Word limits

Word limits also apply to supervised research papers and Honours seminar papers (10,000 words), and Honours dissertations (15,000 words).

Penalties for exceeding word limits

Word limits are fixed subject to a 5% leeway above the limit, and students will be penalised for exceeding the limits at a rate of 5 marks for every 10% (or part thereof) over the limit. Penalties are strictly applied to ensure fairness across courses and among students. However, no student will fail an assessment because of a penalty for exceeding the word limit.

The 5% leeway is in place so that students are not penalised for accidentally exceeding the limit by a few words. Moreover, often the word limits are an integral part of the assessment requirements. We recommend students err on the side of caution to avoid being penalised by sticking closely to the given limit rather than using all the words up to the 5% leeway.

There is no penalty applied for an assessment falling under the word limit.

How the word count is calculated

Microsoft Word is used to calculate the word count; students must ensure the ‘Include textboxes, footnotes and endnotes’ box is ticked for each assignment when calculating their word count.

The following are included in the word count:

• All text in the body of the document, including all titles, the text of the assignment question if included, tables in the text, and headings of sections of the text. (There is often no requirement to put a heading or title in the assignment.)
• Footnotes: a footnote is defined in the OED as ‘A note, reference, or additional piece of information printed at the bottom of a page, used to explain or comment on something in the main body of the text on the same page’.

The following are NOT included in the word count:

• Headers and footers (footers does not include footnotes, which are included in the word count, but does include page numbers)
• Bibliography
• Title page
• Acknowledgement
• Table of contents
• Table of cases
• Abstract
• An appendix which contains material referred to in the main text

NOTE: Except in the case of Honours dissertations, Honours seminar papers, supervised research papers, or unless specifically instructed to do so by the course director, students should NOT include a bibliography, title page, acknowledgement, table of contents, table of cases, abstract or appendix.

Word limits and academic integrity

Students should not attempt to circumvent the word limit applicable to an assignment through manipulation of the word count by deceptive means—for example, by using invisible hyphens to hyphenate words in the text or footnotes. This kind of practice is detectable through Turnitin. Moreover, the Law Faculty regards it as a breach of academic integrity, which may result in a finding of academic misconduct.