Word count - Report and SLS (Self-reflection)

@Amarain - don't worry about the words in graphs :-) Do not use lots of tables for T8 - graphs and bar charts etc are better as they show the trends instantly. Do not have any tables that go over a page. As I have said there's no problem with small tables but longer ones should be avoided for T8. And DON'T do your applied SWOT in one as these are really annoying for the reader who has to keep scrolling up and down to read it all (the basic grid is fine for theory). If you start to annoy the marker then that's when they start to dig deeper and get annoyed by other things (the missed reference, labels from graphs and a few statements of the obvious and if they think you are trying to fool them over the word count the killer instinct will take over.....) As I've said lots of times give them what they want: nicely presented work they can read and follow easily with clear graphs, good explanations and that ticks the routine boxes (referencing, wordcount and self-reflection in the SLS etc) and they will be happy.... hack them off and they will bite hard!

Is the table of contents and list of abbreviations not included in the word count ?

@aneeq7 - yes they are if they are both in the report but you can load the Abbreviations as a separate file (not the contents page though). In fact arguably it is better to have abbreviations separately as the reader could flick between files rather than having to scroll back and forward in the report each time they want to look something up and this would be quicker :-)

Hello there, I want to ask if it is compulsory to make a contents page to make it easier for marker to find stuff? Because contents page adds nearly 200 words whereas i am already a little above limit and trying to reduce word count. Also there is a way to make contents page using SmartArt in Microsoft word where words won't be counted but it looks exactly like a contents page.

Table of contents does not count in your allowed word limit of 7500. You should give a read to OBU info pack and guidelines within.

as per OBU info pack "The word limit includes everything from the start of the title page to the end of the conclusion It is important to note that words included in tables, graphs and pictures within the body of the report are included in the word count, appendices including financial statements and the list of references are not included in the word count. Your Title Page should include your full registered name and ACCA number." Apparently i made contents page right after title page to make it easier for marker.. where does it say that table of contents is not counted in total word count? please refer

The 7,500 word limit includes everything from the start of the title page, the table of contents, to the end of the conclusions; it does not however include the List of References and the Appendices. Apparently it does count in total word count, you should read Info pack again xD

Hello Trephena, Plz advise, Yea its true , today I have learnt that The word limit includes the title page, table of content and everything upto the conclusions. But I have also included an acknowledgement part which is just after the content page, So is the acknowledgement part counted in it also. I Have already exceeded the word limit. What to do now? I ws thinking of submitting today.

Everything is included in word count, you should just remove the acknowledgement

But still, the word limit is exceeded by the content page. So must I reduce words from my RAP itself?

Yes you should. try to reduce the word count by using abbreviations ( don't overdo it ). Or try to just convert your tables ( if any prepared using word ) to excel. Exceeding 7500 word count won't necessarily result in a failure however according to INFO pack they will stop reading your RAP after 7500 words. I would suggest you to reduce your word count to 7500 by rephrasing your ratios maybe

Just want to know for file size : 10 MB = ......... Kb And in the info pack, its stated that All submitted folders (RAP, SLS, PPt, Appendix and List of references) should not be more than 10MB. Am I right or wrong?. Correct me if I am misunderstanding. thanks

10 * 1024, somewhere close to 10000 Kb and yes 10000 kb is the limit inclusive of all files but normally you can't really exceed this limit

I have clarified the 7,500 word count limit with OBU. Markers are instructed to stop marking once 7,500 words is reached. This may mean that your conclusion is not marked and without a conclusion you can be failed on Assessment Criteria 3 Evaluation, Analysis & Conclusions. There are two ways this instant fail may be avoided: do your conclusion before recommendations if you are on the limit or if you have drawn some conclusions in your analysis these may be taken into consideration. However the latter is a risky policy so I would suggest trimming Parts 1 & 2 so that you are within the word count limit - certainly that would be my ploy :-)

thank you Trephena, I'll surely do as you have said. One more query, Should I really put an acknowledgement part in the RAP? or it is necessary?Plz advise

@tanvi2211 - acknowledgements are not necessary but a nice touch - why not load it for RAP purposes as an appendix as it would otherwise be captured by the word count? If you print out your RAP for your own purposes include the acknowledgements page either immediately before or after the contents page.

Hi everyone I'm really confused about the word count. Does the word count display in MS Word include the words in graphs and tables? If not how do you calculate these words?

@sameed - you total word count will be that as shown by MS Word - I believe the marker will go on that provided that they have no reason to believe that devious means have been made to embed text as images or the like to either circumvent the word count or to try to outwit the electronic checking system. In those cases if they have suspicions about any student's work they will subject it to further checks. In the case of word count this is not normally a problem if you have only used images for graphs as the amount of words is negligible, so don't worry about it :-)

@trephena Hi i'm really confused about the word count. Ms word shows me a word count of 7194 words but it doesn't include my graphs and smart art. So i'm not sure what to declare as my word count .. Do i have to count the all words and numbers in graphs or just the words in the title,legend and axis and add them to the ms word word count? It's making me worried and i need to submit my RAP as soon as possible. Thanks

the word count in the sls is it meant to be 350 to 650 ? will I be penalized for having 800, 310 , 325 and 370?

