorter words

Sometimes, an assignment has a page limit rather than a word count, in this instance, it can be worth it to identify words that can be replaced with shorter words of the same meaning. For example, instead of writing " utilize ," you can write " use ." 

Here are some other common words that can afford to lose a few letters:

Less is more

‍ If you’re looking for tips on how to INCREASE word count, check out this article . 

There are plenty of ways to reduce your word count without sacrificing the quality of your writing. Use these tips and tricks the next time you find yourself desperately trying to squeeze too many sentences onto one page. Keep in mind that whenever you shorten a text, you’re usually improving it by making it more readable and accessible to a larger audience. 

Remember, when it comes to writing - less, is usually more. 

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5 Best ways to Make an Essay Shorter

If you are like me, you will find that you often struggle to stay within the word count in your essays.

In this article, I will show you exactly how to reduce your word count in your essay.

If you go over the word count in an essay, there are some strategies to make your essay shorter that make sure you keep your marks high and, sometimes, make them even higher.

The trick to going over the word count is seeing this as a positive: you now have the chance to only present your absolute best arguments.

This is a luxury other students in your class just don’t have. Reducing your word count is actually your chance to get even further ahead!

The best essays have no dull, irrelevant or sub-par content. Every paragraph is on-point and designed to win you more and more marks. When editing your work, keep this in mind.

Below, I introduce five important strategies that will help you to reduce your word count in a way that will actually increase your mark!

• Delete your three Worst Paragraphs. …
• Listen for Weaknesses using Google Translate or Microsoft Excel Read-out-Loud.
• Re-Read the Marking Criteria.
• Shorten Paragraphs over 7 Sentences Long.
• Delete Irrelevant Words.

1. Delete your three Worst Paragraphs

I usually aim to go over my word count intentionally so I can creatively make the essay shorter in a way that increases my marks.

If I go over the word count, I can look back over my piece and find my worst performing paragraphs and remove them.

This not only helps me to ensure I present my best work to the teacher, it also forces me to admit that some of my writing is better than others. It keeps me critical of myself and always aiming for improvement.

Removing the worst paragraphs of an essay also ensures there are less boring, pointless or unanalytical sections of an essay. It means that the paragraphs I submit are the best sections – and that the teacher will be impressed throughout the piece.

To assess which paragraphs are best and worst, I do the following things:

• Find the paragraphs with the least or worst references in them. Teachers will scan over a paragraph to assess the quality of the references in them. Paragraphs with minimal referencing, too much referencing of just one source, or only references to non-academic sources, instantly get marked down by the teacher before they’re even read. These are also often the paragraphs that provide the least depth of information. That is because finding sources to reference in a paragraph often leads to adding detail that the source has provided.
• Find the paragraphs that are least convincing. When I re-read my paragraphs, sometimes I just think ‘the argument here is my weakest’. These are the ones I want to cut: they’re ones that won’t get me top marks. Teachers will lower your marks for any paragraph that doesn’t shine – so you’re best removing it.
• Rate your paragraphs out of 10. I often tell my students to delete their three worst paragraphs and they say ‘I like all of them!’ In this case, you will have to get brutal with yourself: rate every paragraph out of 10. This will help you make the hard decisions about which to lose.
• Combine two paragraphs into one. Sometimes I really like one sentence from a paragraph but don’t like the rest. If this is the case for you, have a go at extracting those good sentences from one paragraph and placing them in another one. Then, you can delete the not-so-good sentences from the original paragraph. If you do this, make sure all paragraphs still cohere around one key point.

2. Listen for Weaknesses using Google Translate or Microsoft Excel Read-out-Loud

Google Translate and Microsoft Excel both have read-out-loud options. Google Translate’s option is the easiest.

For Google Translate, simply search for ‘Google Translate’ on your internet search engine (or just click here ) to access it. Then, copy and paste the text into the translate box and press the ‘listen’ button:

For Microsoft Excel, you will need paste the whole essay into any cell and then activate the read out loud option.

This procedure is somewhat more complicated than Google Translate, but if you want to give it a go, you can get instructions from the Microsoft help website and go from there

Hearing your paper read out loud back to you can help you to identify which paragraphs or sentences are worth removing.

Here are some things to keep in mind while listening to the computer read your paper out loud to you:

• If a sentence feels like it’s too long and exhausting to listen to, you can bet your teacher will be exhausted, too;
• If a phrase seems awkward to hear, it will be awkward to read;
• If the paper seems to have lost its focus on the topic area, you’ll need to remove that section or edit it to ensure it links to the essay question.

Pause the read-out-loud each time you find a sentence long or awkward and work on shortening it.

Too often, students think long, complicated sentences with fancy-sounding words will get them marks. In reality, it’s the opposite.

Being able to describe complex concepts in a very easy, understandable way is a skill all top students learn to master.

The read-out-loud option can help you to see your paper from your marker’s perspective. Use it to your advantage and listen out for anything that sounds complicated, confusing, awkward or exhausting. Delete it or shorten it immediately.

Remember, the goal is to have your paper sounding short and clear.

3. Re-Read the Marking Criteria

When editing your work, it is best to have the marking criteria by your side at all times.

The marking criteria is the list of things the teacher is looking for when marking your essay. Sometimes it’s also called:

• Marking Criteria;
• Indicative Content;
• Marking Rubric;
• Learning Outcomes

These should be easy to find. Go to your course webpage (usually on Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle depending on your university) and find where your teacher has provided details about your assessment. If there are marking criteria, this is where it would be.

Sometimes, teachers don’t provide marking criteria.

If the teacher has simply provided an essay topic or question, that means the chances are they don’t have a list of outcomes they are marking your piece against. In these instances, you will have to simply rely on the essay question.

When you have your marking criteria or essay question by your side, read each paragraph then look back to your marking criteria.

You need to ask yourself:

• Does this paragraph directly answer the essay question or marking criteria?
• Does this paragraph add new information that helps me answer the essay question?

If your paragraph is not linked directly to the essay question or marking criteria, you’ve just identified the paragraph you need to remove to reduce your word count.

4. Shorten Paragraphs over 7 Sentences Long

Teachers hate long paragraphs. Teachers are just like you and me. They get bored very fast.

Chances are, any paragraph over 7 sentences isn’t being fully read. The teacher might have only read the first three sentences and made their judgement about your work based on those three sentences!

That’s why the ideal paragraph should be between 4 and 7 sentences long. This length helps to ensure:

• You haven’t gone off on a tangent;
• You have provided some explanatory or example sentences, but not too many;
• You have focused only on one key idea in the paragraph.

Your paragraphs that are more than 7 sentences long will be your low-hanging fruit for reducing your word count. Read through each of these paragraphs and try to find a way to reduce it to only 6 sentences. Find those sentences that seem to drag on or add nothing useful to your discussion and delete them.

By reducing all paragraphs over 7 sentences long, you won’t only bring your word count down. You will also make your essay much clearer and easy to read.

In this way, you’re both reducing your word count and increasing your mark.

5. Delete Irrelevant Words

Going through your paper and deleting irrelevant words can often save you several hundred words and could shorten your essay enough to get you back within the required word count.

Irrelevant words are words that are overly descriptive, redundant, too emotive, or in first-person. These words tend to get the same point across in far more words than necessary.

Furthermore, you will find that in removing overly descriptive, redundant, emotive and first-person words, your work will be much improved.

This is because academic writing is supposed to be formal and direct. Writing too many words can make your marker think you have poor communication skills and do not understand academic writing requirements.

Check below for examples of how to reduce your word count by removing overly descriptive, redundant, overly emotive and first-person language.

• Overly Descriptive: The amazing thing about the industrial revolution was that it brought about enormous changes to the ways people transported themselves and communicated across the globe in such a short amount of time.
• Alternative: The industrial revolution brought about rapid changes in transportation and communication globally.
• Redundant: The sum of five hundred dollars.
• Alternative: $500
• Redundant: It was quite unique.
• Alternative: It was unique.
• Redundant: It was triangular in shape.
• Alternative: It was triangular.
• Too Emotive: The disgusting thing about communism is that it refuses to allow poor everyday people to improve their lives by creating their own businesses that might flourish and really help our their communities, too!
• Alternative: Communism prevents citizens from starting businesses that can help bring people and their communities out of poverty.
• In first Person: In summary, I believe that the Industrial Revolution was good for the whole world.
• Alternative: In summary, the Industrial Revolution was good for the world.
• In first Person: This author argues that Thomas Edison was the greatest mind of his time.
• Alternative: Thomas Edison was the greatest mind of his time.

Making your essay shorter can sometimes be an absolute nightmare.

By following the above five steps, you can find easy ways to reduce your word count while also improving your work.

If you are an advanced or ambitious student, you might find that you always go over the word count. This isn’t necessarily a problem.

Try to look at going over the word count as a positive thing. Going over the word count means you have the freedom to only present your best work. You have the chance to delete anything that isn’t absolutely focused on gaining you marks.

In the end, your final submission will be cleaner, easier to read and easier to mark. Hopefully, this will see your marks growing even more!

