How to Increase Word Count without Diluting Quality

You just finished polishing your latest article and you scroll your mouse over the big rectangular “submit” button, giddy. Proud. You are on the fast track to recognition! But when you click, you are stopped in your tracks. Low word count holds you back. You clench your jaw.
You were thorough, and your article is well-written. So how can you bring your word count up to par without diluting the quality of your writing?
Do not panic. There are a half-dozen things you can do to improve your word (or character) count, and they each take only a few minutes of your time.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• The piece you are working on
• A thesaurus

1. Do a little bit more research—just enough to include an additional fact or two. A small amount of information can make a big difference. Plus, you are contributing to your quality. Even someone’s opinion can make a significant improvement.

2. Add titles and/or subtitles. If you add titles, make them short and to-the-point; long, wordy titles on shorter articles can make it obvious that you were attempting to bulk up the body.

3. Expand all contractions. I apply this technique to many of my articles. Unless you are aiming for a casual tone, change every “can’t” to a “cannot,” “should’ve” to “should have,” etc. Though each change only adds a few letters, it will help raise your character count (which is sometimes how word count is established).

4. Add an appropriate quotation to the beginning of the text. This trick works best on biographies, history, scientific, and political/news articles, and personal essays.

5. Write out numbers under 100. Change “age 85” to “eighty five years old,” or “$17” to “seventeen dollars.” These types of edits can make a big difference when done correctly. Do not change large numbers, like 130,200.

6. 6. Make some different word choices. Change basic words like “great” to “excellent” or “outstanding,” and words like “bad” to “devilish” or “brutal.” Be appropriate of course, but not only will this help make your character count skyrocket, but your text will be richer. Also, use more names, fewer pronouns. Do not go overboard on this one, because using someone’s name excessively can be monotonous and tacky. But “he,” “she,” “him,” and “her” are such small words.