I was speculating how many people include footnotes in your essay’s word count? Some people do not include footnotes but some do. You must be thinking that it is silly to include footnotes if they are just citation, why not embrace the bibliography also? When you are writing an essay and you have given a maximum or minimum word count, the question comes in your mind that whether to include the word count or not. Let me answer this question for you.
Usually, in most cases, the footnotes are not counted in the word count. When your professor assigns you some essay or any other academic assignment with minimum or maximum word count, then it is usually allocated with the intent of being applicable to the topic included in the essay. As the footnotes are not the body text of the essay, most of the teachers do not count it as a part of the word count of the writing. They think that counting footnotes is truly counterproductive when given an assignment with a minimum or maximum word count. They do not consider it as a part of the actually assignment. They think that footnotes are an added accumulation in case you did not know something or need more clarification.
But it can contradict in different cases. Some of the teachers must expect their students also to include the word count of the footnotes. Therefore, the best way to understand whether to include or not is to ask the teacher before starting writing. But if the professor is not available to answer you, it is recommended not to include the word count of the footnotes, but if you get the opportunity to clarify, then you should ask. Footnotes are added at the bottom of the page and it does not take much space of the page in many cases. While it is known that excluding the footnotes from the word count is relatively simple, but it is difficult to exclude them from the page count. That’s why many professors allow their students to include footnotes as a part of their page count. Again, it is not necessary in all the cases. So, it would be good to ask your professor every time you commence an essay. If you want to include the word count of the footnote in your essay, then make sure that you include the check box of the footnote is selected.
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