Let’s review one more time the five top ways the best students reduce their word count in an essay:

Five Top Ways to Make an Essay Shorter

• Delete your three Worst Paragraphs
• Use Google Translate or Microsoft Excel to Read your Paper out Loud
• Re-Read the Marking Criteria
• Shorten Paragraphs over 6 Sentences Long
• Delete Irrelevant Words

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 50 Durable Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 100 Consumer Goods Examples
• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 30 Globalization Pros and Cons

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• Writing Tips

Top Tips for Decreasing Your Word Count

4-minute read

• 3rd July 2022

Cutting your academic writing down to meet a specific word limit can be tricky – sometimes more so than writing the essay itself! But don’t panic, you don’t have to start from scratch. There are some quick fixes that can help you get your word count down.

Below are our top tips for students who need to decrease their word count.

Look Out for Wordiness

It can be tempting, particularly in academia, to be wordy in your writing. Whether it’s intentional or not, most of us are guilty of this at some point.

To reduce your word count, look out for wordy sentences. If you can say the same thing in fewer words, make the change. Here’s an example:

Wordy: By far the most important aspect of this study to take into account is the way in which the participants responded to the final course of hair loss treatment.

Not wordy: The most important takeaway is how the participants responded to the final course of hair loss treatment.

Not only does reducing wordiness help decrease the word count, but it also makes your work easier to read and understand.

Eliminate Redundancy

One common source of wordiness is redundancy. This means using two words when one will do. Take the following sentence, for example:

Participants were then subjected to an unexpected surprise task.

Here, the phrase “unexpected surprise” involves a redundancy: i.e., Since a surprise is by definition unexpected, adding “unexpected” here doesn’t tell us anything. And this means we can cut “unexpected” without losing anything from the sentence.

Other common redundant phrases include “past history,” “consensus of opinion,” and “end result.” Keep an eye out for phrases like these so you can remove any redundant terms.

Watch Out for Nominalizations

Another common source of wordiness is nominalization . This refers to describing an action using a noun and a verb when a verb alone would work. For instance:

We conducted an investigation into the effect of sleep deprivation on memory.

Here, “conducted an investigation” is a nominalization comprising a verb (“conducted”) and a noun (“investigation”). But there is a verb form of “investigation” we could use instead:

We investigated into the effect of sleep deprivation on memory.

This simple switch immediately removes two words from the sentence. If you need to reduce the word count in a document, look out for places to make changes like this.

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Use Fewer Modifiers

Cutting back on modifiers such as adverbs and adjectives can be a good way to reduce the word count in a document. For example:

The whole experiment was massively impacted by the weather.

Here, while “whole” and “massively” do emphasize the extent of the impact described, they’re not essential to the meaning of the sentence. We could therefore rephrase more concisely and say:

The experiment was impacted by the weather.

Another one to look out for is “very.” A lot of the time, this can be cut as shown above. But you can also often change the word being modified to remove the need for the “very” in the first place.

For instance, while you might be tempted to say “very hungry” or “very happy,” you could look for a single term that communicates the same idea in each case (e.g., “famished” or “delighted,” respectively).

The key is to consider whether the modifying term is essential to the meaning of the sentence. If not, then it can usually be removed. If so, think about whether there is a single word that would express the same idea more concisely.

Use the Active Voice

Another great tip for reducing your word count is to use the active voice where possible.

People are often encouraged to use the passive voice in academic writing because it can give your work an objective, scholarly tone. But it can also be wordier than the active voice. For instance:

The recall task was then completed by the participants.

This sentence is in the passive voice because it foregrounds the task (i.e., the object of the action) over the participants (i.e., the people performing the action). But it would be more concise to phrase this in the active voice, placing the participants first in the sentence:

The participants then completed the recall task.

Looking for places to rephrase in the active voice throughout your work can therefore help to reduce the overall word count.

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We can take the pressures of proofreading your work off your plate so you can focus on getting those all-important top marks!

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How to decrease your word count, without ruining your point.

Here's our comprehensive guide to writing shorter sentences, without affecting the strength of your argument

Hugo Whitehead

Whether you're at school, university or writing your thirteenth book, you’ve probably got an incurable habit of writing more than you're supposed to. One minute you're struggling to get words on the page, the next you're way over your required word count.

To ease your worries, we've put together a comprehensive guide to writing shorter sentences, without changing the meaning of your content.

Check what is being counted:

First of all, check what is actually being counted. Often, your bibliography, footnotes, appendixes, and image captions aren’t counted in the word limit, so make sure you aren’t including them accidentally.

Watch out for repetition:

Without even realizing it, people will over explain and repeat themselves. Sometimes even good writers will include information twice. For example, “I went to university at the University of Technology Sydney”. Did you notice it? I didn't need to say “to university” because it is already stated in “University of Technology Sydney”. Instead, I should have said “I went to the University of Technology Sydney”. It might sound simple, but you’ll probably want to get someone else to read over your work to find these, as they’re rather hard to catch.

Remove adverbs:

Adverbs are usually unnecessary, and can weaken your writing. A quick thesaurus search will help you find a stronger synonym. For example, changing "very neat" to "immaculate" sounds better, and is one word shorter. You can find out more about the impact of adverbs on your writing in this article .

Remove adjectives:

In some cases, there is no need to over describe something. Especially, if you are trying to cut down you word count, you don’t need to say the day was cloudless, there was little wind, humidity was perfect and it was a lovely 27 degrees. Shorten it by using ideas that are familiar to people e.g. ‘it was a perfect summer day’. Your readers will know what a perfect summer day is like so you don’t need to waste words explaining it.

Use contractions:

This is a rather sneaky trick, but by contracting two words into one, you're easily reducing your word count without changing the meaning at all. For example, change “I have” to “I’ve” or “Would not” to “Wouldn’t”. Be careful though, if you are writing in formal context for an essay, CV or assignment, it’s best to avoid using contractions as they give a rather colloquial tone to your writing.

Use commas:

Sentences are typically used to convey one idea. However, if you can link two of your sentences together to discuss the same idea, do it. By using a comma or conjunction to link two sentences, you're bound to remove some words in the middle. For example, “Emily was so mean to me. She used to bully me” can be changed to “Emily was so mean because she used to bully me”. Make sure you don’t try and link every sentence as it will ruin the flow of your writing.

Eliminate wordy transitions:

Most good writers will try and link their paragraphs together with some form of transition. Whilst this gives flow from paragraph to paragraph, they can be wordy. Try and use a single word to link sentences. For example, use ‘Additionally’ instead of ‘In addition’, or ‘Opposingly’ instead of ‘In contrast’.

Swap out phrases for words:

From time to time, writers will use common phrases or idioms to help explain a situation. They are an easy way to cut out words. For examples, change “Volkswagen Golfs are a dime a dozen in Sydney” for “Volkswagen Golfs are common in Sydney”. Another example is “Jimmy was feeling under the weather on Monday after a big weekend”, which could be changed to “Jimmy was sick after a big weekend”.

Pick your best work:

If you have gone through you work and can’t find any easy spots to reduce your word count, the best thing to do is to re-read your writing and determine what your strongest points are. Focus on a few main points and keep the parts that you feel have the strongest impact on your reader.

It’s not an easy process. Cutting down your word count is a good skill to have, and no doubt you’ll have to do it at some point in the future.

Let Outwrite do it:

Can’t be bothered to do this all yourself? Check out Outwrite’s paraphrasing tool . It can help you rewrite sentences to make them shorter, clearer, and more compelling. Just sign up to our Pro plan, set your Rewrite goal, then get to work!

Reduce Word Count Generator

Cut your word count without reducing the content. This tool is very easy to use:

• Paste the text.
• Mind that there is a 15,000-character limit.
• Choose text reduction options.
• Click the button.
• Copy the text to the clipboard.

⭐️ Word Count Reducer: the Benefits

• ✒️ What Is Cut-Down-Word-Count Generator?
• ✂️ How to Cut Down Words?
• 👍 Word Cutter Do's & Don'ts

🖇️ References

✒️ reduce word count generator: what is it.

Cut-Down-Word-Count Generator is a free online tool that summarizes texts and reduces sentence and word count. It cuts out unnecessary words , phrases, and sentences but doesn't change the sense of a text. This is a helpful instrument for students, journalists, and other people who work with loads of written information.

Besides reducing your writing, you can also use the tool to summarize books, short novels, and articles on any topic. Artificial intelligence finds keywords and decides which sentences and words are the most essential.

The tool is also fully compatible with Grammarly – you can edit the text on our page if you have an extension.

✂️ How to Cut Down Words in My Essay?

Automatic tools are great when you need to work with extensive text . However, consider manual summarizing for more flexibility.

Here's how to reduce your word count manually:

• Find and highlight the key messages . If you do it thoroughly, you will preserve the initial sense of a text.
• Cut out adjectives and adverbs . Many of them are just filler words that serve only the aesthetic features of a text. That is why you won't lose the main points if you delete them.
• Look for synonyms and synonymic collocations . To avoid plagiarism in academic papers, use synonyms when referring to another author's thoughts. And you will still need to give them a reference.
• Change structures . Simplifying sentences is another way to reduce the word count. Just rewrite lengthy and overcomplicated grammar.
• One paragraph – one idea . Each section should focus only on one idea or answer one question. Keep your paragraphs at 200-300 and sentences at 15-25 words.

Words and Phrases to Avoid

You will also need to work on vocabulary . In this part, we will explain how to avoid excessive wording and bring your essay to academic standards.

