10. Assessment

10.8. Course Essay

Word count 

 

Essay word counts may vary. You can go 10% +/- the word limit without penalty. Please note that markers will not mark anything that is beyond 10% of the word count. 

 

Every word submitted is counted, except for the bibliography.  

 

Examples of items which are included in the word count are: 

 

  • Table of contents 

  • Appendices  

  • Footnotes 

  • Endnotes 

  • Wording under a diagram 

  • Abstract  

  • Words in graphs  

  • Tables and diagrams 

 This is not an exclusive list, consequently, you should keep in mind that all words count- use them wisely. 

Whilst we appreciate it is difficult to reach exactly the required word count, you should aim to reach as close to this as possible without going over. At Masters Level, we would expect students to be able to edit their own work to produce an essay within the maximum word count. 

 

There is no minimum word count. However, Essays that are considerably shorter than the maximum word count may fail to fully address the topic and will be marked accordingly. 

 

Title page 

Your submitted Course Essay should have a top sheet which should include the following information only: 

 

  • Module number (i.e. SOLMxxx) 

  • Module Title  

  • Final Word count 

  • Student ID number (this is not username lcxxx, check your MySiS or Student I.D card) 

 

Formatting 

 

There is no official style guide for the Essays. While there are no specific requirements regarding format or font size, we recommend using a 12-point font in a common style, double-spacing the main text, and using margins of at least 2 cm. Footnotes should be no smaller than 10 points, normally in the same font as the main text. 

Your name should not appear anywhere on your Essay. There are no additional rules for the title page; you may use colour or graphics if desired.