Do Footnotes Count in Word Count

Do Footnotes Count in Word Count When you are writing an essay for a class which has a minimum of maximum word count limit, the question of whether or not footnotes and endnotes should be counted toward this limit can come up. Those who have an essay that is under word count are hoping that their footnotes and endnotes can be counted while those who are over the limit want to make sure that these dont count. Which one is it? Footnotes Do footnotes count when doing a word count? No, footnotes dont count in the word count in most cases. When a teacher or professor gives an assignment with a minimum or maximum limit, its usually done with the intent of being applicable to the topic being assigned. Footnotes are auxiliary information that further clarifies certain points being made in the essay. Since this isnt a part of the body of the essay, most teachers and professors do not count footnotes as part of the essays word count. This is a general rule of thumb. There can be exceptions depending on the teacher giving the assignment, so the best policy is to ask the person assigning the essay whether or not footnotes should or shouldnt be included. If this is not possible, its best to assume that they are not counted. Do footnotes count in a page count? Yes, footnotes generally count toward page count. Footnotes are found at the bottom of the page and dont take up much of the page space in most instances. While its relatively easy to exclude footnotes from a word count, its much more difficult to exclude them from a page count. For this reason, most professors allow them to be included as part of the overall page count. Again, counting footnotes as part of the page count is a general rule of thumb, not a definitive answer. Its always best to ask the person assigning the essay to confirm that this is OK. If you find yourself in a position where this isnt possible, in most cases it should be acceptable. Endnotes Do endnotes count in a word count? No, endnotes dont count as part of a word count in most cases. Much like footnotes, endnotes give further information to a point made in an essay but arent part of the body of the essay. For this reason, endnotes are generally not included in an essays word count. The best policy is to ask directly if you arent sure about this, but when in doubt, its better not to count them. Do endnotes count in a page count? No, endnotes dont count as part of a page count most of the time. There is one significant difference between footnotes and endnotes which is endnotes are found at the end of the essay and not at the bottom of each page. Being at the end, its much easier to exclude them from a page count than it is to exclude footnotes. For this reason, endnotes arent usually counted when doing an assignment with a specific page count. (Image courtesy of Lohan Gunaweera)