👍 Word Cutter for Essays: Do's and Don'ts

This list of practical recommendations will help you use the word remover to its max.

• Don't paste long texts . The word limit allows us to summarize extensive passages, but we don't recommend it. Instead of cutting the whole text, work with each part separately.
• Don't simply copy and paste the results into your essay . You will likely need to modify the reduced text to create a smooth final version.
• Divide texts into logical parts . The AI will identify the main points quicker and have fewer error risks. It will also make it easier for you to navigate and spot mistakes.
• Check the results . It will be easier for you to manually correct inaccuracies at the very first stage. The tool is fast, but the human brain is more capable of understanding writing subtleties.
• Remove plagiarism . This is not a paraphrasing tool , so you must work on plagiarism. If it is just for personal use, you can leave the text as it is. Otherwise, you will need to quote or paraphrase the text to avoid plagiarized content.
• Work on word choice . Some texts you use might not be suitable for academic writing or your instructor's requirements. Devote some time to put the vocabulary in order.

📝 Word Reducing Example

Check out this example of a text summarized by our word reducer.

Original text

In the current study, several limitations of the research are necessary to mention. While random sampling will ensure representativeness and a low level of bias, there is a risk of limited outcomes in quantitative analysis. Since the questionnaires use structured and close-ended questions, there is a possibility of limited outcomes, which means that the results cannot always represent the actual occurrence in generalized forms.

Since respondents have limited response options that the researcher designed, the outcomes thus ultimately depend on the perspective taken by a scholar when creating the questions. Another significant limitation of the study is the limited availability of secondary data that can be applied to the research context. While the subject matter is widespread, there has been little research on implementing a sports education instructional program at educational facilities. Finally, data may not be robust enough to make conclusions regarding study findings.

Full text: Jeddah University: Sports Health Education Instructional Program - 4403 Words | Free Paper Example

Reduced version:

Since the questionnaires use structured and close-ended questions, there is a possibility of limited outcomes, which means that the results cannot always represent the actual occurrence in generalized forms. Another significant limitation of the study is the limited availability of secondary data that can be applied to the research context. While the subject matter is widespread, there has been little research on implementing a sports education instructional program at educational facilities.

• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count | The University of Adelaide
• Top Words to Avoid in Academic Writing | Useful Advices & Tricks
• Summarizing: How to effectively summarize the work of others | SFU Library
• The Writing Center | When to Summarize, Paraphrase, and...

Say More with Less: How to Reduce Word Count

Struggling to get your word count down? Check out these tips on how to reduce word count without compromising the quality of your writing!

Reducing word count without compromising clarity or content in written works holds several important benefits. Knowing how to reduce word count, firstly, enhances readability by eliminating unnecessary or redundant information, allowing readers to grasp the main points more efficiently. It also improves overall conciseness, making the text more concise and to the point. Reducing word count can increase the impact and engagement of the writing, as shorter and more focused sentences tend to hold the reader’s attention better. 

Identifying Wordiness

Identifying wordiness can be done by examining the clarity and conciseness of writing. Look for instances where the ideas can be expressed more directly and succinctly. Pay attention to unnecessary repetition, redundant phrases, excessive modifiers, and verbose language. Consider if any sentences or phrases can be simplified without compromising the intended meaning. Additionally, be mindful of using precise and specific language to convey the message effectively. Proofreading and editing the text can help identify and eliminate wordiness.

Eliminating Redundancy

Eliminating redundancy in a text is a crucial aspect of effective writing. To achieve this, authors can employ several strategies. Firstly, they should review the text carefully to identify repetitive words, phrases, or ideas. Redundant modifiers, such as using “absolutely essential” instead of just “essential,” can be removed to streamline the message. Authors can avoid restating information that has already been conveyed, ensuring each sentence contributes new and relevant content. 

It is also helpful to avoid unnecessary qualifiers or intensifiers that do not add value to the sentence’s meaning. Simplifying complex sentence structures and replacing wordy phrases with concise alternatives can further reduce redundancy. Thorough editing and proofreading are essential to spot and eliminate any remaining redundancies. By diligently applying these techniques, authors can create clear, concise, and engaging writing that effectively conveys their message without unnecessary repetition.

Replacing Phrases with Words

To reduce word count and make writing more concise, consider replacing phrases with single words when possible. Here are some strategies:

Seek synonyms

Look for single words that convey the same meaning as a longer phrase. For example, replace “in the event that” with “if,” or “due to the fact that” with “because.”

Be specific

Instead of using broad or vague phrases, opt for precise words that capture the intended meaning. For instance, replace “a large number of” with “many” or “numerous.”

Use abbreviations or acronyms

Consider using abbreviations or acronyms to condense phrases into shorter representations. For example, replace “United States of America” with “USA”.

Simplify expressions

Look for phrases that can be simplified into a single word. For instance, replace “make a decision” with “decide” or “reach a conclusion” with “conclude.”

Condense prepositional phrases

Prepositional phrases can often be replaced with a single word or verb form. For example, replace “in the vicinity of” with “near” or “with the exception of” with “except.”

Deleting Adverbs and Adjectives

One effective strategy on how to reduce word count is to delete unnecessary adverbs and adjectives. Here is why and how to do it:

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, or other adverbs. They often end in “-ly” and provide additional information about how an action is performed. However, they can sometimes be redundant or add unnecessary detail. To reduce word count, review each adverb and check if it truly enhances the meaning or if the sentence can do without it. For example, replace “He ran quickly” with “He sprinted.”

Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns. While they can add vividness and specificity to the writing, using too many adjectives can make sentences wordy. To reduce word count, evaluate each adjective and determine if it contributes significantly to the description. Aim for precise and impactful adjectives rather than stacking multiple ones. For example, replace “The big, beautiful, magnificent house” with “The grand house.”

Eliminating Connectives and Prepositions

To achieve a more concise writing style, consider removing extraneous connectives and prepositions. These small words can often be streamlined or removed without affecting the clarity or meaning of sentences. Here is how to do it:

Connectives

Connectives such as “and,” “but,” “however,” and “therefore” are used to link ideas or clauses within a sentence. While they are important for coherence, overusing them can make writing wordy. Review each connective and assess if it is essential for conveying the intended meaning. Sometimes, sentences can be rephrased or restructured to remove the need for certain connectives. For example, replace “I went to the store, and I bought some groceries” with “I went to the store and bought groceries.”

Prepositions

Prepositions are words that express relationships between nouns, pronouns, or other words in a sentence. Common examples include “in,” “on,” “at,” “from,” and “to.” While prepositions are necessary for conveying location, direction, or time, they can be minimized to reduce the word count. Examine each prepositional phrase and consider if it can be reworded or omitted without sacrificing clarity. For example, replace “The cat jumped over the fence and landed safely on the other side.” with “Cat jumped fence and landed safely.”

Deleting Auxiliary Verbs

In the pursuit of concise and streamlined writing, one effective technique to reduce word count is the deletion of auxiliary verbs. Auxiliary verbs, such as “be,” “do,” and “have,” often add unnecessary length to sentences without significantly altering the meaning. By carefully evaluating each sentence and removing auxiliary verbs that do not contribute crucial information, writers can achieve a more succinct and impactful style. This approach not only reduces excessive word usage but also improves the overall clarity and flow of the text. 

Reducing the Introduction and Conclusion

Reducing the length of the introduction and conclusion without sacrificing their meaning requires careful consideration and concise writing techniques. Start by analyzing each sentence and identifying unnecessary words or repetitive phrases. Reduce lengthy sentences by removing redundancies and replacing wordy expressions with more concise alternatives. Focus on conveying the main points and capturing the reader’s attention efficiently. In the conclusion section, set a word count goal and strive to maintain consistency, summarize the key takeaways and main arguments succinctly, avoiding unnecessary repetition or lengthy explanations. 

Cutting Out Repetitive Chapter Linking Sections

To cut out repetitive chapter-linking sections while maintaining the meaning, you can employ a few strategies. First, carefully review each chapter’s linking section and identify any repetitive information or redundant phrases. Look for opportunities to consolidate or condense the information into a single comprehensive section. Focus on conveying the main connections between chapters concisely, without restating the same points repeatedly. 

Consider using clear subheadings or bullet points to highlight the key linking concepts, making it easier for readers to navigate and understand the flow of the text. Ensure that the transitions between chapters are smooth and logical, allowing the reader to follow the progression of ideas without unnecessary repetition. By streamlining the chapter linking sections, you can reduce word count while maintaining the coherence and meaning of the text.

Using Active Voice Instead of Passive Voice

To make a text better, consider using active voice instead of passive voice. Active voice provides a more direct and engaging writing style. Here are some tips for using active voice effectively:

Identify the subject : In active voice, the subject performs the action. Ensure that the subject of the sentence is clear and active.

Place the subject before the verb : Structure the sentences so that the subject comes before the verb. This emphasizes the “doer” of the action and makes the sentence more straightforward.

Use strong verbs : Choose strong, action-oriented verbs that convey the intended meaning clearly. Avoid weak or vague verbs that may require additional words to convey the same message.

Check for “to be” verbs : Passive voice often relies on “to be” verbs (e.g., is, was, were). Whenever possible, replace these verbs with more specific action verbs.

