Went over the word count by 65 word - worried about penalty

So I foolishly thought that a few words here and there wouldn't matter but now read a webpage which I thought I'd read hundreds of times and see that it says
'Candidates must not exceed the word limit'

This will count as a rubric violation but it's well under 10% of the essay (65 words of a 8065 essay).

I've long since handed in the essay and I know it's not too long so that they might fail me but I wonder if anybody has had any experience with going over the word limit a small amount? (Less than 1% over the word limit)

I'm hoping to apply for masters - is it likely that they'll dock so many marks so that it might affect my application?

Any shared experience would really help me put my mind at rest.

(edited 12 years ago)

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12 years ago

Are you submitting it as hard copy or an electronic submission? Because to be honest, if it's hardcopy they probably won't check unless it's clearly much longer than everybody else's.

12 years ago They normally allow +/- 10%. 12 years ago Original post by sundogs

So I foolishly thought that a few words here and there wouldn't matter but now read a webpage which I thought I'd read hundreds of times and see that it says
'Candidates must not exceed the word limit'

This will count as a rubric violation but it's well under 10% of the essay (65 words of a 8065 essay).

I've long since handed in the essay and I know it's not too long so that they might fail me but I wonder if anybody has had any experience with going over the word limit a small amount? (Less than 1% over the word limit)

I'm hoping to apply for masters - is it likely that they'll dock so many marks so that it might affect my application?

Any shared experience would really help me put my mind at rest.

You may lose marks, but not a significant amount. It's the norm to be allowed 10% either side of the word count.
Don't worry about it, it's done now.