How long of an essay is too long? (2023)

Is 1000 words too long for a college essay?

Is 1000 words too long for a college essay? Yes, we don't think that college students will ever need to write such long essays. The average college essay word count is 550-650 words, whereas minimun length is 150 words.

If you are not given a limit for your college essay, then 900 words is not technically too long. However, it will depend upon the essay prompt that you are given. Not all essay prompts will require long answers. If 900 words is necessary, then that is okay.

Main application essays are generally 500-650 words. For example, the Common Application, which can be used to apply to more than 800 colleges, requires an essay ranging from 250-650 words. Similarly, the Coalition Application, which has 150 member schools, features an essay with a recommended length of 500-550 words.

In high school, you're usually expected to deliver a relatively short essay, which contains a minimum of five paragraphs. This will usually mean your essay length ranges between 300 and 1000 words. In college, an essay can be anything from 500 words, to 6000, depending on the purpose of the document.

Writing 1,500 words will take about 37.5 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 1.3 hours for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 5 hours.

In most cases, yes! The average writing speed by hand is around 20 words per minute. And the average for typing is usually double at 40 words per minute. Following this logic, it should take 25 minutes for the average person to type out 1000 words.

Conclusion: Writing the Harvard Supplemental Essays

You'll answer two required questions with a 150-word limit, as well as an optional essay. The optional essay has no limit, but it's best to write around 500-700 words.

It takes about 3 hours and 20 minutes to write a 1,000 word essay. How long does it take to write a 1,250 word essay? It takes about 4 hours and 10 minutes to write a 1,250 word essay.

If you're a complete beginner, a 1000 word article should take 3 hours to 4 hours to complete.

Is it okay if my college essay is over 650 words?

Rarely will you see a word limit higher than around 650 words (over one single-spaced page). College essays are usually pretty short: between 150 and 650 words. Admissions officers have to read a lot of them, after all! Weigh your words carefully, because they are limited!

Writing 800 words will take about 20 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 40 minutes for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 2.7 hours.

Writing 3,000 words can take anywhere between six and 24 hours depending on the topic but, with our tips, you can easily get it done within a day. Get your head down and you could meet the deadline, and even produce an essay you are proud of.

The primary essay for your college application, often called a personal statement, is typically around 400-600 words. The Common App personal statement — which is used as the primary application essay by more than 800 colleges — must be 250-650 words.

Creating a qualitative essay in under 3 hours will become a reality if you dedicate up to seven minutes to planning it. This time investment will definitely pay off since you will not need to rewrite paragraphs and change the essay structure.

Writing 2,000 words will take about 50 minutes for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 1.7 hours for handwriting. However, if the content needs to include in-depth research, links, citations, or graphics such as for a blog article or high school essay, the length can grow to 6.7 hours.

A 1,500-word count will create about 5.4 pages double-spaced when using normal 1-inch margins, 12 pt. times new roman font, and a standard A4 (letter size) page size. You see, by changing the font family and size, how the page number changes from 5 to 5.4.

In sum, there is really no reason why anyone can't write 2000 words a day. That said, it's important to take care of your health during the process. Get up regularly, stretch, and don't forget to those other rhythms: eating and sleeping. No point writing a book you'll never read.

Let me explain. Yes, you can write 5000 words or more per hour but you have to write 1 hour every day no matter what time and place you choose to write.

Can you write a 2000 word essay in 1 hour?

With fast typing speeds, use of shortcuts and a comfortable keyboard, it is theoretically possible to write 2,000 words in under an hour. This is based on a typing speed of 50 words per minute and allowing for several pauses to think.

When writing your “Why NYU” essay, you have a maximum of 400 words to convey your interest in attending NYU. While 400 words may seem like a lot, you will want to strategize to use them wisely. You'll also see below in the “Why NYU” essay prompt breakdown that there are several layers to the NYU application essay.

Instructions: All applicants are required to write two supplemental essays. Each has a limit of 250 words. Essay 1 is required of all applicants.

The Common Application is accepted at the greatest number of colleges and universities. Applicants may submit the same Common Application to as many colleges and universities as they like. Note that Yale also requires applicants to complete Yale-specific supplemental questions, including two additional short essays.

Writing 20,000 words will take about 8.3 hours for the average writer typing on a keyboard and 16.7 hours for handwriting.