Consider the context : While active voice is generally preferred, there may be instances where passive voice is appropriate or necessary. Evaluate the context and purpose of writing to determine which voice is most suitable.

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Essay Word Cutter - Reduce a Text in an Instant

Input your essay to reduce word count

Reduced version length:

Here is your summary:

Our free word cutter for essays uses AI technology to shorten texts in these easy steps:

• Paste the text you want to shorten. It should be a maximum of 18,000 characters in one go.
• Indicate the length of the text you want to receive as a result of summarization.
• Click “Shorten the text” and get the results.
• 🖋 The Tool’s Benefits

✂️ How to Cut Words in an Essay?

• 🖇 References

🖋 Essay Word Cutter Benefits

Text summarizing is a crucial process in academic writing. It demonstrates your capacity to organize and deliver the key facts, story points, ideas, etc. A person can easily understand a decent summary without reading the original material. Thus, students love our essay shortener for the following reasons:

If you need to summarize your hard-won draft essay to fit the word count requirement and are pressured to fulfill a fast-approaching deadline, you can make a few adjustments to your content. Follow these guidelines to reduce your word count in a shorter time:

• Remove conjunctions
• Eliminate adverbs and adjectives
• Omit unnecessary articles
• Decrease wordy phrases
• Use an active voice
• Choose shorter words

Remove Conjunctions

Conjunctions are words or phrases that connect two independent sentences, words, or phrases that can often be rewritten into separate statements.

The most common conjunctions are and , but , or , because , and however , among others.

These conjunctions increase the word and character counts in an essay.

Eliminate Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs are words that modify verbs, adjectives, prepositions, or other adverbs in sentences. Adjectives describe and qualify nouns and pronouns. Using adjectives and adverbs in an essay reduces the quality of your writing, while omitting superfluous adjectives and adverbs makes the text more concise .

Omit Unnecessary Articles – The/That

Avoid overusing the words “ the ” and “ that ” in your essay since they increase the wordiness of your content.

Decrease Wordy Phrases

Identify the needless words and lengthy phrases that clutter your essay and eliminate them or replace them with more functional words and phrases. Avoiding complex terms and long sentences makes it easy for anyone to understand the topic easily .

Use an Active Voice

Articles written in an active voice use fewer words than those in a passive voice. An active voice makes the essay clearer and more compelling , thus delivering a convincing argument.

Choose Shorter Words and Avoid Unnecessary Transitions

To reduce the character count of your essay, replace long words with their shorter synonyms.

For instance:

The word “utilize” can be replaced by use.

Additionally, the use of transition words is essential to maintaining a proper flow in your writing, thus making the article engaging to the reader. However, transitions make a text wordier . That’s why it’s vital to strike the right balance between coherence and reasonable word count.

Thank you for reading this guide!

Check the other study tools we’ve prepared: paper rewriter , poem meaning generator , and project topic maker .

📍 Essay Word Cutter – FAQ

📍 how to cut words from an essay.

The most efficient and effective way is to use our free online essay cutter to do the heavy lifting. However, if you have time and prefer to summarize your own, you can apply the tips shared in this article to reduce the word count in your essay.

📍 How to reduce word count in an essay?

You can use the tips highlighted above to trim your essay’s word count. If you’re strained with time, you can utilize our free summary generator to shorten your essay and achieve impeccable results quickly, within the click of a button.

📍 How to check word count on Word?

Check the status bar when you need to know how many words, pages, characters, paragraphs, or lines are in a Word document. For a partial word count, select the words you want to count. The status bar shows the word count for that selection and the entire document.

Updated: Apr 9th, 2024

🔗 References

• How to effectively summarize the work of others - SFU Library
• Summarizing - Academic Integrity at MIT
• How to reduce word count without reducing content
• How to Increase or Decrease Your Paper's Word Count
• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count

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Edited Words and Edited Characters

0 words +0 edited     0 characters +0 edited start over.

Many people assume good writing is found when you write. The truth is for most writers, good writing appears when you edit. You know you have become serious about your writing when you're proud of the number of words you're able to reduce from your rough drafts when editing. To help you see how well you've been editing, we wanted to create a counter which encourages writers to reduce their word count through editing, and the result is the Edit Counter.

This is a bit different than Word Counter in that in addition to telling you the word count of your writing, it'll keep track of how many words you have managed to add or remove from your writing. Word Counter tells you how many words you have written. Edit Counter allows you to put in a finished first draft and see whether you increase or decrease your word count while editing.

The tool is easy to use. Simply paste your writing into the text area, and then hit the "Start Over" button on the top right of the tool. This will still show you the number of words written, but it will reset the "edit" word and character counters to +0. When you begin editing your writing, the Edit Counter will show how many words your writing had decreased or increased through your editing.

Editing is an important part of the writing process, and it usually doesn't get the respect it deserves. If you're able to get your point across more succinctly, that's good writing. While many writers strive to up their word count as much as possible, it's essential to remember that word count is only important if the words written actually count. Getting rid of those filler words and tightening up your writing should be a celebrated and encouraged exercise, not something to be dreaded.

For those who are writing essays for a class which has a word count minimum or maximum, you likely fall into one of two types when trying to meet the writing parameters. You either have trouble reaching the word count needed, or you write far more than you're allowed to write. For those who never seem to be able to write enough, there are some simple ways to increase your essay word count . For those who seem to write too much, there are some steps that can be taken while editing to help reduce the number of words in the essay without removing vital information. Often the writing is improved in the process.

Using Edit Counter is also a great way to see the effect editing has on your writing, especially over time. When using the tool on a regular basis, you may begin to see a trend that your editing decreases or increases your word count a certain percentage for every 1000 words written. If you become attuned to this trend, you will know how much you need to write in your first drafts to meet the required word count once you have finished editing.

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How to Shorten an Essay: 4 Techniques to Reduce Word Count

If you need to shorten your essay by 100-500 words, or even more, you can use one or more of four techniques. You can clean up your sentences, remove repetition, summarize your examples, and/or cut out an entire section.

One of my subscribers recently asked me, “ How do I compress an essay of 700-1000 words, or even more, to just 300 words? ”

In this tutorial I will show you four easy ways to shorten your essay by as much or as little as you wish. I am giving them to you in the order you should try them out.

Here are four techniques to shorten your essay:

Technique #1: Sentence Cleanup

When I taught essay writing in college, I noticed that students wrote sentences that were just too wordy. 

They used 20 words where 10 would have probably done the trick. If you examine your sentences, you’ll often find that you can say the same thing in much fewer words.

“In my opinion, there are many people who want to lose weight.”

This sentence contains 12 words. 

Here’s how we can shorten it by performing a Sentence Cleanup.

First, you never have to say, “ In my opinion, ” because if it were not your opinion, you wouldn’t be stating it. Okay? So, let’s cross out “ in my opinion. ”

“ In my opinion, there are many people who want to lose weight.”

We just cut out three words. 

Next, the phrase “ there are ” is usually unnecessary, and if you take it out, your sentence will become more elegant. So, let’s do it. Let’s just cross it out.

“ There are many people who want to lose weight.”

We also have to cross out the extra word “ who ” because it is only needed if you use “ there are. ”

We just got rid of three more words. 

And so our sentence becomes:

“Many people want to lose weight.”

How many words is that? That is now a six word sentence. Guess what – we just cut this sentence in half. 

Do this enough times in your essay, and it will get a lot shorter.

“How do I cut out 200 words from my essay to make it shorter?”

This sentence contains 14 words. Let’s perform a Sentence Cleanup.

Notice that it is pretty obvious that to cut out 200 words from an essay will make it shorter. Therefore, stating that you want to do it “ to make it shorter ” is unnecessary. 

If we get rid of that phrase, we’ll cut out 4 words from this sentence and make it a lot more elegant. 

“How do I cut out 200 words from my essay to make it shorter ?”

Technique #2: Removing Repetition

Repetition can be found on all levels – in a sentence, in a paragraph, or a section. When you reduce or eliminate repetition in your essay, you are making it less redundant. “Redundant” just means repetitive and therefore useless.

In the last example we just did, we eliminated a redundancy from a sentence. And that’s part of a Sentence Cleanup. But you can also find and eliminate entire redundant sentences.  

Look for repetitive phrases, sentences, and even passages in your content and remove them. 

Students often repeat things over and over, using different words, thinking that they’re writing great content. Those are your opportunities to significantly shorten your essay while improving it at the same time.

Here’s an example from a fictitious student essay. Let’s say the student writes about his trip to Paris and states:

“ I found that Parisians are very nice if you talk to them in French. ”

And then, in the same or even a different paragraph or section, the following sentence would appear:

“Parisians can be very nice people, but they really prefer that you speak French with them.”

Well, the two sentences say the same thing, just using different words. 

So, what do you do? 

Pick the longer sentence and just delete it.

Sometimes you will find a whole paragraph in your essay that is repetitive and can be removed without the essay losing any meaning. If you find such a paragraph, just delete it.

Technique #3: Zooming Out

Make sure that you go through your essay using the first two techniques before you employ this and the next one. 

The only case where you would do Zooming Out first would be if you had to shorten your essay drastically – by 30% or more. 

If you’ve cleaned up all your sentences and removed all repetitive content, and you still need to lose hundreds of words, the Zooming Out technique will really help. 

