Getting the online word count of your next article, essay, or student paper is an essential part of doing your best work. Yes, online word counters work, and they do a whole lot more than just give you a raw number.
The raw number, which is your paper’s word count, is important, too, though. Why? Because knowing your word count can help you decide whether or not to make editing changes, and if so, what kind. There are several common types of editing. Some writers do themselves, and others they work with experienced editors on. These include:
- Developmental Editing: Developmental editing has to do with major rewrites as well as the actual content of a paper. For example, a developmental editor might go in and point out a logical error in your paper’s reasoning. There are a variety of ways editors can spot these kinds of flaws—many, though, simply have to do with experience and having a second pair of eyes other than your own reading your work. Another tool a developmental editor will use is a word counter. If you are writing on a topic that should not require very many words, but you turn in something as long as a book, well, then this is a clear sign that something has gone wrong. While there are certainly exceptions to this rule, it is generally true that word counts tell developmental editors a lot about what they need to know.
- Line Editing: Line editing is the most popular type of editing and has to do with correcting punctuation and grammar issues. One great thing about an online word counter is that is can do most of your line editing for you. An online word counter will highlight grammar problems and make other suggestions that can greatly improve your writing.
The Importance of Grammar
When writing a paper or essay, you cannot overstate the importance of proper grammar. Experts from Writezillas know about this like no one other. Now, “proper grammar” does not necessarily entail speaking “the Queen’s” English. There are many times when conjunctions and other such grammatical styles are not only acceptable but actually appropriate. The issue is that many writers get so involved in their work that they often submit writing that is flawed in the grammar department. Some of these flaws will be caught and corrected by editors. But, if you care about your work, you are far better off using an online word counter to not only check the number of words appearing on the page but also to see if your work can benefit from some grammar changes.
The Importance of SEO
An online word counter can help you stylistically, and it can also help you technically. The SEO of your online work plays a major role in who will get to see what you have written.
While the first step in any writing is to make sure you have created something compelling to readers and interesting to both yourself and the public, you also want to make sure you are taking the necessary steps to reach the widest possible audience. Why put so much work into your writing without taking at least a few moments to make sure your writing is SEO-optimized as doing so can greatly increase the number of people who are impacted by your work.
An online word counter can scan your writing to check if it is optimized for social media as well as, most importantly, Google. Most web traffic comes straight from Google, so it is always critically important to optimize your work according to Google’s standards.
Yes, word counters work. You should always use an online word counter when turning in an essay, paper, or anything involving written content.
