If you write 1,000 words, you’ll end up with 4 pages double spaced.
Imagine this scenario. You’re a PhD candidate in astrophysics. You’ve just made a great discovery and you’re trying to get published in scientific journals. In order to get people to read your research paper, you need to complete a 1,000-word essay, summarizing your results. Your research advisor asks you to send in a Microsoft Word document with double spacing, so that she can help you refine your synopsis. She’s also asking you to cite your sources, using either MLA format or APA format. Here’s the question: How many pages long should your summary be?
To know how many pages you’ll need, you’ll first have to select a font. We recommend using Arial or Times New Roman in a 12-point font size. That’s a standard, easy-to-read option. Most readers prefer something classic. You could always test your limits with a more exotic font, such as Calibri or Verdana; however, think carefully before selecting anything too hard to read. You want your advisor to pay attention to the content of your writing, not your formatting.
Since you’ve been given a word count, you know that your summary must be less than 1,000 words. Using the chart below, you can see that the same number of words may result in a different page count, depending on the line spacing you select. With the assigned word count, your article would be approximately four pages double spaced. Had the advisor asked for single spacing, you’d end up with two pages. The word limit does not include the works cited or bibliography page.
Of course, you can imagine that the content of your article may influence the page length. Let’s say you use lots of long words in your article, like “trigonometric” and “luminosity”. That 1,000-word summary about astrophysics could end up filling up more pages. By changing the type of font and deviating from standard 1-inch margins, you may be able to alter the page count. For that reason, we can’t give a definitive answer about the exact number of pages you’ll need.
Here’s the good news: Most word processors, like Google Docs and Microsoft Word, contain a word counter that allows you to check the word count and character count of a document. Also, if you’re writing for a publication, it never hurts to ask for clarification. Check with the publisher’s guidelines to see if they require a certain number of pages or a particular paragraph structure. Common requirements might include a specific font type, a clearly defined thesis statement, or specific section headings.
To help students with term papers and other writing assignments, many high schools, colleges, and universities have a writing services center. They can help you with proofreading and structuring your 1,000-word essay.
As a good rule of thumb, use this chart to approximate the number of pages you’ll get for a particular amount of words. The chart includes estimates for a single space or double space text with Times New Roman font or Arial font.
If you’d like to know how to convert a speech from pages to minutes, check out this article.