Here’s how it works. 

You may have heard that in essay writing, you are supposed to proceed from general to specific. Whether you stick to this rule really well in your essay or not, I want you to notice something. 

In your essay, you make statements that are:

• very general
• less general
• somewhat specific
• very specific

The most general statement in your essay is the thesis because it summarizes the entire essay. And the most specific parts of your essay are examples .

So, in order to shorten your essay, you can summarize your examples. I call this Zooming Out because you are taking something that was very specific (zoomed in) and making it more general (zoomed out). 

Let’s say you’re writing about the harms of second-hand smoking. And in one of the sections you provide an example of your friend or someone in the news who became seriously ill because she lived with a smoker for a long time:

“My friend Isabelle was married to a chain smoker. Her husband refused not only to give up his habit but even to reduce it. As years went by, Isabelle began to notice some respiratory symptoms. At first, she developed a light but persistent cough. Then, she started to feel out of breath more and more often. When she finally went to a pulmonologist, a test revealed that she had COPD, a serious lung disease.”

This example is 74 words long. And this is your opportunity to shorten your essay dramatically. 

You can simply contract this example into one short sentence and write something like this:

“A friend of mine developed lung disease after having lived with a chain smoker for twelve years.”

Now, this sentence contains only 17 words. We just cut out 57 words just by Zooming Out on one example. 

We are Zooming Out because we are no longer exploring this example in detail. We simply provide a fact without giving a lot of specific information. 

So, look for these detailed examples in your essay and just summarize each of them into one short sentence.

Technique #4: Cutting out a Section

This technique works very well to cut out a big chunk of your essay in one fell swoop.

Let’s say that you wrote an essay in which you have four supporting points to prove your main point, your thesis. 

If this is a 2,000-word essay, then each section is approximately 500 words long. But do you really need four reasons/sections to support your point?

Is it possible that if you provide only three supporting points, your essay will still work very well?

For example, if you argue that apples are a great food, you could have four supporting points, claiming that apples are:

But what if you simply took out one of these points? Let’s say that you eliminate the section about the portability of apples.

Will your essay still work? Sure it will. It will work just fine with the three remaining supporting points. And you just cut out 500 words (in a 2,000-word essay). 

After you have cut out a section, make sure to go back to your thesis statement and edit it to reflect the change.

I’ll leave you with one final tip. When trying to choose which sentence, paragraph, or section to cut out from your essay, go for the content that you know is not the best.

For example, you may have a section in your essay where you quote too much. Or, perhaps you were not very careful in paraphrasing, and your passage sounds too much like the original source. These would be great bits of content to get rid of.

I hope this was helpful. Now go ahead and shorten your essay to your heart’s desire!

How to Write a 300 Word Essay – Simple Tutorial

How to expand an essay – 4 tips to increase the word count, 10 solid essay writing tips to help you improve quickly, essay writing for beginners: 6-step guide with examples, 6 simple ways to improve sentence structure in your essays.

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

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Some tricks to reduce word count in academic writing.

More often than not, you end up needing to reduce word count in your academic writing. This can be a painful task, because you don’t want to lose the substance of your writing, but you’ve got no choice if you want to hand the piece in as required.

(By the way, you’re reading a site about East Asian Studies – if you’re interested in that then you could try an online Chinese course or an online Japanese course .)

There are one or two things you can do to reduce word count without affecting the substance of the writing, though. One thing to remember is that reducing word count actually means reducing the number of spaces (i.e. word delimiters) in the text. It’s not about making it faster to read, necessarily.

Also, make the following quick checks that might let you cut out a lot of word count without making any changes:

• Does the bibliography count?
• Do footnotes count?
• Does the abstract count?

Quite often those can take at least a thousand words off on their own.

Reduce word count by simplifying your style

The goal here is to reduce your writing down to its bear bones, leaving little else behind. This may make your writing less pleasant to read, but realistically you can’t be marked down for that. This isn’t a literature contest - it’s about getting your ideas down on paper in the least amount of words possible.

Also remember that the person reviewing your work and giving you credit is most likely going to scan through it at high speed. They may not even notice your prose style particularly, instead looking for the important content to follow the thread of your argument. In that case, you’re actually making the experience more pleasant for them by cutting out the extras in your writing.

Delete adverbs

Adverbs are usually very deletable in academic writing. At the very least, adverb-verb pairs can be converted into a better chosen verb on its own. For example, “dropped rapidly” could be replaced with “plummeted”.

Tip: using ctrl + f to search through your document for “ly” is a quick way to find a lot of adverbs.

Delete adjectives

Whilst adjectives make your writing livelier and more interesting to read, you can nearly always sacrifice them to reduce word count in academic writing. You probably won’t lose credit for duller writing, but you will for exceeding the word count.

Instead of using adjectives, try to keep your prose clear and straightforward, and get straight to the point. Avoid detailed descriptions unless they are absolutely necessary for following your argument and you are sure that the reader needs the detail.

Delete connectives

This is another tip that will reduce the flow of the text but is effective in reducing word count. Rather than having longer sentences linked with “and” or “but”, just delete those connectives and have two separate sentences. This will reduce the word count.

Again, remember that your reader will most likely be scanning your text at high speed, not reading it in close detail. Keeping everything clear and simple will make this process easier for them.

Delete prepositions

This tactic is a little harder to explain. The idea is to convert chunks of text that use a lot of prepositions (thus adding spaces and increasing your word count) into rephrased, shorter versions without prepositions.

For example, you could replace “tea from China” with “Chinese tea”. It’s only one word, but this adds up if done consistently over a long document.

“Of” is frequently a good candidate for deletion. You can often avoid using “of” just by changing the word order. For example, “writer of fiction” could just as well be “fiction writer”.

Delete auxiliary verbs

As with adjectives and adverbs above, auxiliary verbs might make your sentences more aesthetic if read in close detail, but that shouldn’t be your goal with academic writing. As always, keep it concise and to the point.

The auxiliary verbs you might want to remove in academic writing are ones like “could”, “may”, “might” and so on. These can be useful to express tentativeness, which is often a good thing in academic writing, but sometimes it’s just not necessary. Say what you mean directly and drop the extra verbs wherever you can.

Replace phrases with words

There are certain phrases in English that have become fixed and are used repeatedly in the same form. You can often replace these with single words to reduce your word count.

Again, there isn’t a set rule for identifying these, but go through your text looking for phrases of several words that seem to be expressing one concept. Whenever you spot one, use a thesaurus to identify one word which conveys the same idea.

Eliminate redundancy

You’re likely to have achieved this in steps above, but there may still be some redundancy in your writing that’s increasing the word count unnecessarily. Definitely delete sequences of descriptive or explanatory words and replace them with one word that summarises the list, even if you lose some of the nuance.

Beyond that, eliminating redundancy is about finding parts of your writing that inadvertently say the same thing twice. You can test sentences by deleting various words and seeing if the meaning actually stays pretty much the same. In those cases, always stick with the deletion.

Reduce word count by rearranging your content

Beyond the word and phrase level tricks above, you can achieve some big reductions in word count by making some structural edits to your work.

Reduce the introduction and conclusion

The introduction and conclusion are hugely important parts of a piece of academic writing. Remember, though, that their main function is really to summarise. Give a very concise explanation of your work in the introduction, and reaffirm and back-up your reasoning for it all in the conclusion.

Beyond that, you’re probably wasting word count. There’s no need to go into a lot of detail in these sections - that’s what the main body is for. These sections are all about summarising and condensing. Also remember that you should not include new information in the conclusion - keep it all in the main body.

Cut out repetitive chapter-linking sections

Another habit that a lot of people have in academic writing is to ‘tie off’ each section with a mini-summary and then ‘refresh’ the reader again in the beginning of the next one. This is redundant and wastes a lot of word count.

Try to keep section closings extremely concise and short. The reader has just read the content in that section and shouldn’t need anything beyond a short summary of key points to keep things clear.

You can probably delete the ‘refresher’ at the beginning of sections entirely. Just get right into what that section is about. Leave it up to the reader to follow your argument, and make sure that the main content enables them to do so.

Got any more tips for reducing word count in academic writing? Please share them in the comments below!

Other resources for reducing your word count

• Editing DOWN for Word Count -  Accentuate Author Services
• Word Count Limit Got You Down? Try These 6 Editing Tricks - The Expat Freelancer
• How to Reduce Prolific Prepositions - Write Tight Site
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Automatic Word Count Reducer

Summarize any writing piece with this word count reducer in 3 steps:

• Add the passage you want to cut.
• Choose the desired number of sentences to keep in the passage.
• Click "Reduce" and enjoy the result.

Number of sentences in results:

Original ratio

100 % in your summary

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Why may you need to use an automatic online word count shortener?

The need to preserve a specific word count is called the essay's " scope " – an extent of analysis a student should not exceed in a particular assignment. In these cases, a paraphrasing generator that can remove redundant words and help you keep within the assigned word count.

• 🔢 What Is Essay Word Count?

✍️ Word Count for Various Essays

• ✂️ Tips to Shorten an Essay

🔗 References

🔢 what is essay word count & why does it matter.

As you will quickly notice at school, college, or university, every assignment contains specific instructions that cover the word count your home task should include.

