word limits

This is the school I attend:


There should normally be a 5 per cent tolerance – no penalty being incurred for up to 5 per cent over the limit.

Thereafter 2 marks should normally be deducted for every five per cent until fifty is reached.

After fifty per cent 3 marks should normally be deducted for each additional five per cent.

So, in a 3,500-word essay, the penalty starts to apply when the actual word-count rises above 3,675 words; in a 5,000-word essay, when it rises above 5,250; and in a 10,000-word dissertation, when it rises above 10,500. Note that the word-count required on the coversheet (which will be taken as authoritative by the markers) must be made electronically.