Over Maximum word count

If we go over the count is there a penalty?

No. Although. TS Eliot once said, 'had I more time to write, I would have written less.' At any rate, it is so seldom that I see people going over in their word count so extensively that I have always just dismissed it and will not deduct points.

Can you explain what your scoring is for over the word count?

Once, someone wrote a 10 page paper when they were to write a 4 page paper at the most and so what I did was to send it back to them and tell them to cut it down before I would agree to read it. I did not deduct any points.

There will be plenty of other items in the course to be concerned with other than going over the word count. Do try to stay at about the desired count and know that I will not deduct for overage, however, for your own professionalism and or career - strive for economy and encapsulation of issues when appropriate, always supporting work with citations and references.

Is this okay? Do you have a history of going over the maximum word count? How have your other instructors handled this in the past?