Why are they important?

This is done primarily to minimize your effort and help you plan the working schedule. For instance, you will understand that you need to reserve 2 days for a 3,000 -word essay and can manage a 500 -word essay in 2 or 3 hours.

Besides, the word count sets the scope for your research; you will surely need to check fewer literary sources for a 500-word essay and visit a library a couple of times to write a large-scale 5,000-word study.

In other words, the word count of your essay task sets the limits for your study effort and gives you hints about the depth of research you need to conduct to meet the professor's requirements.

A practical guide may also help you determine the time and scope of various academic assignments . Here is a comparative table with word counts for assignments at different study levels.

✂️ Tips to Reduce Word Count in an Essay

If you're not ready to use a word count reducer and want to do everything manually, here are a couple of workable techniques for word count optimization.

• Avoid redundant beginnings . It's good practice to start a sentence with a subject. This way, you will avoid extensive "running starts," such as "as a matter of fact," "summing the presented evidence," etc. Your sentences will be simpler to read and free from redundant phrasing.
• Use active voice . Passive-voice phrases always add a couple of redundant words to a sentence. If you don't really need to disguise the doer of the action, you should use active voice only. You'll see how neat and clean your text will sound.
• Remove adjectives and adverbs . Adjectives and adverbs are frequently used in literary language, as they add vivid details and shades of meaning to notional words. However, they often create clutter in academic writing and are fully avoidable in most cases. So, you should consider removing most of them to make the text more readable and shorter.
• Don't exceed 25 words in a sentence . Academic writers are often tempted to sound more scholarly with long, overloaded sentences, including many compounds. In reality, such writing efforts rarely pay off, as they confuse the readers and disguise the core message the writer wanted to deliver. Thus, it's better to divide long sentences into several parts. Using this trick, you can avoid redundant transitions and simplify the content flow.
• One idea at a time . A logical progression of an academic text is a vital criterion of readability. Thus, you should explain relationships between variables or focus on one supporting argument at a time, avoiding a discussion of several factors in one go. This technique will improve your text's comprehension score and free readers from overly complex argumentation, causing a cognitive overload.

In all other cases – a lack of time, no desire to go through the entire text again – welcome to our word reduction tool that will make your editing job a breeze. Try our title maker and paraphraser to write and polish your essay quickly.

❓ Word Count Reducer FAQ

❓ how to count words in an essay.

It's pretty easy to control your word count in an essay. You should activate this function in your Word file, and a small tab at the bottom of your page will update you about the document's current word count as you type the essay's content. You can also click on "Statistics" in the Word menu to learn additional statistics about your text, such as the number of characters with and without spaces and the number of lines, sentences, and paragraphs you currently have.

❓ What is the word count for a college essay?

Word count is a specific number of words (or a range of words) that your professor assigns for writing. For instance, your university tutor may require students to write from 1,000 to 1,500 words in one essay. Thus, you can't compose fewer than 1,000 words (the paper should be at least 1,001 words), and you shouldn't write more than 1,500 words. A standard threshold for exceeding the assigned word count is 10% (so it's okay to submit a 1,650-word essay).

❓ How to reduce word count in an essay?

There are many techniques for word count reduction, such as cutting the articles, conjunctions, transition phrases, and running starts from the text. You may also consider changing passive-voice phrases to active voice or replacing some complex, sophisticated phrases with simpler words.

❓ What does a summarizer do?

A free text compressor available on our website can reduce the word count of your essay by removing redundant words that don't hold any vital meaning and can be removed without losing the text's quality. You can reduce the word count and combine several sentences into one automatically to achieve high-quality text reduction.

• How to reduce word count without reducing content
• How to Increase or Decrease Your Paper’s Word Count
• Summarizing - Academic Integrity at MIT
• Summarizing - University of Toronto Writing Advice
• Writer's Manual: Academic Summary - LibGuides UU

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8 Effective Tips to Reduce Word Count

Table of Contents

If you’re wondering how to reduce word count for your article, you’re in luck. This article explores ever

8 Tips to Reduce Word Count in Writing

Writing is a tedious process, often comprised of long paragraphs and many words. Whether you’re writing a paper, an essay, or a blog, there are often long-winded passages that detract from the quality of your work. Yet, writing less can seem complicated and discouraging at first.

Below are eight practical tips to reduce word count without sacrificing significant meaning.

1. Remove “The” & “That” from your sentences

You may often get away without using the word “the” in your content.

Original: I would like to have both the cake and the chocolate for dessert.

Edited: I would like to have both cake and chocolate for dessert.

Likewise, the term “that” is frequently overused and can be easily removed from your writing without much difference.

Original: I noticed that the new intern deleted the folder that contained the main file.

Edited: I noticed the new intern deleted the folder containing the main file.

2. Eliminate Adverbs and Adjectives

Adverbs and adjectives are used to modify verbs and nouns in a sentence. However, strong words don’t always require modification.

The majority of adverbs and adjectives weaken powerful verbs and nouns, lowering the effect of your writing. To make your writing stronger and more concise, eliminate needless adverbs and adjectives.

3. Remove Lengthy Phrases

In any writing project, it’s essential to make a point or idea clear, concise, and practical with few words .

This is essential for better audience comprehension and higher readership. This can be accomplished by trimming the wordy phrases from your writing. Make your writing more organized, and Look for unnecessary words to eliminate and long phrases to condense.

Original: All the new recruits are requested to attend the meeting that has been scheduled for Saturday.

Edited: New recruits are requested to attend the meeting on Saturday.

4. Write in Active Voice

Active voice is when the subject matter of the sentence performs the action. When compared to passive speech, active voice employs fewer words and helps you write clear and compelling content.

It’s easier to read and comprehend when messages are not overly outlined.

Passive: The class was canceled by the teacher.

Active: The teacher canceled the class.

5. Avoid Extra Transitions

You can use several strategies to improve your word count without losing too much meaning. It is common to write sentences that begin with a word or phrase such as “Indeed,” “similarly,” or “furthermore.”

These phrases are sometimes unnecessary, and the reader will likely become discouraged by the repetition. You can quickly revise such transitions without hampering the meaning. You can use simple substitutions to remove unnecessary transitions.

Original: Indeed , we reached the final round of the competition.

Edited: we reached the final round of the competition.

6. Reduce Conjunctions

Try to cut out unnecessary conjunctions. Conjunctions link two discrete statements that can be rewritten as two separate sentences.

Take a look at your writing and find the parts that end with a conjunction such as “that,” “but,” or “for.” This may sound like English grammatical rules, but it’s a copywriting strategy often employed to make writing easier to read.

Original: I wanted to study with my friend in the afternoon, and we needed a quiet place to sit and concentrate.

Edited: I wanted to study with my friend in the afternoon. We needed a quiet place to sit and concentrate.

7. Get Rid of Repetitions

Read through your content carefully to find and cut repetitions. This is an easy way to reduce word count quickly.

Though the process can take longer than other techniques, it leads to more significant word reduction. You may struggle to recognize repetitions in your writing, but reading your content backward sentence-by-sentence can help. It lets your brain be more focused on the content.

8. Remove any Previous Content References.

It’s best not to reference previous information with phrases like those mentioned in the previous section or described earlier. These are mostly filler words, and removing them will help you cut a few words off your word limit.

While these tips can help you reduce your word count quickly , no one suggestion will be more effective than the other. Experiment with a few of these and find what works for you.

Additionally, the order of these tips doesn’t matter; the importance of each point varies for everyone. So try these eight tips to understand which one works best for a particular piece. Ultimately, it all comes down to practice and writing.

Pam is an expert grammarian with years of experience teaching English, writing and ESL Grammar courses at the university level. She is enamored with all things language and fascinated with how we use words to shape our world.

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How to Shorten an Essay: Reduce Word Count but keep Points

Shortening an Essay

When writing an essay, you may need to shorten it by reducing its word count to the number required by your instructor. In this case, you might have some words you need to eliminate in the essay. Also, you may have to shorten the paragraphs.

Read on for a comprehensive guide on 7 ways how you can shorten your essay but still make the points you intended to keep in the paper. If you need help to shorten your essay, just get in touch with our online essay writers, and the team will help you score an A

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How Do I Make My Essay Shorter

It is possible to shorten your essay or reduce the word count to meet the requirements during the editing process. The editing process should be the last step in writing your essay. The following are some of the most effective techniques to shorten your essay.

When it comes to writing essays, there are two types of students; those who write beyond the word count and those who write below the word count.

For those who write beyond the word count, you can use simple techniques to shorten an essay.

1. Rank your Arguments’ strengths and weakness 

The first technique for making your essay shorter is by ranking your arguments. If your essay is longer than the requirement, rank the points used to support your arguments.

A good essay should contain only the most vital and valid points.

If you find some of your weak supporting points, eliminate them while removing the unnecessary wording.

Students will often be tempted to present a multifaceted point of view to support a single point.

While this may demonstrate your knowledge of the subject, it will add unnecessary content to your essay.

To avoid this and reduce the essay’s length, carefully select the most relevant and vital points.

However, if you still want to include all the points, you can minimize the details, especially within weaker points. This will make your essay shorter.

2. Focus on the Main Point of your Essay

This is a very practical technique for making your essay shorter. When given an essay to complete, the instructor expects you to come up with a topic and support it throughout your essay.

