Hi,
My university says that the word count for my thesis should exclude footnotes, tables, figures, maps, bibliography, appendices, etc. This means the word count should include only the main content of my thesis, i.e. from the first word of my introduction to the last word of my conclusion.

However, I am uncertain whether the chapter titles and section headings in my thesis should be included in the word count.



For example, if a section in my thesis, like "(2.1) The Cults of Ancient Egypt", is 6 words in length, and the content of this section is 2000 words in length, should the word count for this section be 2006 words or just 2000 words?



Another example: if all the chapter tiles and section headings in my thesis amount to 400 words, and the contents of all these chapters amount to 99,700 words, should the word count for my thesis be 101,000 words (which means I exceed the maximum length) or just 99,700 words (which means I am still safe)?



Thank you very much in advance for your reply.

======= Date Modified 25 Jan 2012 13:02:50 =======
For ease of counting I would include them.

To be honest if your headings total 400 words and they are pushing you over the word limit, and you cannot find a way of culling 400 words from the rest of your thesis, you need help editing. Show it to someone else - it's always easier for a fresh pair of eyes to spot opportunities to reduce a word count.

They are included as far as I am concerned. I actually lost track of my word count right at the end as I was cutting and pasting and deleted a lot just before submission. However the examiners (in my uni anyhow) are only given a hardcopy version and I don't think that either of them actually counted the words. It looked about right and I think it was about right. I would imagine word counts, to the extent that you are talking about, only come into play if it 'looks' seriously short or seriously long.

Thank you for your replies. I actually am happy to include them.