If you write 10,000 words, you’ll end up with 40 pages double spaced.
Imagine this scenario. You’re a marketer for a major advertising agency. You’ve been tasked with writing a case study about a campaign for a cosmetics brand. The agency founder wants a 10,000-word report, submitted as a Microsoft Word document with double spacing. He’s also asked you to cite your sources, using MLA format. Here’s the question: How many pages do you need to write to complete the 10,000-word case study?
To know how many pages you’ll need, you’ll first have to select a font. We recommend using a standard font, like Arial or Times New Roman, in a 12-point font size. 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 readers to pay attention to the content of your writing, not your formatting.
Since the founder of the agency gave you a word count, you know that your case study must contain at least 10,000 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 report will be approximately forty pages double spaced. Had the founder asked for single spacing, you’d end up with twenty pages. The word limit does not include the works cited page.
Of course, the content of a typical page may influence the page length. Let’s say you use lots of long words in your case study, like “phenomenon” and “brainstorming”. That 10,000-word report could end up filling more pages. By changing the type of font, deviating from standard 1-inch margins, and including graphs and charts, you may end up with more pages. For that reason, we can’t give a definitive answer about the number of pages you’ll need to write to complete the case study.
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, it never hurts to ask for clarification. Check with the agency founder to see if you should aim for a certain number of pages or a particular character count.
Whether you’re writing a term paper, a short story, a non-fiction book, or a marketing case study, you’ll benefit from knowing how to convert words to pages. 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 both single and double spacing, using 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.