Valid arguments within each paragraph of your essay should support the topic and the thesis statement.

Therefore, if your essay is longer than recommended, look for sentences or entire paragraphs that do not address or support your essay’s main point or topic.

Students may find themselves accidentally going off-topic and including other unnecessary wordings and arguments to make their essays appear “smarter” or well-written.

This can result in unnecessary words and sentences beyond the required word count.

If you identify such unnecessary arguments within your essay while editing, eliminate them to focus more on your main point and achieve the target word count.

3. Eliminate the use of Verbiage

You should eliminate the verbiage if you want to make your essay shorter. This is especially relevant when writing academic essays where you are required to present your arguments professionally and straightforwardly.

Eliminate any extra information or words that do not add value to your point or overall argument. Such verbiage is some of the weak words to avoid in writing essays and research papers.

You can eliminate unnecessary adjectives, adverbs, generalizations, clichés, and lengthy verb phrases here. You can do this while performing the first and second techniques mentioned above.

Best Professional Essay Writers for Hire: Cheap but Vetted

4. Write Short Sentences using the Active Voice

As we have noted, academic essays will require you to present your arguments straightforwardly. Using the active voice while constructing your sentences will help you achieve this while keeping them brief.

While this may not apply to all sentences within your essay, try to begin most of your sentences using the subject.

In this case, the subject is the thing or person performing an action. This should be followed by the action the subject performs.

If you use the passive voice, where you describe how the object is acted upon, then your sentences will be longer and contribute to the unwanted length of the essay.

For example, take a simple sentence like, “John plays basketball regularly.”

This sentence is in the active voice because John (subject) performs the action of playing basketball (object).

Now take a sentence like, “basketball is regularly played by John.” The second sentence is in passive voice because it describes how the object (basketball) is acted upon.

The first sentence in the active voice comprises 4 words, while the second sentence in the passive voice comprises 6 words. Therefore, you can see that writing in an active voice shortens your essay.

5. Utilize the most Applicable Strong Verbs

This may seem obvious, but many students cannot find the most applicable verbs. They find those that are close instead of using the perfect verb.

If you want to shorten your essay, find the best verb that conveys a precise meaning.

This is because when you use an imperfect verb, you will end up using more words to clarify the meaning.

Here is an example to clarify what is meant by using the most applicable verb:

“John’s team defeated the opposing team by several points.”

Using “defeated” in the above sentence is not grammatically wrong. However, it is not the best verb to use because John’s team not only defeated the opposing team, they all defeated them by several points.

If you wish to reduce the word count while maintaining the same meaning, you can use the verb “trounce” in place of “defeat.” The new sentence will be:

“John’s team trounced the opposing team.”

6. Quote from the most Relevant Sources

In academic essays, you may be required to provide quotes from secondary sources to support your essay. The number of sources needed depends on the length of the paper. For instance, a 4-page paper may require more secondary sources than a 2-page one.

However, if you find that you have used several quotes that are lengthening your essay, retain quotes from secondary sources that are most related to your topic, and eliminate the rest. Again, only cite the sources that are most relevant to your topic.

7. Avoid Block Quotes

The best way to avoid longer essays is by avoiding direct quotations from other authors. This can be done by paraphrasing their content and just citing the sources without using many words.

Avoiding block quotes will make the paragraphs short and your arguments more captivating to the reader. Therefore, avoid using essay or sentence generators, as these will quote other sources.

However, note that using external sources to support your points and arguments is always advisable when writing an essay. Such supporting content is important for the grades and to back up your claims.

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Weak Words to Avoid in Writing an Essay

Now that we have explored the most applicable methods or techniques that can help make your essay shorter, it is important to identify the unnecessary things to avoid in an essay to avoid going beyond the word count.

1. The passive voice

As we have noted, the passive voice makes your sentences unnecessarily lengthy. On the other hand, the active voice makes the sentences more compelling and clear because they are straight to the point.

Consequently, the active voice uses lesser words compared to the passive voice. Therefore, it is important to avoid the passive voice in an essay.

2. Adverbs and Adjectives

While adjectives modify nouns while adverbs modify verbs, good and well-utilized words in a sentence do not require modifying.

In most cases, adjectives and adverbs weaken strong nouns and verbs, thus weakening your overall writing.

Such weak words add no value to your paragraphs; you must avoid them when writing an essay.

When editing your essay and you find adverbs with “ly” as their endings, you can eliminate them because they act as filler words that add no value to the point you are trying to communicate.

When it comes to adjectives, they do not add meaning to the sentence and are, therefore, unnecessary.

3. Conjunctions

Conjunctions such as and, or, however, but, and, e.g., connect two different sentences that can be written independently. They are unnecessary when you want to make an essay shorter.

These are some of the words that make an essay ridiculously long and create the need to be precise. Eliminating them reduces the word count and shortens the essay.

4. Running Starts and Needless Transitions

Running starts are commonly used phrases that act as an introduction to the sentence. They include “it is, “there is, “the fact that, “and so on. This is basically the opposite of what we discussed in our post on making an essay longer, as we outlined.

Those phrases add unnecessary words to your essay. Needless transitions can be “furthermore,” “then,” indeed,” “however,” and so on.

The bottom line is that when you are told to write a specific number of pages or meet a particular word count, it is imperative to meet the requirements because you will lose some points.

5. First-Person Language

This is a common thing in any essay writing task. It is always advisable that one should avoid using first-person language when writing an essay. This is because the first person is not formal and tends to be confrontational.

Instead of first-person or second-person language, always use a third-person approach. While this does not contribute i reducing the word count, it gives a lot of formality to your essay and puts a warm reading tone.

In addition, using the third person promotes the objectivity of your arguments by presenting them in a manner that can relate to any person, in this case, your readers. Read our guide on avoiding the first-person language in an essay and apply that in your future writing.

Following the above tips will make it easier to shorten your essays.

Watch this video to learn more about this.

With over 10 years in academia and academic assistance, Alicia Smart is the epitome of excellence in the writing industry. She is our managing editor and is in charge of the writing operations at Grade Bees.

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Essay Trimmer: Reduce the Word Count for Free

Reducing the number of words is not easy, especially in the content that you have created yourself. Use the free essay trimmer to cut down any text.

Looking for an essay trimmer?

Take the 3 steps to remove clutter from your paper:

The word limit for each academic paper is set for a reason. It helps us focus research on a particular number of issues, plan writing, and communicate ideas clearly and concisely.

But what to do if you have reached the limit and still have ideas to write down? Use our Word Count Trimmer! Read the article below to discover its main advantages and ways of using it in your favor!

🤔 What Is a Word Count Trimmer?

• ️⚙️ How to Use the Trimmer?

✂️ Words to Cut out of Essays

🔻 how to reduce word count.

• 😀 Essay Trimmer: Benefits

❓ Sentence Trimmer: FAQ

🔗 references.

Essay Trimmer is an online tool that can help you reduce the length of any text to a specified number of sentences. It picks the most important sentences, thus decreasing the word count without changing the core message of the piece.

This online word cutter can be especially beneficial for those working with a lot of written content. As a bonus, you can also use the app to summarize books, novels, and articles on any topic.

⚙️ How to Use the Paragraph Trimmer?

Using Word Count Trimmer does not require much effort! Just follow 4 steps below and get the result within a second:

• Paste the text. The first step is to paste the text you have chosen into the appropriate field of the Essay Word Cutter. Ensure that your piece of writing does not exceed 20k characters.
• Adjust the settings. You can choose the length of shortened version and whether you want to receive keywords from the text.
• Click the button. Then, give our summarizing bot a second to produce the outcome.
• Get the shortened version. You can copy the final result in just one click!

When reducing the word count, you should primarily target phrases that do not add any value to your text. Below are some types of words you can easily cut out from your essay.

Apart from removing the unnecessary words listed above, you can use several more effective ways to cut down the number of words in your essay. Read on to gain some new insights!

Use the Shortest Forms of Words & Phrases

If there is a choice between a long phrase or word and a short one — choose the latter! This recommendation is especially critical if you must keep your writing within a specific character count instead of a word count. For example, instead of “give consideration to,” you can use “consider” or “think about.”

Don’t Repeat Yourself

Unfortunately, repetition is a widespread mistake among college students or even experienced writers. You can convey the same thought a couple of times using different words, which can irritate your readers or make them bored. Therefore, express each idea in your essay clearly and briefly.

Choose Active Voice

The active voice comprises fewer words than the passive one. As a result, using active voice makes your writing more straightforward and more appealing to readers, allowing you to tell a more impactful story. Check out the example below.

Begin Sentences with the Subject

If you begin sentences with the subject , your writing will be easier to comprehend because it will be evident who or what the statement is about. Moreover, you’ll have to remove all unnecessary introductory phrases before the subject, thus reducing your word count. Just consider the most crucial element in the statement and build a sentence around it.

Here’s an example:

• ❌ It was found that after an earthquake, the largest building in the town survived.
• ✅ The largest building in the town survived an earthquake.

Focus on the Message

When your writing lacks focus and you don’t clearly understand what you want to say, it is easy to write too much. You will jump from one idea to another, and your paper will become messy. To avoid it, focus on your thesis statement and logically arrange your main arguments to support it. A carefully structured outline can help you with that.