@denmaster - where are you getting these figures from? The SLS self-reflection is 2,000 words overall. You need to write about what you learned from the whole experience so if you have used 800 words describing what you did, rather than how it affected you or your approach then you are not answering the question. Think about what your weaknesses were in all the things at the start and now looking back how your skills have improved and abilities strengthened - that's the approach you have to take with each question so that you answer all 4 properly.

@mizztrayz - most of your query has been answered above in my reply to Sameed (they asked the question on a different forum topic so I have moved it here where it is more relevant - so no, you are not going mad it wasn't here previously :-) but shows the need for people to post in the right place to start with!) Just ensure your E&A is adequate as you probably could get away with another 100+ words allowing for the graphs and smart art (unless you have pasted large tables as images) if you have used many tables as images then you should add these back - copy and paste into a word doc as text to check the number of words.

@threphena Thanks for your reply. However i'm still confused .. sorry. I pasted my graphs and smart art as images. In the graphs i have included numerical data..eg years and %s do i have to count thoses as well? cause word counts these numerics as words in the word count displayed..so sorry abt asking again.. i just want to be sure

@mizztrayz -don't worry about it - the marker doesn't have the time to count everything and they will only do so if they think there is deliberate trickery going on. Provided you haven't pasted lots of your text or tables work as images there is nothing to get worked up about as graphs tend not to use many words. If you read all the posts on here to you will see there is no problem with a low word count either provided the E&A is well done. It says on p.22 of the Info Pack that this is what will dictate the grade - provided you comply with the Assessment Criteria (Appendix 1) :-)

Okay Thanks again.I only have one table showing revenues over the past 3 years which i pasted as an image other than that all other pictures are graphs and smart art.So i'll just declare the ms word count on my cover page.

@denmaster and @Anna as always it is the QUALITY of the responses that matter not the actual number of words (hence the huge range for estimated number suggested by OBU of 350 - 650 words per question) If you read the FAQ on the SLS on our home page (written by me but endorsed by an OBU marker I personally know) you will see that it is looking at your own strengths and weaknesses you should be focussing on and reflecting what you learned from these from your personal perspective. Just writing about the things you did is NOT self-reflection. So rather than get fixated about number of words (as long as you do not excessively exceed or it is lower than 1800 total it will be ok) ensure that you do self-evaluation in every question as recommended by the marker.

Hi, I doing topic 8 for resubmission. My first submission word count is 6500. Now increase to 7500. Just would like to know the word count rule still same for T8? Since i will put the numbers in the tables and show the percentage for analysis. Then below the table i will put one chart to show the trend. Will all the numbers like ($100,000) in the table and percentage in the chart counted? Thank you very much for anyone's advice.

@milan204452 -The word count for all topics is 7,500 and includes the title page, contents page and ends with the final words in the Conclusions and Recommendations section. The word count involved in charts and graphs is minimal when viewed against their utility as normally graphs and charts are the best way to show relationships and changes in the trends. This means that if your chart etc is clear you do NOT have to tell the reader about what the graph shows as it should be obvious (and if you do, you are just wasting words). This has two implications: graphs can actually save you words as it saves you repeating what the reader can easily see for themselves and secondly markers hate text that contains lots of figures as that is NOT what analysis is all about. (see some of the marker feedback on our "OBU Marker Speak" forum) Note: Evaluation and analysis involves linking PEST & SWOT factors to the companies' performances and explaining what has gone on and not just making statements of the obvious e.g. that gross profit has fallen because the cost of sales has risen - it is WHY COS has risen that needs to be investigated in terms of factors from the business environment and management decisions - see my article on Evaluation on our homepage: https://opentuition.com/obu

Actually I want to put one table showing the sales figure for 3 financial years respectively. And also the revenue growth (%) in the table. Then below the table I will put one chart showing the trend (increase/decrease). Then I worried the numbers in the table will be word counted also.

@milan204452 - to a certain extent it depends how they are formatted whether the electronic word count will pick them up. You will need to highlight the last work of text before the table and the first one afterwards and if you click on word count in MS Word it will show you how many words it has counted. Embedded tables (ones pasted as images) tend not to be picked up by the word count at all BUT the markers will take them into account if the use of such means is excessive and if included the word count would exceed the limit. OBU has the right to fail on the basis that the student has tried to gain an advantage over others who have adhered to the wordcount and deliberately tried to circumvent it (in their opinion). I mentioned the repetition as too often too many words and figures about changes in trends are used in the text when they were not needed (they add nothing) and none at all would have been preferable (figures on their own are tedious). If you are showing percentage differences in your figures in your table they do add some value, particularly if you highlight the percentages that are significant. :-)