😃 Essay Trimmer: Benefits

Don’t miss a chance to try our Essay Trimmer! It has so much to offer to its users:

❓ Why Is Word Count Important?

Having a specific word count puts you in control. It makes writing more manageable because it lets you plan how much research you should do and how to structure your paper. Word limit also allows you to allocate the appropriate amount of time to writing and focus on the core message you want to highlight in your text.

❓ How Many Words Should an Essay Be?

The essay’s length depends on your assignment type, professor’s instructions, and education level. Here are sample word counts for common assignments:

• High school essay – 300-1000 words;
• College applications – 200-700 words;
• Graduate school applications – 500-1000 words;
• Graduate-level papers – 2000-6000 words.

❓ How to Cut Down Words in an Essay?

Use the tips below to cut down words in your essay or paper and strengthen your writing:

• Use active voice instead of passive.
• Utilize the plural when possible.
• Remove redundant transition words.
• Turn some nouns into verbs.
• Use possessive nouns.

❓ How to Check Word Count on Google Docs?

Take these 4 steps to check the word count in Google Docs:

• Open the Google Doc and paste your text.
• Click “Tools” in the header menu.
• Choose “Word Count” from the drop-down menu.
• Check the word count in a pop-up window.

Updated: Apr 5th, 2024

• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count | The University of Adelaide
• Eliminating Words | Purdue Online Writing Lab
• Writing Concisely | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
• Strategies for Reducing Word Count | University of Georgia
• Cutting Out Lard | University of Massachusetts Amherst

Free Essay Reducer

Summarize any text with this essay reducer in 3 steps:

• Enter the text you want to shorten.
• Choose the length of your summary.
• Click on "Reduce" and get your new text.

Number of sentences in results:

Original ratio

100 % in your summary

Working within a specific word count limitation is often problematic for a student. Sometimes you go far beyond the limits during writing and then don't know how to cut down the content to avoid grade reduction.

How can you squeeze all information into the assigned 500 or 1,000 words?

If you need to submit a shorter essay but don't understand how to shorten the word count effectively, welcome to our essay reducer . Our online, free tool can help you quickly and easily, giving you the exact word count you need for submission.

• ✂️ How to Use the Tool

📐 How Long Should an Essay Be?

• 🔢 Reducing the Word Count

🔗 References

✂️ how to reduce words in essay online.

Now, let's say a few words about our word reducer for essays – here, we show how it works and how it can help you improve the essay's word count and free you from unnecessary wordiness. You need to take only a couple of steps to receive a neatly reduced essay from our generator:

• Copy the text you want to work on.
• Paste the text into the tab at the center of the main page – the maximum you can insert in the excessive word remover is 17,000 characters.
• Stipulate the number of sentences you want to have in the resulting text.
• Tick or untick the box "show keywords depending on whether you want to specify the keywords that need to be preserved in the text.
• Click the “Reduce” button.

Once you click the button, your text will be processed with the smart tool to give you a condensed variant of the content that meets your sentence quantity requirement.

There is no single standard for an essay's word count. Students receive various assignments from their professors, ranging from around 1 page (250-300 words) to large-scale works for 10 pages or more (3,000+ words).

So, you should be ready for any essay project when you start your study process and prepare for the rising word count of essays at higher study levels.

🔢 How to Reduce Essay Word Count

Depending on your circumstances, you may need to engage various word count reduction techniques in writing.

Here's what we recommend for quick, hassle-free word count minimization :

• Remove articles,
• Get rid of unnecessary adverbs,
• Write clearly,
• Use active voice,
• Revise your transitions,
• Delete unnecessary intros.

Below we’ll explain all the details.

Remove Articles

Many students use the article "the" in places where it can be mostly skipped. So, by working on removing "the," you can bring the word count significantly down without large-scale content rework.

Oust Adverbs and Adjectives

In most cases, adverbs and adjectives are used as elements of figurative language and do not add any vital content to your text. Thus, by removing them altogether, you don't undermine the meaning of your essay and deliver the same facts and arguments, though in a far more concise form.

Manage Wordiness

When you write an essay, the temptation is very high to use well-known, sophisticated language forms, such as "in order to," "in the course of," etc. But the fact is that they don't make any sense and steal the vital space for important data. So, it would help if you cut them out of the text to keep only meaningful words.

Opt for Active Voice

According to statistics, passive-voice constructions are always longer and harder to comprehend than active voice. So, revise your use of passive voice in the text and transform all passive phrases into active voice to see how much your proper use of space improves.

Work on the Transitions

Transitions improve the flow of any academic writing but may also be redundant if overused in places that don't need binding with transitions. We recommend going through these phrases and removing some of them from the text to help manage your word count.

Delete Unnecessary Intros

The "running start" use is a common problem among students. Revise your sentences' beginnings to see where you abuse this technique and remove these running starts to ease the reading and shorten the word count.

Thank you for reading this article! Note that you can also use our free paraphraser and title generator at different stages of work on your assignment.

❓ Essay Reducer FAQ

❓ how to make an essay shorter.

You can use many methods for shortening an essay, such as reducing the number of redundant articles, conjunctions, transition phrases, and introductory words. You can also use shorter and simpler words to reduce the essay's overall page and character count.

❓ How does this tool reduce words in essay online?

Our automatic tool applies all the principles we've mentioned above. It reviews the use of articles, conjunctions, and transitions and removes all the unnecessary clutter in your sentences, leaving only the gist. This way, you manage to deliver the same message in a shorter form.

❓ What is a good word count for an essay?

There's no optimal word count for an essay, as tasks differ in length depending on your level of study. It's okay to write an essay of up to 1,000 words at school and 300-500 words for an admission essay. Undergraduate and graduate essays, however, should be a minimum of 2,000 words to present an in-depth examination of your topic.

❓ How to increase the word count of an essay?

Increasing the word count is simpler than reducing it. You only need to pick separate facts and arguments you've given in the body of your essay and expand them with additional evidence and interpretations. As a result, you receive a well-informed discussion without wordiness or redundancy.

• Writing Concisely - UNC Writing Center
• 7 Tips for Clear and Concise Writing - 2022 - MasterClass
• 10 Tips for Cutting Your Word Count
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• Summarising - Academic Writing in English

After being insulted, writing down your feelings on paper then getting rid of it reduces anger

A research group in Japan has discovered that writing down one's reaction to a negative incident on a piece of paper and then shredding it or throwing it away reduces feelings of anger.

"We expected that our method would suppress anger to some extent," lead researcher Nobuyuki Kawai said. "However, we were amazed that anger was eliminated almost entirely."

This research is important because controlling anger at home and in the workplace can reduce negative consequences in our jobs and personal lives. Unfortunately, many anger management techniques proposed by specialists lack empirical research support. They can also be difficult to recall when angry.

The results of this study, published in Scientific Reports , are the culmination of years of previous research on the association between the written word and anger reduction. It builds on work showing how interactions with physical objects can control a person's mood.

For their project, Kawai and his graduate student Yuta Kanaya, both at the Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, asked participants to write brief opinions about important social problems, such as whether smoking in public should be outlawed. They then told them that a doctoral student at Nagoya University would evaluate their writing.

However, the doctoral students doing the evaluation were plants. Regardless of what the participants wrote, the evaluators scored them low on intelligence, interest, friendliness, logic, and rationality. To really drive home the point, the doctoral students also wrote the same insulting comment: "I cannot believe an educated person would think like this. I hope this person learns something while at the university."

After handing out these negative comments, the researchers asked the participants to write their thoughts on the feedback, focusing on what triggered their emotions. Finally, one group of participants was told to either dispose of the paper they wrote in a trash can or keep it in a file on their desk. A second group was told to destroy the document in a shredder or put it in a plastic box.

The students were then asked to rate their anger after the insult and after either disposing of or keeping the paper. As expected, all participants reported a higher level of anger after receiving insulting comments. However, the anger levels of the individuals who discarded their paper in the trash can or shredded it returned to their initial state after disposing of the paper. Meanwhile, the participants who held on to a hard copy of the insult experienced only a small decrease in their overall anger.

Kawai imagines using his research to help businesspeople who find themselves in stressful situations. "This technique could be applied in the moment by writing down the source of anger as if taking a memo and then throwing it away when one feels angry in a business situation," he explained.

Along with its practical benefits, this discovery may shed light on the origins of the Japanese cultural tradition known as hakidashisara ( hakidashi refers to the purging or spitting out of something, and sara refers to a dish or plate) at the Hiyoshi shrine in Kiyosu, Aichi Prefecture, just outside of Nagoya. Hakidashisara is an annual festival where people smash small discs representing things that make them angry. Their findings may explain the feeling of relief that participants report after leaving the festival.

• Anger Management
• Social Psychology
• Disorders and Syndromes
• Educational Psychology
• Consumer Behavior
• Anger management
• Social psychology
• Cognitive dissonance
• Self-awareness
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Collaboration

Story Source:

Materials provided by Nagoya University . Note: Content may be edited for style and length.

Journal Reference :

• Yuta Kanaya, Nobuyuki Kawai. Anger is eliminated with the disposal of a paper written because of provocation . Scientific Reports , 2024; 14 (1) DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-57916-z

Cite This Page :

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